Popular Mechanics award Lehr Inc. a 2012 Breakthrough Award for the first ever OEM propane-fueled outboard motors.
The Popular Mechanics Magazine Breakthrough Awards, now their eighth year, recognize the innovators and products that have dramatically advanced the fields of technology, medicine, space exploration, automotive design, environmental engineering and more. Lehr and other winners will be honored at an invitation-only gala awards ceremony in New York City on October 4, and then featured in the November issue of Popular Mechanics, available on news-stands October 16.
LEHR's technology for powering small engines using propane is the marine solution that is both timely and critical for our planet and its water supply. The EPA and CARB have set strict new standards for gasoline marine engines and fuel systems in order to reduce the amount of VOCs, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and smog-forming pollutants. Propane has long been recognized as a "green" energy source due to its ability to reduce emissions, protect the environment and decrease our dependence on foreign oil.
James B. Meigs, editor-in-chief of Popular Mechanics said: "From a featherweight metal to the world's fastest and most electrically efficient supercomputer, this year's winners embody the creative spirit that the Breakthrough Awards were founded upon."
Past recipients of the Breakthrough Awards include James Cameron, genomics pioneer J. Craig Venter, efficiency expert Amory Lovins, inventor and FIRST Robotics founder Dean Kamen, and humanitarian engineer Amy Smith.