CANTON, MICH. (BUSINESSWIRE) JUNE 16, 2020
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in conjunction with the American Chemical Society (ACS), has selected Fusion Coolant Systems and its founder, Dr. Steve Skerlos, to receive the 2020 Green Chemistry Challenge Award. The award cites the ability of Pure-Cut® technology to reduce the environmental, health, and safety impacts of machining operations on a global basis.
In the 23-year history of the Green Chemistry Challenge, the US EPA has presented only five awards per year out of nearly 2,000 nominations. Fusion Coolant Systems (“Fusion”) will be recognized as one of this year’s winners at a virtual event June 16th and in person at the National Academy of Sciences on November 19th in Washington D.C.
“We are extremely proud to be selected as a recipient of this prestigious and highly meaningful award,” stated Brian Ahlborn, Fusion’s CEO. “Only about 1 award in 400 nominations is made, and we are delighted that our technology has distinguished itself once again in a competitive environment. Our team accepts this award with a commitment to bring the environmental and economic benefits of Pure-Cut to the entire manufacturing sector.”
Pure-Cut harnesses supercritical CO2 as a next generation machining fluid to eliminate existing health risks for workers and water pollution while massively reducing tool wear and machining time to achieve economic benefits and life cycle greenhouse gas reductions. Pure-Cut directly impacts of 7 of the UN’s Strategic Development Goals (SDGs). Commercialized in 2016, Pure-Cut is already in use by numerous Blue-Chip companies in 12 countries.
“It takes a fully committed team to convert an invention from a strong Ph.D. thesis at the University of Michigan into an innovation which is changing the landscape of machining,” Arthur F. Thurnau Professor Steve Skerlos added, “the Fusion Coolant Systems family has rallied around its core values of sustainability and relentless attention to customers to make Pure-Cut a practical solution for increasing the output of machine tools globally.”
Key criteria for this US EPA Award include being an original technology never used before, scientifically valid, withstanding the scrutiny of peer review, with proof of validity, and a mechanism of action clarified by detailed research. The technology must also offer these three distinct advantages: a practical and cost-effective approach to green chemistry, a remedy to a real environmental or human health problem, and readily transferrable to other processes, facilities, or industry sectors.
“Pure-Cut made its initial impacts within the medical, aerospace, and automotive sectors,” Ahlborn added. “More recently, we’ve been pleasantly surprised to see strong demand from manufacturers in very diverse additional sectors, demonstrating the broad-based appeal of Pure-Cut technology.”
About Fusion Coolant Systems
Fusion Coolant Systems, headquartered in Canton, Michigan, USA is a rapidly growing company that has developed and commercialized Pure-Cut and Pure-Cut+ technology, which is already running in Europe, North America, & Asia.
