"Let me turn the question to you… if exxon was not going to go ahead with fcel, why give them 6 months? Why wouldn’t they just end it there ?"
might have something to do with fcel having a penchant for suing their partners when things dont go their way....IF Exxon doesnt resign fcel, they will continue on with ccs, even using the tech they co-developed with fcel...
my guess is fcel wont like that...my guess is Exxon knows that...thus the 6 month probation period giving fcel an opportunity to show their worth...after which Exxon can say they didnt meet the tech milestones, failed with groton and toyota and failed in S. Korea which lead to a lawsuit...
"Second, there are a lot of protections out in place of ownership of technology, patents, logistics etc in the contracts that would prevent exxon from carbon capture in the way that fcel is executing it."
in my brief d/d, i found articles that indicate that fcel signed away much of their protection when they contracted with Exxon...fcel was in dire straits and Exxon was a lifeline...Exxon courted them and whispered sweet nothings in their ear...fcel basically signed a pre-nup and now comes the divorce...
and theres just no getting away from the fact that for more than 6 yrs, Exxon and fcel have been collaborating on research and development...that also gives Exxon rights...
"“The research by ExxonMobil and FuelCell Energy"
and there you go...the research they co-developed...
"To further progress this technology, ExxonMobil is working to prove this technology at scale through a demonstration unit at its Rotterdam refinery mentioned above. "
and then they just leave out fcel.....ExxonMobil will prove the tech at ITS Rotterdam refinery...its like Exxon is saying that fcel helped with the research but Exxon is taking it from there...
"I’ve been through this and have seen some of the verbiage and agreements in the gas and oil field. Not to say it’s the same but"
doesnt matter what anyone else does...these are not cookie cutter agreements...different companies, different issues...
"One thing that typically does happen is an exclusivity agreement with the technology that exxon gets to use it for X amount of time."
from what i saw, the agreement was all in Exxon's favor...limits were put on fcel...which makes sense since as i said, fcel had one foot in bankruptcy and the other on a banana peel...when a small company is not doing well and they enter into a contract with a conglomerate like Exxon, the small company does not come out ahead...and they dont tell Exxon what they can do...its the other way around...
like i said...its essentially a prenup...and if theres a divorce...guess who is not going to walk away happy?...
as i recall from what i read, Exxon has ten years to run with the tech...fcel can also use the tech...but they cant take it to some other competitor...but i recall that being a 5 yr period?...
whatever...if Exxon doesnt sign fcel, fcel is screwed...they have to compete with Exxon...and after 5 yrs, whatever patents fcel has will not mean a thing...