By Rob Driscoll
RD: I noticed on your LinkedIn profile that under education, you mentioned the "school of hard knocks." Can you explain what that means to you and share a couple of those hard knocks you're referring to?
JP: It means a lot to me. I've been in business since the early '80s. I was born and raised on a quarter horse farm and traded and showed quarter horses when I was young. I learned a lot. The most important lesson I've learned over the years is to never give up. Persistence is key. I've seen so many people give up just before they were about to succeed.
I've been self-employed for 44 years now. It hasn't always been easy. I've been through some very low times, but I never believed in quitting. The word "can't" doesn't exist in our vocabulary. I believe almost anything is possible if you work hard enough for it. My father always told me, "You can achieve anything you want in life, but everything comes with a price. Be prepared to pay it, and you can achieve it." I live by that.
RD: You mentioned the low times. Were you able to get up each day and push through, or were there days when you felt too down to be productive?
JP: It's interesting you ask. There were times when I struggled, but I've been blessed with a strong support system. I've been married for 49 years, and there were times my wife would ask, "Jim, how do you keep going?" I always felt I had no choice. With the grace of God and determination, I believed anything was achievable. I had tough days, but I would get up, grin, bear it, and carry on.
RD: What inspired you to pursue a path of corporate leadership and entrepreneurship?
JP: I was born and raised an entrepreneur. My father was a contractor, owned a big quarter horse farm, a used car lot, and the largest Western tack shop in southwestern Ontario.
I watched him struggle, but I also saw him fight through. When I was young and starting in business, I struggled with hiring people older than me, fearing they might be smarter and outsmart me. Over time, I realized the most important thing is to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. Everybody has their strengths. Everybody has their weaknesses. If you can leverage on each other's strengths, anything is achievable.
RD: On your website, dynaCERT, the company you've been running for about 16 years, there's a slogan that says your product is a global solution to reduce pollution. It sounds great, but how do you achieve this?
JP: That's a great question. Our technology is unique and patented, something we've spent years developing, with over $100 million invested. It's a system that produces hydrogen and oxygen on demand, feeding them to the internal combustion engine to enhance the burn.
It's important to note we're not a fuel—we're a catalyst. There's engineering research going back over 50 years showing that small amounts of hydrogen can enhance combustion in an engine. The challenge has always been finding the right mixture.
When I was first introduced to this company, I became one of its first angel investors because I truly believed in what they were doing. The original founder struggled to let go of control, so the company wasn't progressing, and it was on the verge of bankruptcy at one point.
I believed in the technology, so I stepped in, brought in a team of engineers, and we perfected it. Now we have a bolt-on, fully computerized unit that acts as an electrolysis system, producing measured amounts of hydrogen that feed into the engine. This improves fuel economy by 10-15%, but more importantly, it reduces toxic gases in emissions by creating a more complete burn.
For diesel engines, this means burning all the fuel and maximizing its use. It increases horsepower, torque, and reduces emissions by over 50%. Specifically, we reduce NOx, the most harmful gas produced by diesel engines, by up to 88%. And we do this right at the source—at the point of combustion— rather than relying on filtration systems, which often end up in landfills and back into the atmosphere. So yes, we really do have a global solution to reduce pollution.
RD: It's amazing—reducing pollution, saving money with better fuel efficiency—it sounds like a win-win for the transportation industry and for investors. What's it going to take to get the attention it deserves?
JP: I'd like to believe we're hitting that tipping point now. Before COVID, our sales were taking off, our stock was soaring, and we had orders coming in globally. Then COVID hit, and everything shut down.
We worked through dealers globally, but during COVID, they couldn’t go out or meet with anyone. For two years, we had to shut down operations, and the only thing we could legally continue was research and development. Fortunately, we advanced our technology significantly during that time. In hindsight, it was almost a blessing.
After COVID, as businesses reopened, governments worldwide announced a push to eliminate fossil fuels and go electric. Suddenly, it was all about electric vehicles (EVs). Many dismissed our technology because EVs were considered the future.
Now, people are realizing that EVs are not the solution for everything. Electric cars are great for city use, but for large diesel engines in shipping, rail, mining, and oil and gas industries, EVs are not the answer. Our first target market was the transportation industry, which was a challenging market to penetrate. Truckers have been inundated for years with promises of improved fuel economy, so they were reluctant to try new technologies.
However, we’ve had major companies test our product, and now we’re receiving repeat orders. Just last week, we shipped over 100 units to the mining industry. These companies initially bought a few units, tested them for six months to a year, saw the results, and are now placing larger orders. They see improvements in fuel savings, engine longevity, and cleaner engine performance.
For example, in one test, two identical trucks ran the same route —one with our unit and one without. The truck without our unit had 8% soot content in its oil after a typical oil change, which is typical. The truck with our hydrogen unit had less than 1% soot content. This cleaner burn prevents soot from breaking down the oil and wearing out the engine.
RD: That’s amazing. Where are your potential clients now? The trucking industry seems natural but challenging. What other markets are you targeting, both geographically and in terms of industry?
JP: Geographically, we’re now in 55 countries. We’re based in Toronto with offices in Europe, and we have dealers worldwide. The trucking industry is starting to catch on, and utility companies are also adopting our technology. For instance, a major Canadian utility company initially bought 18 units, and now they’ve bought hundreds to outfit their entire fleet. They’re seeing benefits in both fuel economy and emissions reduction.
With the rise of ESG reporting, we’ve also caught the attention of industries like oil drilling. A major drilling company in the U.S., the largest in North America, recently purchased 103 units. I met with them last week, and they want to outfit their entire fleet, which could be thousands of units. They even charge a premium on rigs equipped with our technology because oil companies are willing to pay extra for the ESG reporting benefits it provides.
RD: I read about car manufacturers cutting back EV production due to slowing demand. Do you see the pendulum swinging back, and do you feel your company is well-positioned to take advantage of these conditions?
JP: Yes, I believe the pendulum is swinging, and we’re hitting that tipping point. We’re getting repeat orders, particularly from industries using large diesel engines—everything from delivery trucks to transport trucks. A market we haven’t fully penetrated yet, but really want to, is shipping. We’re currently working with one shipping company.
Many people don’t realize how much pollution comes from container ships. Just one container ship pollutes as much as 50 million cars in a year, and it only takes 17 container ships to equal the pollution from all the vehicles on the road today. Meanwhile, governments are pushing for electric vehicles (EVs), but that’s only addressing a small part of the problem. The bigger diesel engines—used in shipping, locomotives, and rail— aren’t going anywhere anytime soon because they are still the most energy-efficient option.
I believe the future is hydrogen, and we recently invested in a private company focused on producing green hydrogen at high pressure and volume. While hydrogen is the future, our technology serves as a bridge to that future, and I believe we have a long runway to make an impact.
RD: Do you have competitors in this industry and your niche?
JP: There are a few smaller companies working in this space, but none of them have anything close to what we offer. Our unit is fully computerized, and we hold 27 worldwide patents. Our technology is unique, and we also have something called Hydrolytics, which is our data collection side. Our unit communicates with the engine, measuring fuel economy improvements, emissions reductions, and converting that data into a reduced carbon footprint, which qualifies for carbon credits.