The power industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by fuel availability, higher efficiency, desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reliability, and growing demand for renewable energy, as well as growing importance of technologies such as energy storage systems, grid integration with renewable energy, and carbon capture and storage. 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 Fuel cells in power: fuel cell power electronics. Buy the report here.
Smarter leaders trust GlobalData
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.
Fuel cell power electronics is a key innovation area in fuel cells
The technology and techniques used to transform the electrical power generated by fuel cells into a form that can be utilized by various applications and devices are referred to as fuel cell power electronics. It entails the design, development, and implementation of converters, inverters, and control systems that enable fuel cell power conversion and distribution to be efficient and reliable.
See Also:
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 110+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established power companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of fuel cell power electronics.
Key players in fuel cell power electronics – 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 fuel cell power electronics
| Company | Total patents (2010 - 2022) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| Panasonic Holdings Corp | 69 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Kyocera Corp | 58 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Meditor European Master Fund Limited | 43 | Unlock Company Profile |
| General Electric Co | 38 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Bloom Energy Corp | 37 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Toshiba Corp | 29 | Unlock Company Profile |
| LG Corp | 28 | Unlock Company Profile |
| FuelCell Energy Inc | 27 | Unlock Company Profile |
| LS Electric Co Ltd | 25 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Toyota Motor Corp | 23 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Xslent Energy Technologies, LLC | 17 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Electricite de France SA | 14 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Cummins Inc | 14 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Siemens AG | 14 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Doosan Corp | 14 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Hitachi Ltd | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Chung-Hsin Electric and Machinery Manufacturing Corp | 11 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Suzuki Motor Corp | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Honda Motor Co Ltd | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Gree Electric Appliances Inc of Zhuhai | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| ABB Ltd | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault SA | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| AMETEK Inc | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Safran SA | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Honeywell International Inc | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Edge Electrons Ltd | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Delta Electronics Inc | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| GridBridge, Inc | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Shimizu Corp | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| LichtBlick SE | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Hyosung Heavy Industries Corp | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Hyosung Corp | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Bayerische Motoren Werke AG | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Brother Industries Ltd | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Eaton Corporation Plc | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Schneider Electric SE | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| NEC Corp | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Danfoss A/S | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| British Columbia Hydro & Power Authority | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Koninklijke Philips NV | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Trulite, Inc. | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Mitsubishi Electric Corp | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
| BoxPower Inc | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Orison | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
| The Boeing Co | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Midnite Solar Inc | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Signify NV | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Panasonic is one of the leading patent filters in fuel cell power electronics. Panasonic develops, engineers, manufactures and commercializes diverse electronic technologies and products in the areas of home appliances and domestic equipment, equipment and systems for manufacturing, and batteries and electronic components for mobility and social infrastructure. Some other key patent filers include Kyocera, General Electric, and Bloom Energy.
In terms of application diversity, Kia leads the pack, while SK and Cummins stood in the second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Xslent Energy Technologies held the top position, followed by Meditor European Master Fund and Cummins.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the power industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Power.
Premium Insights
From
The gold standard of business intelligence.
Blending expert knowledge with cutting-edge technology, GlobalData’s unrivalled proprietary data will enable you to decode what’s happening in your market. You can make better informed decisions and gain a future-proof advantage over your competitors.
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.
