CO2 Solutions Announces U.S. Patent Allowance

Quebec City, Quebec, June 5, 2014 – CO2 Solutions Inc. ( the “Corporation”), an innovator in the field of enzyme-enabled carbon capture technology, today announced it has received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its patent application No. 13/264,294 entitled Process for CO₂ Capture Using Micro-Particles Comprising Biocatalysts. The Corporation also takes this opportunity to provide an update on the depth and breadth of its U.S. intellectual property portfolio in context of the landmark announcement made this week by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the regulation of carbon emissions from existing power plants.

Upon issuance, the patent will provide CO2 Solutions with broad coverage for the use of biocatalysts, including carbonic anhydrase enzymes, for carbon capture in a packed reactor from any gas stream with any solvent where the enzymes are attached to the surface of micro-particles or entrapped in porous micro-particles. The Corporation believes the allowed patent constitutes a valuable process innovation, which will allow for exclusive use of enzymes in various industrial applications, with additional flexibility as to process conditions.

“We believe that with the allowance of this patent, combined with our already very comprehensive intellectual property portfolio, the Company has covered all viable routes to commercialization of carbonic anhydrase enzyme based systems for the capture of CO₂,” stated Evan Price, President and Chief Executive Officer of CO2 Solutions.

Together with this patent allowance, CO2 Solutions now holds 24 issued and allowed U.S. patents, and an additional 6 pending patent applications. The Corporation’s patent portfolio provides broad exclusivity for the application of any carbonic anhydrase enzyme for the efficient capture of CO₂ from any stationary emissions source and production of concentrated CO₂ or bicarbonate, which is then available for industrial utilization or storage. Included is also specific patent coverage in the application of the technology at fossil-fuel-fired power plants, using any solvent in any reactor type, packed tower or otherwise, as well as the use of carbonic anhydrase in combination with various solvents including carbonates and alkanolamines, among others.

Proposed EPA legislation to drive market for CO₂ capture technologies

On June 2, 2014, the EPA released its Clean Power Plan, which proposes to dramatically cut carbon pollution from power plants, the single largest source of carbon pollution in the U.S. The plan foresees in the application of various tools to bring about the desired reduction in CO₂ emissions, including the use of remedial technologies such as carbon capture. The Corporation believes its proprietary technology is among the most credible low cost alternatives for carbon capture, as well as the economic reuse thereof. According to the International Energy Agency GHG Program, as of 2011 there were more than 1,000 fossil fuel power plants in the U.S., which generated over 2.2 billion tonnes of CO₂ emissions.

Price continued, “With the EPA’s proposed regulations for existing power plants, we are witnessing a marked shift in attitude in the United States to effectively regulate harmful carbon pollution. By enforcing concrete emission reduction targets, the meeting of which we believe will depend to a large extent on the use of remedial technologies, the new regulations have the potential to substantially expand the market for carbon capture technologies. Our enzymatic technology, backed by an extremely robust patent portfolio, is positioned to provide a retrofitable solution for these power plants, where their CO₂ emissions can be efficiently captured and sequestered, or profitably reused for existing needs such as Enhanced Oil Recovery.”

About CO2 Solutions Inc.
CO2 Solutions is an innovator in the field of enzyme-enabled carbon capture and has been actively working to develop and commercialize the technology for stationary sources of carbon pollution. CO2 Solutions’ technology lowers the cost barrier to Carbon Capture, Sequestration and Utilization (CCSU), positioning it as a viable CO₂ mitigation tool, as well as enabling industry to derive profitable new products from these emissions. CO2 Solutions has built an extensive patent portfolio covering the use of carbonic anhydrase, or analogues thereof, for the efficient post-combustion capture of carbon dioxide with low‐energy aqueous solvents.

Contact
CO2 Solutions
Thom Skinner
Phone 418-842-3456, ext. 223
E-Mail: [email protected]

Source: CO2 Solutions, press release, 2014-06-05.