Lodges New Provisional Patent Application
Perth, Feb 27, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Altech Chemicals Limited (Altech/the Company) (
ASX:ATC) (A3Y:FRA) is pleased to announce that it has lodged a new provisional patent application with the Australian Patent Office (IP Australia), which incorporates the finished product HPA technology developed by it for its high purity alumina (HPA) project.
Highlights
- Provisional patent application lodged with the Australian Patent Office
- Incorporates finished product technology
- Global Intellectual Property search completed
o Altech's kaolin to HPA HCL processing route is unique
o There is no risk of patent infringement by Altech
- Altech's patent applications afford international protection for its HPA production method
The new patent application expands on a previously lodged patent application titled 'A Method for the Preparation of Alumina', which was filed by Altech in October 2014. The existing patent application describes Altech's method of preparing alumina from aluminous material, including kaolin. The new patent application incorporates various refinements made to the Company's HPA processing route during project due diligence, and incorporates the Company's latest invention, the flexible finished product line that is capable of producing HPA product for both the synthetic sapphire industry (high density pellets) and HPA for the lithium-ion battery industry (powder at sub-micron particle size).
The new patent application covers the following steps:
1. treating aluminous material to reduce particle size and increase the alumina content;
2. calcining the aluminous material;
3. leaching the aluminous material with hydrochloric acid;
4. solid liquid separation to provide a pregnant liquor;
5. crystallising aluminium chloride hexahydrate by adding hydrogen chloride gas;
6. precipitating and separation of aluminium chloride hexahydrate;
7. dissolving the aluminium chloride hexahydrate in water and repeating the crystallisation process;
8. roasting and calcining aluminium chloride hexahydrate to provide alumina; and
9. finishing alumina in either a high density bead or fine alumina powder
In addition, Altech is pleased to report that as part of project due diligence initiated by KfW IPEX-Bank, a global freedom to operate search was conducted to confirm that the Company will be free to produce, market, sell or otherwise distribute HPA manufactured by its unique process. The search involve the detailed review of existing alumina manufacturing patents and was conducted by Wrays Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys (Wrays), a highly regarded Australian firm specialising in patent and trade mark law.
The search was conducted across a database covering over 100 patent authorities containing over 60 million patent records. It involved identifying all patents or patent applications in the field of alumina preparation and all patents and patent applications covered by the World Intellectual Property Organisation. The search covered key market countries and areas such as Australia, People's Republic of China, Canada, Federal Republic of Germany, Europe, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Japan, Republic of India, Korea, Russian Federation, Taiwan, United States of America and Malaysia.
The results of the global search confirmed Altech's unique manufacturing process (Intellectual Property). Wrays did not identify any patent or patent application that could assert to prevent the production of HPA by Altech using its unique process in Malaysia, nor prevent the marketing, selling or distributing its HPA, or products containing its HPA, globally.
The search confirmed Altech's view that its IP for producing HPA from kaolin/aluminous material using its hydrochloric acid-based processing technology is unique, and that any other party that employs a similar process to produce HPA would most likely be in breach of Altech's patent applications.
About Altech Batteries Ltd
Altech Batteries Limited (ASX:ATC) (FRA:A3Y) is a specialty battery technology company that has a joint venture agreement with world leading German battery institute Fraunhofer IKTS ("Fraunhofer") to commercialise the revolutionary CERENERGY(R) Sodium Alumina Solid State (SAS) Battery. CERENERGY(R) batteries are the game-changing alternative to lithium-ion batteries. CERENERGY(R) batteries are fire and explosion-proof; have a life span of more than 15 years and operate in extreme cold and desert climates. The battery technology uses table salt and is lithium-free; cobalt-free; graphite-free; and copper-free, eliminating exposure to critical metal price rises and supply chain concerns.
The joint venture is commercialising its CERENERGY(R) battery, with plans to construct a 100MWh production facility on Altech's land in Saxony, Germany. The facility intends to produce CERENERGY(R) battery modules to provide grid storage solutions to the market.
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