Processing Your Payment

Please do not leave this page until complete. This can take a few moments.

January 21, 2020

North Haven clean energy company secures Navy contract 

PHOTO | Contributed
By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

Precision Combustion Inc. of North Haven, a company focused on clean energy, has won another U.S. Navy contract to develop its new filter technology aimed at enhancing the quality of aircraft fuel. 

The company, commonly referred to as PCI, is located at 410 Sackett Point Rd. and employs some 50 workers.

PCI announced last week it secured the Navy Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract. The company is working to develop a small, low-pressure “drop filter system” to remove metal contaminants from aircraft fuel. 

The Navy has specifically experienced problems with copper leaching into and contaminating fuel. The metal negatively impacts engine performance and increases the need for repairs and maintenance, according to PCI.

Precision Combustion Inc. of North Haven

When PCI secured the initial Phase I contract in 2018, it indicated that annual maintenance costs from copper contamination were projected to be in the vicinity of $1 billion for the Navy’s fleet, and this huge expense has led to strong motivation to fix the problem.

During Phase I, the company validated that its new replaceable filter can remove more than 99 percent of copper, according to this latest announcement. 

Principal investigator Codruta Loebick said the company had “great results” in the first phase of the project, which Loebick said showed “the promise” of the company’s approach.

In the next phase, PCI will take the laboratory technology and produce an advanced design, according to Loebick.

PCI President Kevin Burns noted how copper in fuel can lead to lower performance and cause a need for more engine maintenance.

“Currently no solutions are available to directly mitigate the effect of copper, and replacement of the fuel piping is expensive,” Burns said in the announcement. “Our filter offers a low-cost and retrofittable solution for improved performance and reduced maintenance costs.”

Tony Anderson, director of marketing and business development with the company, said the contract is for $499,328 for one year, with a possible extension for two more years, which would add an additional $998,723.

The company said it hopes its technology also will have other Department of Defense and commercial applications. 

PCI recently was named to the 2019 Marcum Tech Top 40 list of fastest-growing technology companies in Connecticut. 

Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com.

Sign up for Enews

Most Recent

Most Recent

0 Comments

Order a PDF