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United States : GEVO INC. granted new patent, files suit against BUTAMAX, DUPONT, BP [TendersInfo (India)]
khushbu92Al Bawaba Ltd.Gevo Inc., a leading renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company, has been granted with an additional patent for better performance in the efficiency of bio-based production of isobutanol. This new patent enhances Gevo s lead over competitors in technological innovations allowing commercially viable production of bio-based isobutanol with costs much lower than alternative technologies.
Additionally, in the U.S. District Court, Gevo filed lawsuits for the Eastern District in Marshall, Texas for infringement of the new patent by E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont), BP p.l.c., and their joint venture, Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC.
Followed by this, Gevo has 11 patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trade Office with approximately 400 pending patent applications.
The new patent is numbered as U.S Patent No. 8,232,089 covering a bio-engineered pathway that utilizes DHADs (dihydroxyacid dehydratases) to improve the efficiency of isobutanol production in the yeast, awarded by USPTO.
Brett Lund, executive vice president and general counsel, says, The naturally occurring pathway in yeast produces only trace amounts of isobutanol, Gevo has discovered and patented a series of changes in the yeast pathway including the newly awarded 089 Patent that eliminate unwanted byproducts and improves the efficiency of isobutanol production in yeast. Taken together, these technological advancements enable a process efficiency exceeding 90%, compared with less than 1% in the naturally occurring pathway in yeast.
Gevo s intellectual property is a strategic asset that we will continue to protect, We will vigorously challenge infringement by competitors who illegally make use of our patented technologies to overcome their own technological deficiencies. he adds.
Butamax has been attempting to reach demonstration-scale production of isobutanol for several years now, However, our scientists realized from the beginning the importance of increasing pathway efficiencies and recognized that to produce commercially relevant levels of isobutanol one must use the technology covered by our patents. We ve proven this in the successful startup of our commercial-scale, renewable isobutanol facility in Luverne, Minn. Lund concludes.
