Dr. BJ Johnson

CEO and Co-Founder

ClearFlame Engine Technologies

Dr. BJ Johnson is CEO and co-founder of ClearFlame Engine Technologies, a growing startup
dedicated to developing clean engine technology for heavy-duty truck, off-highway, and
industrial applications.
Together with co-founder Dr. Julie Blumreiter, BJ founded ClearFlame to develop solutions that
increase the performance of and reduce emissions from internal combustion engines using
decarbonized fuel, such as ethanol. BJ was the lead inventor on a patent filed by Stanford
University for this work, which now forms the center of ClearFlame’s intellectual property.
BJ’s passion and leadership for this work have helped him to secure investors and strategic
partners, including the support of multiple industry manufacturers, agencies like the
Department of Energy, the Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, and
world-class accelerators like StartX, I-Corps, Ameren Accelerator, and WERCBench Labs.
In 2021, BJ was named one of the Grist 50—an annual list of emerging leaders from across the
US working on fresh, real-world solutions to our world’s biggest challenges. BJ earned his BS,
MS, and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University.