Puffin Air Purifiers team are winners in national innovation competition

Two doctoral students at the University of Michigan have a vision for ensuring homes have safe levels of CO₂, and they are in the early stages of developing a company that will offer consumers the ability to monitor and clean the air when needed. The team received $5,000 and additional support as one of the 15 teams selected nationwide to develop their company through VentureWell’s Early State Innovator Training Program.

Rebecca Lentz, doctoral student in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Rachel Silcox, doctoral student in Mechanical Engineering, are the winning team developing an air purifier that allows customers to reduce harmful levels of CO₂ in home settings. The name of their proposed company is Puffin Air Purifiers.

“I’m excited to work in a space that combines sustainability with human health,” said Silcox. “At the end of the day, sustainability should be about ensuring people’s health.”

High CO₂ levels can lead to drowsiness, headaches, and respiratory problems, and there are an increasing number of studies focused on the importance of monitoring CO₂ levels in homes and buildings. CO₂ levels can rise due to pollution, wildfires, extreme temperatures, fuel-burning appliances, inadequate ventilation, even the simple act of breathing by large numbers of people in a small space.

The technology of CO₂ capture was initially inspired by space travel and designed to protect those living in submarines; others have tried to do it on a building level through HVAC systems. 

“We’re looking at doing this in homes with a modular unit, so homeowners or apartment dwellers can take control of their own air quality,” explained Lentz.

Lentz and Silcox are members of Prof. Rohini Bala Chandran’s research group and sit next to each other in the office. Both had experience working with CO₂ in their research, but in a different capacity. They were also part of the 6-member team that earned 2nd place in the inaugural U-M Hydrogen Grand Challenge with H2YOU, which aimed to make hydrogen fuel economically viable.

After the Hydrogen Challenge, Lentz and Silcox bounced ideas off each other to come up with their next entrepreneurial venture. Along with advice from their official mentor, Prof. Todd Allen, they received helpful feedback from Mike Johnson, the entrepreneur-in-residence at Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies. They also pitched their idea to many agencies offering support to young entrepreneurs and received some funding to do customer interviews and further refine their ideas.

During the interviews, they learned that people have been thinking more about indoor air quality since COVID.

“A lot of people have gas stoves, and they don’t think about this,” said Lentz. “The wildfires are also causing people to be concerned about indoor air quality.”

Puffin Air Purifiers will continuously monitor a home, and when the CO₂ levels rise to an unhealthy level, they will begin to remove the excess CO₂ from the air. The practice may also prompt homeowners to check for possible sources of CO₂, such as gas stoves inside the home or excessive pollution from outside.

With the money from VentureWell, Lentz and Silcox will be setting up their own lab space.

“This will get the mess out of my kitchen,” said Silcox.

The team hopes to reach the next stage of the VentureWell competition, which comes with more substantial prize money. Those funds would support additional prototype development, as well as help cover the substantial costs associated with protecting intellectual property and other early stages of commercialization.

As part of VentureWell’s Accelerator program, Lentz and Silcox are headed to Case Western Reserve University where they will participate in an entrepreneurship training workshop. They plan to commence work in their new lab space when they return.

“We want to make something that people want,” said Silcox. “And we’re putting our hearts and souls into this to give it every chance of success,” added Lentz.