Energy technology
China takes EU lead in power grid patent applications
The EU and Japan have dominated power grid patents over the past decade. Recently, new momentum has come into this topic from China.
China is driving forward the development of power grid technologies. The country replaced the EU as the largest applicant of international patent families in this field in 2022, according to a study by the European Patent Office (EPO) together with the International Energy Agency (IEA). In addition, it is primarily due to developments in China that there has been an increase in registrations in recent years after a long period of stagnation.
“The data shows encouraging growth in innovations in the expansion and maintenance of critical network infrastructure. China is leading the growth in this area and is providing more competitive pressure for other regions,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. However, if you look at the slightly longer period from 2011 to 2022, China is only in fourth place in terms of the number of patents with a share of 12 percent – behind the EU and Japan, which each account for around 22 percent of the patents, and the USA with 20 Percent. Germany alone is only just behind China at 11 percent.
This is also reflected in the company ranking: At the top, with Siemens, ABB from Switzerland and General Electric from the USA, companies from the EU, the rest of Europe and the USA are almost on a par. Five Japanese companies follow at some distance. Huawei, the strongest Chinese company, only follows in twelfth place – while another German company, Bosch, barely makes it into the top ten.
dpa
Source: Stern
