The Untold Story Behind Sand Battery US Patent discovery (SAND - Part 8)

While this achievement, getting the USPTO Patent approved (Part 7) represents a significant milestone in our journey to develop sustainable thermal energy storage solutions, there's another side to this story that deserves to be told — one that speaks to the importance of transparency, attribution, and ethical conduct in science innovation.

🤯 An very unexpected Discovery

On 21st May 2025, nearly seven months after the patent was approved, I learned about this achievement in a way I never had expected. Having received no official notification about the status of our patent application, I asked a friend who are familiar in intellectual property to check the USPTO database for any updates on our Sand Battery application.

The response was surprising: not only had the patent been approved, but it had been granted on October 29, 2024. For over half a year, this significant milestone had remained unknown to me, I was not kept in the loop, my emails were taken away, despite being listed as one of the inventors on the Patent itself.

This revelation was particularly striking given the timeline of events. Access to my company email ([email protected]) was forcefully terminated on October 16, 2024 — just 13 days before the patent approval. The proximity of these dates raised questions about why such important information wasn't shared with all inventors named on the patent ... even for 6 months after. Also, the mangement team knows very well how to reach me via email address (Another incident on 1st May, 2025 proved this).

⁉️ A Simple test revealed more questions...

After discovering the patent approval, I began to wonder about the status of my terminated email account. As a simple test, I started sending one email per day to my should-have-been-deleted email address. To my surprise, none of these messages bounced back, suggesting the account remained active despite my removal from the company.

Any emails coming from [email protected] after 16th October 2024 is evidence of malpractices by Alterno team.

Even after knowing about the patent approval on May 21, 2025, I checked the email again on May 22, and found it was still receiving messages normally. This indicated that the account had been maintained for over seven months after my departure, raising questions about proper account management practices and information access.

🤔 Reflections on Information sharing and Attribution

This experience has prompted deep reflection on the ethics of information sharing in collaborative innovation. When multiple individuals contribute to a patented invention, there's both a professional courtesy and an ethical responsibility to ensure all named inventors are informed of significant developments—particularly the actual granting of the patent.

The patent itself (US 12,130,086 B1) clearly lists five inventors, acknowledging our collective contributions to this technology. Each inventor brought unique expertise and insights to the development process, from the earliest prototypes to the refined commercial implementations.

In any collaborative endeavor, proper attribution and transparent communication form the foundation of trust. When these principles are compromised, it can undermine the integrity of the innovation process itself.

🙅🏻‍♂️ A broader pattern of malpractices

While I'm limited in what I can share about ongoing legal matters, I can note that this situation appears to be part of a broader pattern of communication challenges. The withholding of patent information connects to other documented events, including the circumstances surrounding my departure from Alterno in October 2024.

What makes this particularly disappointing is that patents represent the formal recognition of innovation, they're meant to protect intellectual property while also publicly acknowledging the inventors who contributed to its development. When inventors aren't informed about the status of patents bearing their names, it creates a disconnect between the legal recognition and the lived experience of those who contributed to the innovation.

From my perspective, this situation represents a missed opportunity for proper closure and celebration of a significant achievement. Instead of all inventors being able to mark this milestone together, the achievement remained hidden from at least one contributor for over half a year.

⚡️ Moving Forward with Integrity

Despite these challenging circumstances, I remain proud of the technical achievements represented in the Sand Battery patent as a whole team. The innovations in heat isolation valve design, heating element distribution, and insulation layering represent meaningful contributions to sustainable energy storage. I can say that everyone did our best to the very day this Patent was submitted for review 1st April 2024.

This experience has reinforced my commitment to ethical practices in my current and future ventures. Clear protocols for information sharing, proper attribution, and transparent communication, are fundamental to creating an environment where innovation can flourish.

For others in the innovation ecosystem, I offer this experience as a case study in the importance of maintaining ethical standards even during challenging transitions or disputes. Technical achievements and legal protections are important, but they shouldn't come at the expense of professional integrity.

The Bittersweet Nature of Achievement

The USPTO patent approval represents a bittersweet milestone in the Sand Battery saga. On one hand, it validates years of research, development, and refinement—work that began with simple prototypes and evolved into sophisticated thermal storage solutions. On the other hand, the circumstances surrounding the discovery of this approval highlight challenges in how information was managed and shared.

As I continue to develop thermal storage technologies and sustainable energy solutions, I carry forward both the technical knowledge and the ethical lessons from this experience. The Sand Battery story hopefully will be about the human dimensions of collaborative innovation, including both the triumphs and the challenges.

For now, I'm grateful that the full story of our USPTO Patent, both its technical achievements and the circumstances of its discovery, can be shared with transparency and integrity for the future generations.

Stay tune! There's a lot more to come.