EPO releases 2023 annual global offshore wind energy report

EPO releases 2023 annual global offshore wind energy report

1. Patent profit data show that from 2006 to 2012, patent applications in the wind energy field increased significantly, and then slowed down until they stagnated. In 2017, there was a resurgence in the number of patent applications in the wind energy basin. In the field of offshore wind energy, floating foundations, transportation, and mechanical transmission account for the largest number of patents. The patent trends are summarized by keywords as follows:

• The number of offshore wind power inventions is increasing, and judging from patent data, Europe, Asia and the United States will become the dominant markets in the future. Among the top 10 countries with the most applications in the International Patent Family, 7 are European countries, especially Germany and Denmark. The United States ranks third, China and Japan rank fourth and fifth respectively, and South Korea ranks 11th. China leads the way in non-PDF patents that are primarily targeted at the domestic market (i.e. without international protection), reflecting China’s reliance on its huge domestic market for offshore wind.
• Floating base, logistics and green hydrogen attract a large number of patented inventions. Most patents for offshore wind energy focus on three main areas: floating foundations, transportation equipment and turbine installation. But the fourth innovative activity, innovative technologies combining offshore wind power and electrolysers, is attracting more and more attention, which shows that more innovative entities have high hopes for value creation in the large-scale green hydrogen economy.
• Floating foundations could help expand the offshore wind market. Market trends indicate growing interest in developing floating foundations, which will make it possible to install turbines in deep water. A large amount of patent data also confirms this, indicating that in this industry, more and more players are innovating in this technology field.
• Innovations in the design of wind towers and their blades that reduce the need for steel are improving technological sustainability. A growing number of players in the offshore wind industry are looking at alternative wind tower designs that replace concrete and lattice structures, which could potentially reduce the need for steel. In addition, inventors are also exploring modular blade assembly solutions, as well as sustainable and recyclable blades to promote recycling and solve manufacturing and transportation challenges.
• Increased use of rare earth materials in drivetrains. Patent trends indicate that interest in direct drive systems continues to grow due to the effective cost-to-weight-to-power density ratio of rare earth materials. This trend means that the utilization of permanently synchronous magnet generators will increase. Increased use of permanent magnets will in turn lead to increased demand for the rare earth materials needed to make them.
• On-site energy storage and hydrogen production to balance the power system and create additional value. There is growing interest in flexible energy systems to cope with the variability of renewable energy technologies. Patented data on offshore wind technology shows growing interest in energy storage, particularly the combination of offshore wind farms and hydrogen production, which offers the added benefit of aiding decarbonisation activities.
• Absorbing submarine power infrastructure. Demand for transmission infrastructure is also driving innovation activity, and patent data shows there are many corresponding innovations in submarine cables to cost-effectively connect supply and demand.
• A new technology that combines offshore wind energy with other energy hybrid power generation. To expand the potential of offshore wind solutions, there are growing efforts to combine offshore energy generation with other technologies such as photovoltaics or ocean energy. Patent analysis shows that innovation activity in this area has been rising steadily since 2013. This may be attributed to the declining cost of offshore wind, which is a disincentive given the operational and maintenance complexities of offshore wind compared to other marine technologies.

2. Patent application statistics:

• From 2002 to 2022, approximately 17,000 patent families related to offshore wind energy were published, with an average annual growth rate of 18%. It stagnated between 2014 and 2017, but then increased dramatically.
• The country with the largest number of applicants is China (accounting for 52% of the total number of patent families), followed by South Korea (6%), Germany (5%), Japan (5%), the United States (4%) and Denmark (4%).
• 27% of all offshore wind patent families are international patent families (ipf), i.e. do not include single domestic applications. More specifically, 79% of all patent families in European countries are regular patents, compared with 64% in the United States of America. Among Chinese patents, only 4% of patent families are international.
• 67% of international offshore wind patent families include at least one granted patent application.
• 68% of granted European patent applications are valid in at least one Member State. (10% above average)

3. Main innovation entities:

• Vestas, Siemens, General Electric, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Hitachi are the main applicants. Over the past five years, Rheinland Renewable Energy and Itrec have replaced Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Hitachi in the top five.
• France has the largest number of internationally co-operated patent families. The United States has the most diverse cooperation profile, cooperating with 24 countries on a total of 81 patent families, while Germany cooperates with 15 countries on a total of 79 patent families.
• Starting in 2017, Chinese patent applications were cited more and more often, and while most citations came from other Chinese applications (and applicants), there were also applications from Germany, Denmark, and the United States that cited Chinese patent applications, indicating that China The quality of patents has also improved.
• As of 2012, natural person patent applicants accounted for 50% of total patent applications, which is equivalent to corporate applicants. However, since 2012, this proportion has continued to decline, and currently natural person applicants only account for 6%.
• Starting from 2013, it can be seen from the transfer and integration among patent applicants that continuous mergers and acquisitions have led to fewer applicants and a significant reduction in natural person applicants. However, the grant rate is similar to the total number of patent applications, indicating that the quality of applications has not declined. .

4. Main technical fields:

• Floating foundations account for the highest proportion of international patent families, accounting for approximately 49%, followed by transportation, installation and construction, accounting for approximately 26%.
• Combining offshore wind turbines and electrolyzers is an emerging trend, with index numbers doubling between 2020 and 2021, and there are signs this trend will continue in 2022.