Gas Technologies Rated No. 1 In Patented Tech In Michigan

WALLOON LAKE (WWJ) -- Gas Technologies LLC, maker of the GasTechno gas-to-liquids Mini-GTL process, has received the No. 1 ranking of 100 companies in Michigan for the quality of patents granted in 2012.

Crain's Detroit Business worked with Ocean Tomo, an intellectual property evaluation firm, which considered 50 different criteria to establish the ranking.

The No. 1 quality ranking reflects the market-leading innovation being established by GTL, which focuses on the conversion and monetization of flared or stranded natural gas, biogas, coal mine methane, and landfill gas. Its patented process enables significant cost take-out at a mini-scale adaptable to 80 percent of the global methane reduction market, where gas-to-liquid solutions were previously not economically viable.

"To be ranked No. 1 in a list of 100 companies that includes impressive R&D from world-class innovators in Michigan is truly an honor," said GTL CEO Walter Breidenstein. "It is validation of the ground-breaking nature of our work that is now coming to fruition. While gas-to-liquids has long been a proven technology at extremely large scales, our unique process enhancements will bring a much-needed cost-effective solution to the global broad market."

GTL's patent protection extends to the overwhelming majority of the markets it is targeting worldwide. For example, in the flared gas market alone, a recent World Bank study estimates that 5.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas is flared annually, a practice that wastes a lucrative alternate revenue source and emits nearly 350 million tons of CO2.

In addition to the 2012 patents evaluated in the study, GTL has filed four more patent applications in 2013 and will announce a new "drop-in replacement" fuel patent application in September.

The GasTechno platform converts methane into valuable commodity fuels, high-end intermediates and specialty chemicals via the GasTechno family of technologies. GasTechno plants are scalable, transportable and profitable at small volumes, monetizing even modest sources of CO2, methane, landfill gas, biogas and bio-methane.

The company's latest designs include a food and fuels production system that processes CO2 and methane, the greenhouse gases primarily responsible for global warming. The GasTechno platform offers unique design and in engineering services for patent licensing of technologies involving natural gas processes and chemical processing plants.

More at www.gastechno.com.