Birchtech Secures $78 Million Patent Settlement to Fund Water Purification Expansion

Birchtech Corp., a clean tech company focused on sustainable air and water treatment, received a judge's decision in its patent lawsuit, with the final judgment expected to be approximately $78 million. U.S. District Court Judge Christopher J. Burke issued a final opinion and called for a proposed final judgement following the March 2024 patent infringement jury verdict against refined coal companies. The court's decision resolved the final outstanding issues, including motions affecting the final calculation of the judgment amount. While the court didn't increase the verdict amount based on defendants' willful infringement, it did increase the judgment amount by awarding pre-judgment interest compounded quarterly at the prime rate and post-judgment interest.

Richard MacPherson, CEO of Birchtech, stated that the news is an unequivocal validation of the company's patented technology claims. The federal court's acknowledgement will allow for a significant increase in market share across the U.S. coal-fired power fleet, which has the potential to double over the next couple of years. As the company seeks to establish solid business relationships with utilities currently using and others believed to be using its patented technologies for mercury emissions capture, it expects to gain numerous new licenses and/or supply contracts, which typically extend between 3-5 years. In addition to the $78 million Birchtech anticipates, interest will accrue each day until it is paid, with the court ordering the final judgment to be submitted no later than December 23.

The final judgement is a culmination of patent infringement lawsuits dating back to July 2019 against 43 defendants, including four major power utilities and numerous refined coal companies. Birchtech obtained a pre-trial settlement with defendants AJ Gallagher, DTE and a CERT defendant in late 2023. Following the jury trial in the U.S. District Court of Delaware with remaining CERT defendants, Birchtech was awarded $57 million, with the judge finding willful infringement, along with inducing and contributory infringement. In July 2024, the company filed three separate lawsuits against 14 defendants, which were consolidated and centralized in the Southern District of Iowa in December 2024. The Iowa lawsuit currently includes two remaining defendants following the release of a number of other defendants who each obtained license agreements with Birchtech.

While the patents relate to Birchtech's clean air technologies business, proceeds from the settlement are geared toward expanding and growing its water purification business. MacPherson said the money from the settlement will help the company aggressively move forward with its new technologies in water purification to remove harmful contaminants, such as PFAS, or forever chemicals from potable drinking water more efficiently, sustainably and affordably than current alternatives. The water purification unit already has purchase orders totaling $900,000 from a mid-Atlantic power utility. The company also inked a deal with Civil & Environmental Consultants Inc. to provide testing to its utility customers and said it has a pipeline full of potential water treatment solutions projects with utilities.

MacPherson emphasized that with a solid core business built from the recurring revenue base in mercury emissions technologies, and increasing momentum in new water purification technologies, the next 12 to 18 months will see the execution of a series of operational catalysts that have the potential to create sustainable value for shareholders over the long-term. This settlement not only validates Birchtech's intellectual property but provides substantial capital to address growing concerns about water contamination, particularly from persistent chemicals like PFAS that have raised public health alarms nationwide.