Envirofit's Tricycle Retrofit Program Funded
Envirofit International Ltd., a Colorado non-profit corporation commercializing innovative technologies to reduce pollution and increase energy efficiency in developing countries, today announced that it has received financial commitments from the Bohemian Foundation (Fort Collins, CO) and from the Swiss Embassy in the Philippines to fully fund Envirofit's primary program in the Philippines - the Vigan Tricycle Retrofit Program.
Envirofit has previously agreed to work with the Philippine city of Vigan (in the northern province of Ilocos Sur) to retrofit that city's entire fleet of approximately 3,000 two-stroke engine powered tricycle taxis with Envirofit's direct injection retrofit technology. Extensive field testing in the Philippines has proven that Envirofit's retrofit technology will:
· reduce hydrocarbon emissions by ~90% and carbon monoxide emissions by ~75%;
· virtually eliminate visible tailpipe smoke; and
· increase gas and oil efficiency by 35% and 50%, respectively.
The Vigan Tricycle Retrofit Project, scheduled to commence in March of 2006 and to be complete by August of 2007, will reduce annual emissions of carbon dioxide in Vigan by approximately 3,000 tons, while reducing Vigan's annual gasoline consumption by an estimated 1.6 million liters. The city of Vigan will arrange for drivers to receive access to microfinance loans, which drivers will be able to repay within one year via reduced gas and oil expenditures.
The Bohemian Foundation (www.bohemianfoundation.org) and the Swiss Embassy of the Philippines have collectively committed to full funding for the Vigan Tricycle Retrofit Program.
"The financial commitments of our partners have provided Envirofit with a tremendous opportunity to immediately commence operations in Vigan," says Envirofit CEO Brock Silvers, "and we look forward to eliminating a significant portion of that city's major source of air pollution in 2006. From that point, Envirofit hopes to replicate our Vigan Tricycle Retrofit Program across the Philippines and in other Asian countries."
Envirofit also announced that the Colorado CleanTech Initiative (www.p3colorado.org), in coordination with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, CORE (formerly the Colorado Environmental Business Alliance), the law firm of Moye White, the Boulder County Business Report, and the Rockies Venture Club, has awarded Envirofit its 2006 Sustainable Business Medal of Honor. The award is intended to honor companies providing products or services that are sustainable, as well as efforts that provide environmental, social, and economic benefits while protecting public health, welfare, and environment over their entire commercial cycle. According to Envirofit CEO Brock Silvers, "It is a tremendous honor to receive such recognition from our peers and colleagues in Colorado. Colorado is home to a burgeoning clean tech industry, and we're extremely excited to be a part of that community as it continues to develop."