Innovations
Patent applications: Asia for battery technology far ahead
The auto industry is Germany’s most important branch of industry. In an important field of innovation, other nations have taken over the technological leadership.
In the battery technology that is important for the future of the auto industry, companies from South Korea, China and Japan are expanding their lead. The number of published patent applications from the three Asian countries in 2024 increased much more than the previous year than those of German companies, research institutions and private finders. This emerges from numbers that the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) has published in its new annual report.
Most of the battery innovations from Asia
The registrations published by the German and the neighboring European Patent Office were evaluated. Double registrations are calculated. Accordingly, in the past year, they increased a total of 7,242 in battery technology last year. The growth was largely due to the lively development activity in Asia: First of all, South Korea was with an increase of 10.3 percent and 1,817 registrations.
LG, Catl and Samsung in front
China followed in second place with an increase of 22.6 percent and 1,591 patent applications in battery technology. Japan in third place overtook Germany with 1,136 registrations, an increase of 7.8 percent. The German battery technology registrations only increased by 1.9 percent to 1,112. The three largest single anniversary were the Korean Group LG, the Chinese battery manufacturer Catl and Samsung, also located in South Korea.
German developers in solar technology leaders
The patent balance in solar technology is gratifying from a German perspective: the patent applications increased by 15.1 percent in 2024. Although the large mass of the solar modules sold in Germany is produced in China, Germany is still involved in the further development of the technology: According to DPMA, domestic registrations increased by 57.3 percent to 184, that was the first place before China. However, this also includes new carrying constructs for the installation of solar modules. According to DPMA, it is striking that private inventors contributed almost 30 percent of German registrations. In other technology fields, tinkering inventors play in their own workshop hardly hung a role anymore.
The analyzes of the German Patent Office reflect the technical development with a certain delay, since patent applications are only published after a period of 18 months.
dpa
Source: Stern
