ClearSign Technologies Corporation Awarded Federal Grant to Advance Hydrogen Burner Solutions for Industrial Decarbonization

Rhea-AI Summary

ClearSign Technologies (Nasdaq: CLIR) has been awarded a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's EERE Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office. The grant, in collaboration with a major national laboratory, will support the development of ClearSign's ultra-low NOx industrial hydrogen burner technology.

The project, led by Senior Research Scientist Dr. Robert Geiger, focuses on developing innovative computer modeling techniques to optimize industrial furnaces and combustion equipment for 100% hydrogen fuel usage. The initiative will utilize high-performance computing (HPC) to simulate and optimize hydrogen burner designs, aiming to accelerate development timelines while minimizing costs.

The technology is expected to support industrial decarbonization efforts with potential greenhouse gas emissions reduction of up to 276 million metric tons annually. The project will address key challenges including flame positioning, fuel-air mixing, and heat flux optimization to facilitate large-scale hydrogen adoption in industrial furnaces.

Positive

• Secured $400,000 federal grant funding for hydrogen burner technology development
• Project has potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 276 million metric tons annually
• Development of technology that could accelerate industrial adoption of hydrogen fuel

Negative

• None.

Insights

Energy Technology Analyst

The $400,000 DOE grant awarded to ClearSign Technologies represents a strategic positioning in the rapidly evolving industrial decarbonization market. While the grant amount is modest, the collaboration with a major national laboratory adds significant credibility and technical resources that extend far beyond the monetary value.

The project's focus on high-performance computing (HPC) for hydrogen burner optimization addresses a critical market gap. Current industrial furnace modifications for hydrogen fuel are largely empirical and time-consuming, making the development of computational tools for rapid design iteration a potential game-changer. The target reduction of 276 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions indicates the massive market opportunity in industrial decarbonization.

Three key strategic advantages emerge from this development:

• The computational modeling capability could significantly reduce R&D costs and time-to-market for new hydrogen burner products, potentially giving ClearSign a competitive edge in product development efficiency.
• The collaboration with a national laboratory provides access to advanced HPC resources and expertise, enabling more sophisticated modeling than typically available to companies of ClearSign's size.
• Early positioning in the hydrogen burner optimization space could establish ClearSign as a go-to provider as industries accelerate their transition to hydrogen fuel.

However, investors should note that commercial success will depend on factors beyond technical development, including the pace of hydrogen infrastructure development and industrial adoption rates. The project's success could position ClearSign favorably in the industrial decarbonization market, but monetization timelines may extend several years into the future.

TULSA, Okla., Jan. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ClearSign Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq: CLIR) ("ClearSign" or the "Company"), an emerging leader in industrial combustion and sensing technologies that support decarbonization, improve operational and energy efficiency, enable the use of hydrogen as a fuel and enhance safety while dramatically reducing emissions, announces that, in collaboration with a major national laboratory, it has been awarded a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's ("DOE") Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy ("EERE") Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office ("IEDO"). The funding will support the development of ClearSign's ultra-low NOx industrial hydrogen burner technology to advance the decarbonization of high-temperature industrial processes.

"This project, led by ClearSign's Senior Research Scientist Dr. Robert Geiger, is being undertaken to develop innovative computer modeling techniques to enable the optimization of industrial furnaces and combustion equipment for use with 100% hydrogen fuel," said Jim Deller, Ph.D., Chief Executive Office of ClearSign. "The intended function of the computational code and techniques developed in this study is to enable the efficient and rapid assessment of how variations in the design of burner components affect flame characteristics with high hydrogen content fuels in high-temperature environments. We anticipate that this will aid and accelerate the development of new burner technologies to meet future industrial needs. The ultimate goal of this project is to provide cost-effective, high-performance solutions for energy-intensive industries seeking to lower their carbon footprint."

