Blaze Energy is a deep-tech startup developing technology to enable zero-carbon combustion through ammonia. The company's vision is to facilitate rapid decarbonization of heavy industry and commercial transport by bridging the gap between the widespread combustion of hydrocarbon fuels today and the promising green technologies of the future.
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Rok Sitar
Rok Sitar is co-founder and CEO of Blaze Energy Technologies. His mission is to address the decarbonization of heavy industry and commercial transport by advancing ammonia as a zero-carbon alternative to fossil fuels. Sitar is finishing his Ph.D. in chemical engineering with an M.B.A. minor at the Colorado School of Mines. He is originally from Maribor, Slovenia, and enjoys playing tennis and skiing outside of work.
TECHNOLOGY
Critical Need
Hard-to-abate sectors such as heavy industry and commercial transport represent some of the most carbon-intensive industrial processes. They are responsible for more than 30 percent of global CO₂ emissions and could increase to 60 percent by 2050. The decarbonization of these industries is very challenging due to the requirement for high power or heat, which precludes the use of batteries and electrification. Additionally, many manufacturing processes in hard-to-abate sectors depend on trillions of dollars of existing manufacturing equipment and include deeply embedded industrial practices. Replacement and extensive modification of these processes would be costly and challenging.
Technology Vision
Blaze Energy Technologies’ vision is to promote ammonia as a primary zero-carbon fuel to decarbonize hard-to-abate industries. Its technology enables the transformation of liquid ammonia, on-site and on-demand, into tunable ammonia/hydrogen fuel blends, which serve as a drop-in replacement for any hydrocarbon fuels, such as natural gas or diesel. Its product is designed to convert existing infrastructure and industrial practices to run on zero-carbon fuel (ammonia/hydrogen) which will enable carbon-intensive companies to become net-zero by 2050.
Potential for Impact
Blaze Energy Technologies’ ammonia fuel reformer will revolutionize the deployment and utilization of green hydrogen through ammonia, achieving industry-wide elimination of fossil fuels and carbon emissions. Carbon-free ammonia-powered transportation, manufacturing, and energy generation solutions represent an economic opportunity for all stakeholders, contributing to a global goal of becoming a net-zero society by 2050.