Evonik wins two patent disputes, reaffirming legal protection for its 3-stage process with SEPURAN® Green membranes

• European Patent Office upholds Evonik’s EP3240620 B1 patent, dismissing all requests for invalidation filed by other parties
• US Patent and Trademark Office upholds Evonik’s US 10,471,380 B2 patent, dismissing all requests for invalidation filed by other parties
• Customers can be assured they are using Evonik’s unique 3-stage biogas upgrading process with SEPURAN® Green and all its benefits relating to energy and cost efficiency

Marl, Germany. Evonik has won two legal disputes, unquestionably securing EU and US patent rights for the company’s pioneering 3-stage biogas upgrading process with SEPURAN® Green membranes.

In two judicially separate, final decisions, the European Patent Office (EPO) upheld Evonik’s EP3240620 B1 patent and the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) upheld Evonik’s US 10,471,380 B2 patent. The decisions were issued in each organization’s respective board of appeals, dismissing all requests for invalidation that were filed by other parties. As a result, both the EPO and USPTO consistently recognize and uphold legal protection for Evonik’s innovative 3-stage process, which was developed by the company’s top experts for the benefit of biogas upgrading customers across the EU, the US, and other key global markets.

“We are satisfied with these final decisions as they clearly confirm the unique innovation and technology we offer customers through our membranes and full-system solutions,” says Jennifer Doerper, Director of Evonik’s global SEPURAN® Green membranes business. “We take our commitment to customers seriously and will always defend and enforce our legal rights to ensure all biogas upgrading clients know they are actually receiving the innovative technology and service backed by our cutting-edge experts. To this end, we will work to pursue compliance from industry peers.”

Evonik’s patented 3-stage process with SEPURAN® Green is used to upgrade raw biogas, which consists mainly of biomethane and carbon dioxide. Among other aspects, the process can be done without a second compressor, facilitating customers’ equipment setup, as well as dramatically reducing their overall energy usage and costs.

When pairing the 3-stage process with Evonik’s complete customer support and fully backward integrated membrane technology, the result is a highly efficient and cost-effective purification process that meets today’s growing range of customer needs.

“We started in the biogas upgrading market more than 10 years ago. Recently, we have seen more diverse industry trends across different regions. These include more energy efficient low-pressure operations and CapEx-sensitive markets that prefer low membrane counts utilizing less selective membranes. There is also increasing demand for very low-CO_2, LNG-ready biomethane and an interest in very low methane slip. I am proud that this patent is able to offer cost-optimized solutions that address all these different trends,” says Markus Priske, Director Application Technology Gas Separation Membranes at Evonik.

For more information on Evonik’s patented 3-stage biogas upgrading process with SEPURAN® Green membranes, please visit: https://www.membrane-separation.com/en/biogas/3-stage-patent/biogas-upgrading-patented-3-stage-sepuran-green-210322.html