Alternative energy firm wins patents
A Cambridge company developing technology to make ethanol more efficiently said it has been granted two key US patents.
Joule Unlimited Technologies has made significant progress toward its goal of finding a way to produce 25,000 gallons of ethanol per acre, spokeswoman Felicia Spagnoli said yesterday.
The alternative energy fuel is made from various sources, including corn. The company uses microorganisms that capture carbon dioxide from industrial sources, such as factories, and manipulates them to create ethanol as a product of photosynthesis.
The new patents will allow Joule to increase the microorganisms’ productivity.
“We really see this as the future of renewable ethanol,’’ Spagnoli said.
Joule was granted patents in September for a similar process to produce diesel. It now has six patents and 70 pending.
