German Patent and Trademark Office: injecting new impetus into renewable energy innovation

Analysis by the German Patent and Trademark Office shows that published patent applications related to solar technology, wind energy, etc. have increased by one-fifth, and innovative activities related to battery technology are very active.

After years of stagnation, there has been a considerable increase in innovation activities related to renewable energy. The German Intellectual Property Office announced that the number of patent applications for renewable energy technologies such as solar energy and wind energy in 2024 was 1,289, an increase of 18.6% over last year. Among them, in the field of solar technology, the number of patent applications increased by 32.7%, which was particularly significant. There were 597 applications in this technology field, exceeding wind power generation (540, +2.3%). At the same time, there was also a considerable increase in applications in hydropower, wave and tidal power generation, geothermal energy, biogas and other energy sources. However, the absolute number of applications in these two fields is far lower than that of solar technology and wind energy.

The development of high-capacity storage systems such as batteries is essential to maximize the widespread use of renewable energy. As a result, this area is full of innovation, with 6,192 patent applications in 2023, almost a third more than the previous year (+30.8%) and three times the number of battery technology patent applications ten years ago.

Germany and China on par in solar technology

An important reason for the sharp increase in the number of renewable energy applications is China's strong innovative dynamism, especially in solar technology. In this area, applications from China increased from 56 to 117 (+108.9%), bringing China to the same level as Germany. Applications from Germany also increased significantly, although to a much lesser extent (+11.4%). China's share of total applications increased from 12.4% to 19.5%, while Germany's share fell from 23.3% to 19.5%. Last year, these two countries led in solar technology, followed by the United States, France and Japan.

In the field of wind turbines, Denmark once again took first place with 197 applications (-9.6%). Germany came in second with 105 applications and a small increase of 2.9%. As in solar technology, Germany's share of total applications was 19.5%. It was followed by Spain (68, +6.3%) and the United States (31, -13.9%). China ranked fifth with 28 applications. Although the absolute number of applications from China is still low, there is also great dynamism in the field of wind turbines (+75%).

In solar technology, the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission topped the list with 24 applications, while in wind turbines, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy A/S from Denmark ranked first with 79 applications.

China and South Korea are ahead of rivals in battery technology

In the international ranking, two Asian countries with high growth rates in battery technology applications have further surpassed their competitors: South Korea ranked first with 1,638 applications (+40.5%) in 2023, followed by China (1,313, +78.8%). This means that nearly half (47.6%) of all battery technology patent applications published last year came from these two countries. Germany, which ranked third, lagged far behind in terms of application growth (1,091, +15.6%). Japan (1,043, +8.4%) and the United States (637, +22.4%) ranked fourth and fifth respectively.

Thus, Korean companies LG Energy Solutions (1,011) and Samsung SDI (208) ranked first and third respectively, and Korean and Chinese companies also took the top spot. The second place was the Chinese company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (565), followed by Volkswagen (203) and Japanese company Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (198).