According to a patent joint study by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the International Energy Agency (IEA), "The future of clean energy - hydrogen patents", the development of hydrogen technology is shifting towards low-emission solutions such as electrolysis.
The study measures key trends in hydrogen technology from 2011 to 2020 based on International Patent Families (IPFs), each representing a high-value invention, including patent applications that have been filed at two or more patent offices around the world.
The report finds that global hydrogen patent filings, led by the EU and Japan, which accounted for 28% and 24% of all IPFs filed during this period, respectively, have grown significantly over the past decade. The main countries in Europe are Germany (11% of the global total), France (6%) and the Netherlands (3%).
The US holds 20% of all hydrogen-related patents and has been the only major center of innovation in international hydrogen patent filings over the past decade. In South Korea and China, international patenting activity for hydrogen technologies remains modest but is increasing. In addition to these five major innovation hubs, other countries generating large numbers of hydrogen patents include the UK, Switzerland and Canada.
During the period 2011-2020, hydrogen production technology has the highest number of hydrogen patents. While global hydrogen production is currently almost entirely fossil-based, patent data show that low-emissions innovations across all segments of the hydrogen value chain generate more than twice as many international patents as mature technologies.
Technologies driven by climate concerns accounted for nearly 80% of all patents related to hydrogen production in 2020, with growth driven primarily by a sharp increase in innovation in electrolysis. The most innovative regions are now racing to host the first industrial rollout phase, with data suggesting that Europe is gaining ground as a region to invest in new electrolyser manufacturing capacity.
Universities and public research institutions generated 13.5% of all hydrogen-related international patents in 2011-2020, led by France and South Korea, with a focus on low-emission hydrogen production methods such as electrolysis.
The study found that more than half of the $10 billion in venture capital investment in hydrogen companies from 2011-2020 went to patent-holding start-ups, although they accounted for less than a third of start-ups. Patent holdings are a good indicator of whether start-ups will continue to attract funding: Over 80% of late-stage investments in hydrogen start-ups in 2011-2020 went to companies that have already filed patent applications in areas such as electrolysis, fuel cells or A low-emissions method of producing hydrogen from gas.
