Gas Reaction Technologies

April 1999		GRT Inc. was founded as a privately-held Delaware C corporation, spun-off from Avista Resources, Inc. by Dr. Jeffrey Sherman (see Appendix 1). The company objective was to identify and develop new technologies for natural gas conversion to higher value products.

2000-2001		GRT funded research and development at UCSB jointly by GRT employees and UCSB scientists. The discovery in 2001 of the solid reactant technology by the team showed that the production of methanol and dimethyl ether could be achieved from methane. The breakthrough was the identification of unique, regenerable, solid "cataloreactants" used for the selective conversion of bromine- activated hydrocarbons (including natural gas constituents) to higher value fuels and chemicals. Eight U.S. patents were issued and foreign patents were subsequently obtained to protect the intellectual property for commercialization

2001-2004		Demonstration and extension of the methane to methanol and dimethyl ether process to a more general chemical "platform" allowing the production of a variety of products including olefins, alcohols, ethers, epoxides, and aldehydes from natural gas as well as other hydrocarbon feedstocks and the coupling of lighter hydrocarbons for production of olefins and fuels including gasoline from natural gas and natural gas liquids. In 2003 GRT established the first of several research and development agreements with a Fortune 500 company to commercialize specific chemical processes. These revenue generating relationships have provided both operating cash and, more importantly, external validation of the GRT process chemistry concepts. The existing agreements provide for long term licensing revenue to GRT as the processes are moved through pilot plant operations to commercial facilities with our strategic chemical partners.

2004		With the initiation of additional strategic partnerships and joint chemical process development programs, GRT moved its laboratories and corporate offices into a 10,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art laboratory facility with equipment needed to synthesize and test metal oxide cataloreactants in a variety of hydrocarbon conversion processes. A 1 gallon per day capacity reactor scale-up unit was completed and is operating producing liquid fuels.

		July 17, 2008: This webpage is currently being updated.