The project will utilize high-performance computing ("HPC") to simulate and optimize the design of hydrogen burners, which is expected to aid and accelerate the development timelines of new burner technologies while minimizing overall costs. By addressing key challenges such as flame positioning, fuel-air mixing, and heat flux optimization, the project aims to facilitate the large-scale adoption of hydrogen in industrial furnaces. This innovative computer modeling technique is projected to support decarbonization efforts across industries by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 276 million metric tons annually.

About ClearSign Technologies Corporation

ClearSign Technologies Corporation designs and develops products and technologies for the purpose of decarbonization and improving key performance characteristics of industrial and commercial systems, including operational performance, energy efficiency, emission reduction, safety, the use of hydrogen as a fuel and overall cost-effectiveness. Our patented technologies, embedded in established OEM products as ClearSign Core™ and ClearSign Eye™ and other sensing configurations, enhance the performance of combustion systems and fuel safety systems in a broad range of markets, including the energy (upstream oil production and down-stream refining), commercial/industrial boiler, chemical, petrochemical, transport and power industries. For more information, please visit www.clearsign.com.

Cautionary note on forward-looking statements

All statements in this press release that are not based on historical fact are "forward-looking statements." You can find many (but not all) of these statements by looking for words such as "approximates," "believes," "hopes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "projects," "intends," "plans," "would," "should," "could," "may," "will" or other similar expressions. While management has based any forward-looking statements included in this press release on its current expectations on the Company's strategy, plans, intentions, performance, or future occurrences or results, the information on which such expectations were based may change. These forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions concerning future events and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of the Company's control, which could cause actual results to materially differ from such statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to: the performance of the Company's burners, including related fuel and electricity savings and its ability to lower NOx emissions; the Company's ability to develop or utilize HPC modeling techniques to enable the optimization of industrial furnaces and combustion equipment for use with 100% hydrogen fuel; the Company's ability to accelerate development timelines of new burner technologies while minimizing overall costs through the use of its computer modeling techniques; any changes to the regulatory landscape for decarbonization efforts, including related to federal funding and grants, across industries; the performance of the Company's computer modeling technique and its ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; the Company's ability to successfully deliver, install, and meet the performance obligations of the Company's products, including  process burners, boiler burners and flare products, in the markets the Company operate and sell its products in; the Company's ability to successfully manufacture and supply its  burner products timely; the Company's ability to further expand into other geographic markets; the performance of the Company's flex fuel hydrogen capable burner; the Company's ability to further expand the sale of ultra-low NOx process and boiler burners, including the flex fuel hydrogen capable burner; the Company's ability to successfully perform engineering orders and performance optimization processes included therein; general business and economic conditions; the performance of management and the Company's employees; the Company's ability to obtain financing, when needed; the Company's ability to compete with competitors; whether the Company's technology will be accepted and adopted and other factors identified in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov and other factors that are detailed in the Company's periodic and current reports available for review at www.sec.gov. Furthermore, the Company operates in a competitive environment where new and unanticipated risks may arise. Accordingly, investors should not place any reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. The Company disclaims any intention to, and, except as may be required by law, undertakes no obligation to, update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that subsequently occur or of which the Company hereafter become aware.

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SOURCE ClearSign Technologies Corporation

FAQ

What is the value of the DOE grant awarded to ClearSign Technologies (CLIR) in January 2024?

ClearSign Technologies (CLIR) was awarded a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's EERE Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office.

How much greenhouse gas reduction is expected from CLIR's hydrogen burner technology?

The technology is projected to support decarbonization efforts by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 276 million metric tons annually.

What is the main purpose of CLIR's DOE-funded hydrogen burner project?

The project aims to develop innovative computer modeling techniques to optimize industrial furnaces and combustion equipment for use with 100% hydrogen fuel, supporting industrial decarbonization efforts.

What specific challenges will CLIR's hydrogen burner technology address?

The technology will address key challenges including flame positioning, fuel-air mixing, and heat flux optimization to facilitate large-scale adoption of hydrogen in industrial furnaces.