Clean energy inventions fuel surge in European Patent Office applications

Patent filings at the European Patent Office rose 2.9% in 2023

The European Patent Office received a record 199,275 applications in 2023, an increase that was partly driven by a surge in applications from the clean energy technology field.

Overall applications to the EPO, which grants patents in up to 45 countries, increased by 2.9 per cent in 2023, in a trend that was also fuelled by applications from areas including digital communications and medical technologies.

Patent applications from electrical machinery, apparatus and energy inventions, which includes clean energy and battery technologies, jumped by 12.2 per cent to 15,304 submissions. The number of applications in this category has increased every year since 2015.

“Innovation for tackling global challenges is on the rise, with many of the latest advances building on digital and green technologies for a healthier, more connected world,” the EPO said. “New synergies are emerging that cut across sectors, often driven by artificial intelligence and the need for cleaner, more energy-efficient solutions.”

South Korean technology giant LG Group was the top applicant in the electrical and energy field, submitting 1,372 patent applications last year, while China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology, a battery maker, came a distant second with 563. 

You can read the EPO’s findings here.