4M Carbon Fiber Corp. (4M) announced today that a new patent for the Company’s plasma oxidation technology was issued by the South Korean Patent Office on April 8, 2020. The patent covers 4M’s use of the plasma oxidation process in that country. This further strengthens the protection and exclusivity 4M has on its technology around the world. 4M already has five issued patents in the United States and multiple other patents issued worldwide.
“The issuance of this patent came without any rejections from the Korean Patent Office, which is rare. We believe that this clearly shows the true uniqueness of the technology,” Dr. Truman Bonds, 4M’s CTO commented. “Both carbon fiber production and consumption are growing in South Korea, and we are excited to be granted patent protection there.”
Interest continues to grow from the carbon fiber industry as 4M prepares to utilize its proprietary plasma oxidation technology to meet the growing worldwide demand for carbon fiber. Compared to conventional oxidation, plasma oxidation is three times faster and uses less than one third the energy, leading to reduced manufacturing costs and increased throughput.