Corrections: In a previous version of this article, Simply Grid’s scope of branching out was misstated. Simply Grid is not currently branching out to fire trucks. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

In the same article, ESF’s support of Simply Grid was unclear. ESF did not provide entrepreneurship support for Simply Grid.

Michael Dubrovsky’s relationship with Paul Caluwe, a chemistry professor, was also unclear. Caluwe’s class inspired Dubrovsky to switch from bioprocess engineering to chemistry, but the professor did not directly provide support.

Additionally, the anti-idling solution for public service vehicles was unclear. The solution involves auto-ejecting the plug so that vehicles can drive off immediately.

Michael Dubrovsky, a Brooklyn native who attended SUNY-ESF but did not graduate, always knew that food truck pollution was a problem.

He said people didn’t seem to notice, but the city was constantly filling up with diesel fumes. To try and combat that, he started Simply Grid during his time at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. The company works to reduce the environmental effects of food trucks in major cities.

“The idea for the company isn’t super inventive,” he said. “It’s just a clear problem.”

He said the university is very focused on a standard track of research and government jobs, and so it wasn’t really a business environment.

Dubrovsky said he tried to get funds through the undergraduate Student Association, the student government on campus, by organizing a business competition, but the organization turned him down.

“I wish I could say I tried to get help from the professors,” he said.  Paul Caluwe, a chemistry professor, was a inspiration for Dubrovsky. It was Caluwe’s class that convinced him to make the switch from bioprocess engineering to chemistry.

Dubrovsky said the challenges in forming this company had nothing to do with his time at ESF. He struggled with funding, building the technology and making deals with government agencies.

He won second place in a Syracuse University business competition, which gave Dubrovsky some money to start the company. While he was a student, he also ran a semi-profitable hot tub rental business for fraternities with another ESF student.

“I raised more money eventually,” he said, “but it took a while.”

Dubrovsky estimated that New York City had 4,000 food carts, which is theoretically equivalent to 10,000 cars on the road.

“The reality is that the generators they’re running don’t have catalytic converters, which add to the pollution,” he said.

Fumes from the food trucks are a lot richer in nitrous oxide, sulfur oxides and particulates and running those small engines affects air pollution, he said.

Long-duration idling engines consume more than one billion gallons of diesel fuel and emit 11 million tons of carbon dioxide, Dubrovsky said. Using Simply Grid’s technology, he said these numbers can be reduced.

On a typical day at the company, Dubrovsky takes phone calls in the morning from government agents or property owners that are interested in doing installations, he said. He then goes to meetings set up by his Chief Operating Officer, Jeffrey Hoffman.

Dubrovsky and Hoffman talk to new cities about new locations for their pedestals, Hoffman said in an email. They also talk to investors, manage their currently operating pedestals and do research and development on new technology, he added.

Simply Grid is also branching out to non-food vendor areas. The company is also now working on an anti-idling solution for public service vehicles, Hoffman said.

The solution involves auto-ejecting the plug so that vehicles can drive off immediately, Dubrovsky said. The new cord management pedestals for emergency vehicles now take up a lot of his time, he said.

Dubrovsky said he and Hoffman are also working with refrigerated diesel fleets, which are vehicles like Fresh Direct that deliver food.

Said Hoffman: “We are making money, but everything is going right back into the company, since we’re a growing startup.”

Published on February 10, 2014 at 12:36 am