Recently, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) released a report on Hydrogen fuel cells in transportation, which provides insights into patent activities and covers online news, press releases, and information on the financial reports of companies in the field of hydrogen fuel cells in transportation. The following are excerpts from the report's key findings:

There are 52,433 patent family applications for fuel cells in transportation, accounting for 1/4 of the total number of fuel cell-related patent applications. Among the 52,433 patent family applications, 32,018 patent families contain at least one approved patent.

Fuel cell-related patent applications for transportation are highly concentrated in 5 countries, 96% of patent families contain at least one patent application filed with the Patent Office in Japan, the United States, China, South Korea, Germany, Europe or WIPO. On the whole, 62% of patent families file applications in only one patent office, with Japan and mainland China each accounting for 1/5. In terms of the nationality of inventors, mainland China, Japan, the United States and Germany account for 89% of all patents in this field.

Since 2016, hydrogen fuel cell technology for transportation has started to flourish, China, Japan and Germany are the main source countries of patent applications in this field. From 2016 to 2020, the number of patent applications in the field of hydrogen fuel cells increased by 23.4%. In 2020, applicants from mainland China submitted 7,261 cases, accounting for 69%, followed by Japan with 1,186 cases (11.3%) , Germany with 646 cases (6.2%), South Korea with 583 (5.6%) and the United States with 403 (3.8%). Mainland China is currently the largest source of patent applications related to hydrogen fuel cells in transportation. In the past 2 to 3 years, Mainland China accepted a great amount of patent applications, including patent applications submitted by natives or from Japan, US, Korean and German. Although inventors from mainland Chinese account for a large proportion, not many companies rank among the top in terms of overall patent portfolios. Companies with the most applications are mostly from Japan, South Korea, Germany and the United States. However, this situation could be changed rapidly if mainland Chinese companies continue to apply for patents in large numbers.

According to the report, almost a quarter of the world's direct carbon dioxide emissions are produced by transportation, but the recent surge in the popularity of electric vehicles, combined with other indicators, shows that consumers are ready to embrace technological development to combat climate change.

The top 30 applicants accounted for 40% of the total number of fuel cell patent applications in transportation, and only one research institution of the Chinese Academy of Sciences was on the list among the top 30 applicants. However, the number of patent applications from universities and research institutes has increased over the past few years, with universities in mainland China very active in this field, and related patent applications from universities in the United States, South Korea, Japan and Europe. In addition to patent applications, some universities and research institutions are also in active collaboration, not only with industry, but also with other academic partners.

Based on the analysis, the main applications of hydrogen and fuel cells in transportation focused on road transportation, while sea transportation, air transportation and special vehicles only account for a small part. However, niche markets like special vehicles such as construction vehicles, stackers and airport trailers are also in rapid development.

Patent data shows that hydrogen fuel cell vehicle technology is quite active, and companies have invested heavily in carbon reduction. Due to the high energy efficiency of battery-powered vehicles, companies are focusing on making inroad for battery-powered electric vehicles into market, for the purpose of accelerating climate mitigation goals. Nevertheless, in terms of patent data, heavy-duty vehicles are a potential market for hydrogen fuel cells, and hydrogen's high energy density offers advantages over general batteries due to the payload required for heavy-duty vehicles.

Hydrogen energy is expected to play an important role in transforming the aviation industry into a zero-carbon industry in the future 20 years. The press release issued by Airbus in 2022 indicated that hydrogen fuel cell is one of the most promising technologies. Airbus is the major aircraft manufacturers of fuel cells in aviation, with an increase in patent applications since 2019.

As enterprises are to blame for their carbon dioxide emissions in their supply and logistics chains, they have pledged to realize zero-carbon shipping by 2040 to accelerate the decarbonization of the polluting maritime industry, with about 90% of global trade by sea, which accounts for the global 3% of emissions. The use of fuel cells in marine transportation is growing slowly, the same with aviation. In view of the long average lifespan of ships and the recent adoption of LNG technology for marine fuels, fuel cell development in this area is expected to be limited.

Compared with battery-powered trains, hydrogen-powered trains have several advantages like fast change of fuel and farther travel distance. Hydrogen-powered trains are currently seen in Germany, Japan and the UK. In 2018, Siemens Mobility introduced German first hydrogen-powered train, and in March 2022, East Japan Railway has also begun to test hydrogen-powered trains.

From Tai E International Patent & Law Office

June 2022