Valence Technology, Inc announced today that the Opposition Board of the European Patent Office has revoked the University of Texas’ European patent for lithium metal phosphates on the basis of lack of novelty. This decision is good news for Valence because it allows the company to further develop and market its own proprietary lithium iron magnesium phosphate cathode material for electric car batteries. However, UT could choose to appeal the decision.

In the press release, Robert L. Kanode, Valence’s president and CEO, commented on the importance of the decision to his company:

“Today’s decision by the European Patent Office was an important one for our company. By revoking the European Patent, the cloud of any possible patent infringement claim under the UT European Patent has been removed affirming Valence’s unrestricted right to market its unique, patented lithium phosphate powder batteries in Europe. The decision will allow us to more fully pursue European OEMs, who are the world leaders in electric vehicles. We have already established the proven performance and supply capability for our innovative battery solutions, and now our unrestricted right to market our proprietary lithium phosphate based energy storage solutions in Europe has been confirmed.”