Hacker News Reader

Interesting, doesn't say much about the patented corrosion prevention that would enable the storage of the molten sodium hydroxide.

View on HN

Molten NaOH will oxidize many metals, including nickel and iron, so maybe cathodic protection?

Yes, that's what it looks like: https://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2020/0105424.html

It seems unfortunate that it's possible to patent something so well documented:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathodic_protection

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic_anode

It’s a well documented problem that many groups have tried various technical approaches to mitigate over 100,000 hour operating windows.

It’s not too surprising that a particular implementation that has various benefits compared to the existing state of the art would be patentable.

Isn't the point that a patented process is documented as part of the patent application? Industrial processes and materials seem like a great use of patents from my POV. Psychology and biology I'm more concerned with.

Well it says that's the company's core IP, so...

Presumably the fundamentals are patented and not a trade secret. I could see parts of the manufacturing process being a trade secret.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com