Altech Chemicals Ltd (ASX:ATC) has lodged a new provisional patent application with the Australian Patent Office.
This incorporates the finished product HPA technology developed for its high purity alumina (HPA) project, expanding on a previous patent lodged in October 2014.
It was only last week that Altech received approval for the manufacture of HPA in Malaysia.
READ: Altech Chemicals has manufacturing licence approved for HPA plant in Malaysia
New patent describes method of preparation
The existing patent application describes Altech’s method of preparing alumina from aluminous materials, including kaolin.
The new patent application incorporates various refinements made to the company’s HPA processing route during project due diligence.
It also incorporates the Altech’s latest invention, the flexible finished product line.
This is capable of producing HPA product for both the synthetic sapphire industry and the lithium-ion battery industry (powder at sub-micron particle size).
Altech marketing opportunities enhanced
Recent due diligence has resulted in Altech being able to produce, market, sell or otherwise distribute HPA manufactured by its unique process on a global basis.
The search undertaken to gain approval involved a review of its existing manufacturing patents and was conducted across a database covering more than 100 patent authorities.
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.
Use of similar technology would represent patent breach
The search confirmed Altech’s intellectual property for producing HPA from kaolin/aluminous material using its hydrochloric acid-based processing technology is unique.
As such, any other party that employs a similar process to produce HPA would most likely be in breach of Altech’s patent applications.