GreenShift Corn Oil Extraction Patent Term Extended to 2028 On Thursday April 22, 2010, 2:02 pm
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GreenShift Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: GERS - News) announced today that
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) has extended the term of
U.S. Patent No. 7,601,858, titled "Method of Processing Ethanol
Byproducts and Related Subsystems” (the ’858 Patent).
The ‘858 Patent, which was filed on May 5, 2005 and published on
February 23, 2006, was previously scheduled to expire on May 5, 2025.
The PTO extension pushes the expiration date out by 973 days to January
3, 2028, further strengthening the competitive advantage available to
ethanol producers which license GreenShift’s technology.
The ‘858 Patent covers novel methods to recover high value crude corn
oil from the backend of corn ethanol plants. This corn oil has been
historically trapped in and sold with the distiller’s grain co-product
of ethanol production (“DDG”) as a low value livestock feed product.
A conventional 100 million gallon per year ethanol producer produces
about 360,000 tons per year of DDG that has a current market value of
approximately $100 per ton. Locked within this DDG is about 36,000 tons
per year of corn oil with a current gross market value of about $560 per
ton. The ‘858 Patent discloses novel steps to unlock this value while
reducing the energy costs of ethanol production. Extracting just 25% of
the corn oil trapped in DDG would increase the profitability of
GreenShift’s licensees by about $0.05 per gallon of ethanol produced at
current market prices (net of royalty payments to GreenShift) – this
equates to about $5,000,000 per year in increased profits for a 100
million gallon per year ethanol producer.
“Our patented corn oil extraction technologies deliver important and
timely benefits to the ethanol industry, facts which have been
recognized by the EPA and repeatedly confirmed by the PTO,” said David
Winsness, GreenShift’s Chief Technology Officer. “We are thankful for
the additional time granted by the PTO and look forward to the continued
opportunity to deliver additional value to the industry.”
In February 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”)
published its estimate that 70% of the U.S. ethanol industry will use
backend corn oil extraction technology to recover more than 66% of the
available oil in corn ethanol co-products to fill 40% of America’s
biodiesel feedstock demand by 2022.
GreenShift’s technical services staff are available at 888-ETHANOIL or sales@greenshift.com
to respond to quotation requests and to answer any questions about
GreenShift’s corn oil extraction and other technologies.
About GreenShift Corporation
GreenShift Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: GERS - News) develops and
commercializes clean technologies designed to address the financial and
environmental needs of its clients by decreasing raw material needs,
facilitating co-product reuse, and reducing the generation of wastes and
emissions.
GreenShift’s mission is to build shareholder value by using its
technologies to catalyze disruptive environmental gain. GreenShift
believes that the first, best and most cost-effective way to achieve
this is to develop technology-driven economic incentives that motivate
large populations of people and companies to make incremental
environmental contributions that are collectively very significant. With
adoption by most of the U.S. ethanol industry, GreenShift’s
commercially-available technologies can give way to disruptive gains by
enabling sustainably increased production of globally-meaningful
quantities of renewable fuels for distribution through existing supply
chains.
GreenShift also maintains its strong commitment to continued innovation
and has many additional patents pending for its Backend Fractionation™
portfolio of strategically-compatible cleantech designed to continue
driving the corn ethanol industry into increased sustainability and
global competitiveness.
Additional information on GreenShift and its technologies is available
online at www.greenshift.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains statements that may constitute
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of
1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Those statements include
statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of
GreenShift Corporation and members of its management as well as the
assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective investors
are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties,
and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by
such forward-looking statements. Important factors currently known to
management that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those in forward-statements include fluctuation of operating results,
the ability to compete successfully, and the ability to complete
before-mentioned transactions. The company undertakes no obligation to
update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed
assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future
operating results.
Contact:
GreenShift Corporation
Phone: 212-994-5374
Fax: 646-572-6336
Email: investorrelations@greenshift.com
Web: www.greenshift.com
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