The power industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by the increasing global demand for power, increased preference for large-scale installations, huge potential for wind power, and increased renewable energy auctions, wind turbine blade expansion-, high strength, and low weight, and growing importance of technologies such as wind turbines, offshore wind, and onshore wind. In the last three years alone, there have been over 656,000 patents filed and granted in the power industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Advanced materials in power: fiber-reinforced turbine blades. Buy the report here.
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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 70,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the power industry, there are 40+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Fiber-reinforced turbine blades is a key innovation area in advanced materials
Fiber-reinforced composites in wind turbine blades are widely used in the production of large-scale wind turbines. Glass fibers and carbon fibers are the most widely utilized reinforcements due to their versatility and diverse characteristics. Glass fiber-reinforced plastics (GRP) are the most often utilized types of composite material in the wind turbine industry.
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GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 30+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established power companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of fiber-reinforced turbine blades.
Key players in fiber-reinforced turbine blades – a disruptive innovation in the power industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of applications identified for each patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of countries each patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to fiber-reinforced turbine blades
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Vestas Wind Systems is one of the leading patent filers in fiber-reinforced composite turbine blades. Vestas is a renewable energy company. It designs, manufactures, installs, and provides services to onshore and offshore power converters, wind turbines, blades, and towers. The company’s solutions encompass parts and repair to preventive inspections and advanced repairs. The service offerings of Vestas include data-driven consultancy, fleet optimization, blade maintenance and inspection, power generator repairs, and gearbox exchange. It partners with customers to monitor wind energy production and performance of the wind power plant throughout its lifetime.
In terms of application diversity, Swancor Holding leads the pack. BASF and Safran stand in second and third positions, respectively.
By means of geographic reach, Aloys Wobben Foundation, Wobben Properties, Arkema, and Neptco are some of the leading patent filers in fiber-reinforced composite turbine blades.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the power industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Power.
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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
