2004

February 3, 2004: Initial US Patent on GFC Recieved by IEP

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued patent No. 6,864,948 "Apparatus and Method for Heating Subterranean Formations Using Fuel Cells"--assigned to IEP by inventor Marshall T. Savage (IEP's Vice President of Technology Development). Awarded claims under this broad patent, inlcuding follow-on Continuation-In-Parts (CIP) filings on the Geothermic Fuel Cell  (GFC) method cover all underground heating applications of fuel cells that are fed air and fuel from the surface--including most prominently the production of oil/gas from subterranean formations containing hydrocarbons.

October 15, 2004: IEP Files for Canadian Patents on GFC

In accordance the the International Patent Treaty, IEP filed a patent application with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (Filing no. 2,484,887) to obtain GFC patent coverage in Canada comparable to the patent protection IEP holds in the U.S. This is in recognition of the substantial potential application of the GFC for recovery of oil from tar sands and other unconventional resources that are located in Cananda. IEP now has patent pending status in Canada.

2005

January 24, 2005: Roger Wertheimer Joins IEP Management Team

Roger Wertheimer joined the IEP management team as Vice President and General Counsel, and will serve as Corporate Secretary for the Board. Roger brings to IEP extensive experience in securities and contractural law and is licensed to practice law in Colorado and Ohio. Reflecting this background, Roger will manage IEP's negotiation of commercial terms with strategic partners, vendors, investors and landowners, in addition to overseeing all of IEP's legal matters.

April 13, 2005: IEP Retains Sage Geotech for Technical Assessments

IEP retained the consulting firm of Sage Geotech if Rifle, Colorado to produce two technical assessments. The two reports address IEP's GFC In-Situ method for hydrocarbon production from oil shale and the potential oil recovery from a parcel of oil shale resource that IEP is investigating. The reports are to be authored by Sage Geotech principal Gary Aho, a well-known expert with decades of experience in the oil shale arena.

August 31, 2005: IEP Secures Mineral Rights on Colorado Oil Shale Property

IEP entered into an agreement with a group of private landowners that hold mineral interets in Rio Blanco County, Colorado. Under the agreement, IEP has secured the exclusive right to produce energy from the oil shale resources on the property. This property is located near the richest part of the Piceance Creek Basin, and contains more than 1.5 Billion barrels of oil and oil equivalent.

2006

March 1, 2006: IEP Announces Agreement with Battelle for Geothermic Fuel Cell Prototype Development

IEP has concluded negotiations with Battelle, operator for the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington for prototype development of IEP's patented Geothermic Fuel Cell application. The comprehensive Statement of Work includes detailed computer modeling to optimize GFC efficiencies and establish design parameters for commercialization and various stages of bench testing culminating in the development and demonstration of a working GFC prototype ready for 'In-Situ' oil shale applications.

After extensive due diligence in which numerous fuel cell and other research laboratories were interviewed and considered, IEP determined that Battelle presented the ideal mix of laboratory, scientific and engineering expertise. "We were particularly impressed with their background and strengths in the areas of fuel cell development , geothermic modeling and reservoir analysis needed to support IEP's GFC application with initial emphasis for use in this country's vast oil shale resources", said Alan K. Forbes, IEP's founder and CEO.

2007

February 27, 2007: US PTO Issues Continuation-In-Parts Patent for GFC

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued US Patent No. 7,182,132 B2-Linearly Scalable Geothermic Fuel Cells providing numerous additional claims to IEP's original patent. Awarded claims under this 'Continuation-In-Parts filing add depth and breadth to the various applications for IEP's Geothermic Fuel Cell: in particular in-situ recovery of hydrocarbon resources.

2008

Augsut 27, 2008: Independent Energy Partners, Inc. Enters Agreement with Total Petroleum

Independent Energy Parnters Inc., (IEP) has entered into an agreement with Total Petroleum (TOTAL) for the development of IEP's Geothermic Fuel Cell (FC) technology and related applications. In addition to financial support, TOTAL will provide IEP and its other techncial and strategic partners ongoing technical contributions under a technology collaboration agreement. The terms of the agreement were held confidential.

September 3, 2008: Kick Off Meeting with Battelle/Pacific Northwest National Labs for Phase I Design and Engineering for IEP's Geothermic Fuel Cell

IEP and TOTAL attend kick off meeting with senior staff at PNNL to begin design, engineering, analysis and modeling work to commercialize IEP's Geothermic Fuel Cell application. Detailed review of design and operating criteria, along with Phase I schedule and deliverables were agreed upon with work directed to commence immediately.

2009

September 16, 2009: Total Petroleum commits to participate in ongoing funding

Total Petroleum has issued a commitment letter exercisng their option under current agreements to be a 25% participant in IEP's on-going funding for the commercializatin of IEP's Geothermic Fuel Cell technology. This is in addition to Total's earlier financial and technical support.

October 14, 2009: IEP signs Technology License Agreement

IEP and Vineyard Resources, a successful technology and resource developer, sign major Technology License Agreement for the use of IEP's GFC application. Terms of the Agreement are directed at specific US and foreign resource development opportunities.

December 15, 2009: Canadian Intellectual Property Office Issues Patent for GFC

Canadian patents have been issued to IEP for its GFC technology. Formal issued patents have been received from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office; Canadian Patent No. 2,484,887, dated December 15, 2009--20 years. This Canadian patent combines all of the claims of the previously issued patents in the US.

2010

January 10, 2010: Dr. Gary L. McVay joins IEP as Technical Advisor

Dr. Gary L. McVay has joined IEP as a techncial advisor and will provide key guidance on Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) comercialization and strategic SOFC industry partnerships. Dr. McVay's distinguished career includes senior management positions at DOE's Pacific Northwest, Sandia and Argonne National Labs. His current position as Manager, Fuel Cell Programs for the Energy Environment Directorate at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) includes divison-level strategic planning and major buisness developemnt where he has developed several strategic programs includng the Northwest Alliance for Transportation Technologies (NATT), High Tempurature Electrochemistry Center, Zero Emissions Research and Technology Center and the Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA). 

January 25, 2010: John R. Brown joins IEP in Corporate Finance

John R. Brown has been engaged by IEP to provide a broad range of services in areas of corporate finance. John's extensive background and experience in CFO positions includes all accounting and finance functions, equity offerings, valuations, M & A , business planning and managing relationships with banks and investors.

April 14, 2010: IEP and Uintah Resources Inc. form Joint Venture

Uintah Colorado Patners, LLC has been formed between Independent Energy Partners, Inc. and Uintah Resources Inc. in connection with the Uintah Gateway project. The new joint venture provides for the development of intial 1.9 billion barrels of oil shale resources and mid-stream upgrading/refining and pipeline to market for oil production from IEP's mineral leases in Colorado. The agreemsnts include firm commitments at the Upgrader refinery facility , pipeline capacity and purchase of produced oil.