Project to demonstrate ClearSign Core Gen 2 Flex Fuel Process Burner designed to reduce emissions and energy costs at Kern Energy's facility
TULSA, OK / ACCESS Newswire / September 30, 2026 / ClearSign Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq:CLIR) ("ClearSign" or the "Company"), a leader in advanced combustion and sensing technologies that help industrial operators dramatically reduce emissions, increase efficiency and support the use of cleaner fuels including hydrogen, and Kern Energy, a critical California fuel supplier and renewable fuel pioneer, announce today that The U.S. Department of Energy's ("DOE") Industrial Technologies Office ("ITO") has selected ClearSign and Kern Energy for its Industrial Technology Validation ("ITV") program. The project is to support the installation and operation of ClearSign's Core Gen 2 Flex Fuel Process Burner at Kern Energy's facility.
The project is expected to demonstrate ClearSign's technology designed to reduce air pollutants while allowing Kern Energy to use a refinery byproduct gas to offset natural gas consumption and reduce energy costs.
"We believe that the selection for the DOE's ITV program is a significant milestone for ClearSign, providing an opportunity for independent, third-party validation of our technology in a commercial refinery setting," said Jim Deller, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of ClearSign. "Together with Kern Energy, we expect to demonstrate the capability of the ClearSign Core Gen 2 Flex Fuel Process Burner, which is designed to allow refiners to burn wide ranging byproduct gases produced during refining, while reducing emissions. We believe that, in addition to reducing emissions, this fuel flexibility could help refiners, at times, lower their fuel costs by reducing the amount of natural gas they need to purchase
"Innovation, for us, is about finding practical ways to evolve, meeting the challenges of the moment while anticipating the opportunities ahead," said Jennifer Haley, President & CEO of Kern Energy. "We expect this project with ClearSign will improve the efficiency and emissions performance of our operations while we continue to supply the fuels our community depends on. It's a strong example of how collaboration helps Kern Energy meet today's needs and build for what comes next."
The project brings together ClearSign's advanced combustion technology and Kern Energy's operating expertise to demonstrate the technology in a real-world industrial setting. ClearSIgn's Core technology is designed to improve combustion performance and reduce emissions, while its flexible-fuel capability can enable industrial operators to make greater use of available fuel streams. At Kern Energy, the technology will be evaluated under operating conditions, with performance data independently assessed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
This collaboration builds on a shared focus on innovation, efficiency, and the continued advancement of industrial technologies. For ClearSign, the project provides an opportunity to demonstrate another commercial application of its Gen 2 Flex Fuel Process Burner and generate independent performance data. For Kern Energy, it provides the opportunity to evaluate an emerging technology, while continuing to evolve the operations that help supply critical transportation fuels for California.
This project is one of nine selected by the DOE to validate the performance of innovative industrial technologies. A press release from the DOE regarding these selections can be found here: https://www.energy.gov/cmei/ito/articles/energy-department-announces-industrial-technology-validation-program-selections
About ClearSign Technologies Corporation
ClearSign Technologies Corporation designs and develops products and technologies for the purpose of decarbonization and improving key performance characteristics of industrial and commercial systems, including operational performance, energy efficiency, emission reduction, safety, the use of hydrogen as a fuel and overall cost-effectiveness. Our patented technologies, embedded in established OEM products as ClearSign Core and ClearSign Eye and other sensing configurations, enhance the performance of combustion systems and fuel safety systems in a broad range of markets, including the energy (upstream oil production and down-stream refining), commercial/industrial boiler, chemical, petrochemical, transport and power industries. For more information, please visit www.clearsign.com
About Kern Energy
Kern Energy is an independent, family-owned and operated transportation fuel producer powered by a team of more than 200 employees. As the only refiner between San Francisco and Los Angeles producing gasoline and diesel, Kern Energy is a critical fuel supplier producing approximately one percent of California's gasoline and three percent of its diesel, all while meeting some of the world's most stringent fuel standards. A renewable fuel pioneer, Kern Energy became the second refinery in the U.S. to produce renewable diesel by co-processing bio-feed in 2009 and was the first small refiner in California to blend biodiesel in 2012.
For more information, please visit www.kernenergy.com.
For further information:
Investor Relations:
Matthew Selinger
Firm IR Group for ClearSign
+1 415-572-8152
mselinger@firmirgroup.com
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
All statements in this press release that are not based on historical fact are "forward-looking statements." You can find many (but not all) of these statements by looking for words such as "approximates," "believes," "hopes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "projects," "intends," "plans," "would," "should," "could," "may," "will" or other similar expressions. While management has based any forward-looking statements included in this press release on its current expectations on the Company's strategy, plans, intentions, performance, or future occurrences or results, the information on which such expectations were based may change. These forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions concerning future events and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of the Company's control, that could cause actual results to materially differ from such statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, the fact that the Company and Kern Energy have not yet entered into definitive agreements with respect to the ITV program, and the risk that such agreements may not be entered into on acceptable terms, or at all; the availability and amount of any funding under the ITV program and the Company's ability to satisfy applicable cost-share requirements; whether the installation of the ClearSign Core Gen 2 Flex Fuel Process Burner at Kern Energy's refinery will be completed on the anticipated schedule, or at all; whether the burner will perform as designed, including with respect to its ability to use refinery byproduct gases in place of natural gas, reduce fuel costs, and reduce emissions; whether the results of the validation conducted under the ITV program, which are expected to be made publicly available, will be favorable; the Company's ability to successfully deliver, install, and meet the performance obligations of the Company's burners in the California and Texas markets, and any other markets the Company may sell products in; the Company's ability to further expand the sale of ultra-low NOx process, flares and boiler burners, including the ClearSign Core Gen 2 Flex Fuel Process Burner; the Company's ability to collaborate with Kern Energy in the ITV program to achieve the intended results of the program; general business and economic conditions; the performance of management and the Company's employees; the Company's ability to obtain financing, competition; whether the Company's technology will be accepted and adopted and other factors identified in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 and other periodic and current reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and available for review at www.sec.gov. Furthermore, the Company operates in a competitive environment where new and unanticipated risks may arise. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. The Company disclaims any intention to, and, except as may be required by law, undertakes no obligation to, update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that subsequently occur or of which the Company hereafter becomes aware.
SOURCE: ClearSign Technologies
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/electronics-and-engineering/clearsign-and-kern-energy-selected-for-u.s.-department-of-energy-indust-1228622
