NOTE — Visit the Rolex Awards website that highlights Tim’s work, including photos and a fantastic 4 minute video about the two-stroke retrofit program, by clicking here: http://rolexawards.com/en/the-laureates/timbauer-home.jsp
Media Contact:
Katie Hays, Weber Shandwick: (425) 452-5428; khays@webershandwick.com
ENVIROFIT CO-FOUNDER RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS ROLEX AWARD FOR ENTERPRISE
Tim Bauer Named 2008 Rolex Laureate for Creating Two-Stroke Engine Retrofit Technology that Reduces Toxic Emissions, Provides Economic Benefits in Developing Countries
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – November 18, 2008 – Today, Envirofit International, a leader in creating sustainable, scalable business models to solve global health and environmental problems, announced that Tim Bauer, company co-founder and vice president of operations, will be honored as one of ten winners of the prestigious 2008 Rolex Awards for Enterprise. For more than 30 years, the Rolex Awards have supported innovative projects benefiting communities around the world. Mr. Bauer is being recognized for Envirofit’s breakthrough work creating a direct injection retrofit kit that reduces toxic emissions and increases fuel-efficiency for dirty two-stroke powered vehicles in developing countries.
Chosen from nearly 1,500 applicants in 127 countries by an independent panel of scientists, educators, economists and other experts, Mr. Bauer is one of five Rolex Laureates who was presented $100,000 in project support from Rolex at the ceremony today held in Dubai – the first ever Rolex Awards ceremony held in the Middle East. An additional five Rolex Associate Laureates will each receive $50,000 at ceremonies in their home countries.
“On behalf of the entire team at Envirofit, I am honored to receive this award from Rolex,” said Bauer, a mechanical engineer and the youngest of the five Rolex Laureates being honored. “Over 2.4 million people die each year from air pollution-attributed illnesses. Our plan is to use the Rolex Award to develop additional markets, thus increasing Envirofit’s positive impact on lives and the environment to the greatest extent.”
Carbureted two-stroke engines are a major source of air pollution, powering 100 million motorcycles, scooters and three-wheelers In Southeast Asia alone. Each of these carbureted two-stroke engines produces the pollution output of approximately 50 modern automobiles, contributing the pollution-equivalent of approximately five billion automobiles.
These engines represent one of the largest sources of vehicular emissions in the world. Partnering with the world-recognized Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory at Colorado State University, Envirofit developed a direct fuel injection retrofit kit for two-stroke engines that reduces emissions by 70-90 percent while improving fuel efficiency 35-50%, saving over $700 per year for those who depend on the vehicles for their livelihoods.
“The Rolex Awards for Enterprise enable the work of global pioneers who are breaking new ground in their fields, and improving lives worldwide,” said Patrick Heininger, chief executive officer of Rolex. “We are proud to support these truly original thinkers, and salute them for their ingenuity and commitment of purpose.”
Envirofit’s commercial retrofits have already accumulated over 7 million kilometers of field usage, conserving over 225,000 liters of fuel and over 510 tons of carbon to date. Through fuel/oil savings, the retrofit kits have also enabled some of the poorest entrepreneurs in the world to increase their incomes by over $300,000. Envirofit plans to expand the retrofit business across SE Asia, with countries like Thailand, Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka representing the next potential markets. Envirofit is seeking additional investors to develop new markets for its products.
About Envirofit International
Founded in 2003, Envirofit International is a US-based non-profit organization that uses a sustainable, enterprise model to solve global health and environmental problems. Envirofit develops and distributes technologies that improve the lives of people in developing countries while reducing indoor and outdoor air pollution. The company’s first product is a direct-injection retrofit kit for dirty, two-stroke engines. Envirofit licenses the core of the direct injection system from Orbital Corporation. Envirofit also develops and sells a line of clean cookstoves in developing countries that address the global health crisis of indoor air pollution. Visit www.envirofit.org or www.envirofitcookstoves.org for further information.
Orbital Corporation
Orbital Corporation has been developing the patented “OCP™” (Orbital Combustion Process) for over 20 years. Direct injection is a proven technology commonly found on over 500,000 original equipment manufactured commercial and recreational products. This system is used in a variety of commercial and recreational market products. For more information on Orbital please visit www.orbeng.com.au.
Rolex Philanthropy
Since its founding a century ago, Rolex has established a tradition supporting individual excellence and achievement around the globe. Through its two primary philanthropic programs, the Awards of Enterprise and the Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, Rolex fosters innovation in science, exploration, conservation, and the arts worldwide. For more information about the Rolex Awards for Enterprise, visit www.rolexawards.com or contact Christina French Houghton at Resnicow Schroeder Associates: 212-671-5162; choughton@resnicowschroeder.com.
About the Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory at Colorado State University
The Engines & Energy Conversion Laboratory (EECL) is a unique research/education program at Colorado State University with emphasis on engines, fuels, and energy conversion technology. With a focus towards market-driven solutions, products developed at the EECL - in partnership with industrial sponsors and multiple spin-off organizations - have saved more than 800,000 tons of nitrogen oxide pollution and more than 14 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Beginning in 2002, the EECL began a program of international technology development primarily aimed at increasing energy efficiency and reducing the environmental impact of transportation, electric power production, and cooking/household energy in developing countries. Visit www.eecl.colostate.edu for further information.
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