GE Ventures Licensing accelerates innovation and growth for partners by providing access to GE technologies and inventions through licensing and joint development partnerships. GE Ventures Licensing offers unique opportunities to bring GE’s large and diverse portfolio of intellectual property out of GE’s global research labs and into the world to solve partner challenges.
The Way We Work
Technology Transfer
Combining the expertise and know-how from GE’s Global Research Centers and 3,000 scientists and engineers with an average 2,400 patents filed annually, GE’s partners have the ability to utilize GE’s proven technologies and drive innovation for products through new applications.
Patent Licensing
GE holds more than 48,000 active patents globally that cover a broad spectrum of invention and technology applications. Through patent licensing, GE’s partners are able to license GE technology inventions and investments to create new solutions that may help them enter new markets and accelerate their time to revenue.
Through partnerships we are putting our technology to work and creating new opportunities for business growth.
The Challenge
The cooling fan is one of the bulkiest, noisiest and power hungry components in electronic devices. They are also indispensable. Electronic devices like computers need cooling fans to jettison heat generated by powerful processors. Without cooling fans electronic devices would quickly fry up.
The Technology
Scientists at GE Global Research have developed a small device that provides an advanced cooling solution for electronic devices. The devices, created from GE’s DCJ technology, are half as thick as conventional cooling fans and use half the amount of energy.
GE’s DCJ technology was originally adapted from technology that GE researchers developed for commercial jet engines to control airflow in more optimal ways for improved efficiency.
The Partnership
GE has partnered with Aavid Thermalloy, a world leader in thermal technologies, to commercialize GE’s patented DCJ technology. Aavid provides advanced cooling solutions to a wide range of end markets, from consumer electronics and high-end computing to industrial systems, transportation and renewable energy. As part of the agreement, GE will work closely with Aavid to bring DCJ-based products to market.
The Challenge
Every year, GE Aviation recycles about 24 tons of high pressure turbine blades from GE jet engines. To date, the platinum bearing coating on these blades has been lost as a result. This coating needs to be removed prior to recycling the blades without damaging the underlying high value metal in order for it to be recycled as well. Rather than throwing out the valuable metal removed from their surface, GE commissioned the Global Research Center to find a way that would strip the layers selectively one by one.
The Technology
GE Global Research developed a proprietary method that efficiently strips and separates the platinum from the blades and allows it to be recycled. The method dissolves the coating and leaves a platinum residue on the blades. The deposit can be easily rubbed off with water to form a muddy substance called platinum black “smut.” The smut, which is 49 percent pure platinum, can be easily processed and refined.
The Partnership
GE Ventures along with GE Aviation identified trusted partner, ELG Utica Alloys, to license and commercialize the technology. ELG, the first company to license the Global Research Center’s platinum recovery technology, is currently preparing it for its commercial debut. After stripping the coatings from GE’s blades, ELG will send the smut to a platinum refinery, which will give GE a gram-for-gram credit for all the platinum the black paste holds. ELG recycles blades from other manufacturers as well, and the GE technology can recover platinum from all.
Licensing Team
