Ascend, Samsung SDI settle patent invalidation proceedings
Ascend Performance Materials and Samsung SDI have reached an agreement to end their ongoing global patent invalidation proceedings and enter into a patent license agreement regarding the sale and use of lithium-ion battery additives. Such additives include 1,3,6-hexanetricarbonitrile (HTCN), which is manufactured and sold by Ascend as Trinohex® Ultra.
As part of the agreement, Samsung SDI retains its U.S. patent no. 9,819,057, continues to hold patents in any remaining jurisdictions and grants Ascend a non-exclusive license under these patents. The specific terms and conditions of the agreement remain confidential.
A unique, non-hazardous nitrile, Trinohex Ultra is used to significantly improve battery life, safety and overall performance across cathode chemistries and voltages, even in extreme conditions.
Recently, Ascend Performance Materials successfully challenged a lithium-ion battery technology patent held by Samsung SDI. In a final written decision, the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board held that all of the challenged claims were invalid for multiple reasons.
The board’s decision broadly enables manufacturers to use Trinohex™ Ultra in the United States for their lithium-ion battery electrolyte formulations.
Ascend’s Trinohex Ultra is a globally available, non-hazardous electrolyte additive that improves battery life and overall performance, especially in extreme conditions. Independent testing has shown Trinohex Ultra to be effective in reducing harmful gas generation by over 25% and protecting both current and next-generation lithium-ion battery cathodes from degradation.
“We have tested batteries containing Trinohex Ultra across different cathodes, voltages and electrolyte chemistries,” said David McNeece, Ascend’s business manager for battery chemistry. “Across the board, Trinohex Ultra outperforms competing additives – displaying superior performance in gas generation and capacity retention, which leads to longer-lasting and higher performing batteries in all conditions.”
Based in Houston, Texas, and with regional offices in Shanghai, Brussels and Detroit, Ascend are a fully integrated materials provider with global manufacturing facilities in the United States, Europe and China.
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