Puritas Energy Inc. is striving to make sure that calamities like Hurricane Sandy aren’t exacerbated by failing emergency generators, brought on by changes in the composition of diesel fuel in the past five or six years.

The Halifax company has secured the North American licence to sell DieselPure filters, which were invented by Halifax entrepreneur Peter Kerrin. The device is designed to make sure that diesel sitting in storage tanks for four to six months or longer maintains its potency so it can work when it’s needed.

“One of the challenges in an emergency situation is access to continuous power,” said Puritas PresidentAlastair Trower in an interview last week, adding that the filter he markets helps property owners or others feel confident their emergency generators will work when they’re needed.

The technology was instigated by changes in the composition of diesel in recent years, as governments have mandated that the fuel contain less sulfur and produce fewer emissions. Though these changes have overall benefited the environment, they have also caused problems for diesel that must be stored for prolonged periods, such as fuel for emergency generators.

In any storage situation, water seeps into the tank and the fuel, which was not a problem years ago because the sulfur counteracted the effects of the water. But today, without the sulfur, the water becomes emulsified with the diesel, meaning the two liquids blend together. Micro-organisms are able to grow within the emulsified liquid, and the result is that the diesel will not drive a generator or other engine when it’s needed.

“During Hurricane Sandy (in the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S. last October) there were a number of episodes in which emergency generators didn’t work, or they worked and cut out quickly,” said Trower, saying the main reason was stored diesel that had taken on water.

Puritas’ solution to this problem is the DeiselPure filter, which cleans out the emulsified water, particulates and microbial organisms in the stored diesel to ensure it will work during an emergency. The tubular filter, which is certified by the Society of Automobile Engineers, is placed in the storage tank, and the fuel must be passed through it regularly to ensure there is no buildup of problem materials. The product could be used in emergency generators in apartment building or the diesel tanks on board a ship. Puritas is now targeting the data centre market, because the data storage facilities absolutely must maintain electricity through natural disasters so their clients can continue to do business.

Trower said the market for critical power infrastructure is now about $14 billion, and is expected to grow to $25 billion to $26 billion by 2020. So the market is vast.

The DieselPure filters are now being used at 24 to 26 sites, mainly in Eastern Canada and Eastern U.S. These sales took place before Puritas, which was formed earlier this year, had the licence to sell the filters. Puritas is using this installed base to build up a strong pipeline with potential sales worth US$1.6 million, said Trower.

The company has not yet raised any equity investment.