Eclipse Aviation, manufacturer of the world's first very light jet (VLJ), today announced that the Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the company with a 2007 Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award for the development of the PhostrExTM Fire Suppression System. Each year, Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award winners are recognized for eliminating ozone depleting substances in various industries, including aviation.

"PhostrEx will transform how our industry protects against engine fires while simultaneously guarding against the depletion of the ozone. We appreciate the EPA's recognition of this significant advancement," said Vern Raburn, president and CEO of Eclipse Aviation. "Protecting our environment is a major focus at Eclipse, as evidenced by our development of PhostrEx, and our commitment to design and manufacture an aircraft that delivers breakthrough fuel economy with unmatched low noise and emissions."

PhostrEx was patented by Eclipse Aviation and is the first new commercially viable aircraft engine fire suppression system in 50 years. Aircraft are exempt from the treaty and are allowed to use Halon, an ozone depleting substance, until a workable substitute is found. PhostrEx has proven to be the world's first commercially viable substitute to halon, eliminating ozone depletion potential, contributing nothing to global warming, while vastly reducing lifecycle cost and weight.

"As part of the Bush Administration's aggressive yet practical strategy, EPA is pleased to work with partners like these award winners to protect the Earth's atmosphere in cost-effective ways," said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. "Environmental protection is everyone's responsibility, and these leaders are making smart choices to hand down a cleaner, healthier future."

When the agent is released from its hermetically-sealed canister, it works in less than one-tenth of a second, then, after extinguishing the fire, combines with moisture in the air and quickly becomes inert. Because of this rapid reaction with moist air and surfaces, the agent cannot be transported to the stratosphere where ozone depletion could occur. In a fire, the PhostrEx agent decomposes 1,000 times more rapidly than Halon and undergoes three sequential losses of bromine atoms, which are the power behind this agent. These atoms catalyze suppression of the fire.