Electrolyzers patents analysis using TIP
Description
The patent dataset analyzed is based on search criteria dealing with electrolyzer technology for hydrogen production, namely focusing on electrolytic water splitting systems, while incorporating comprehensive materials analysis to assess critical element dependencies. The dataset is defined through a dual-strategy approach combining keyword-based detection with IPC classification filtering from the EPO database PATSTAT (Spring 2025 ed.), targeting patent documents containing hydrogen production patterns alongside specific IPC codes including C25B 1/02 (electrolysis of water), C25B 1/04 (electrolysis of inorganic compounds), and C25B 1/042 (electrolysis of alkaline compounds). The first step involves comprehensive dataset creation from multiple sources, generating 18,811 unique patent families spanning 2000-2023, with enhanced bibliographic data extraction achieving 99.99% success rate across titles, abstracts, and claims. The analysis focuses on applications filed worldwide across 69+ patent authorities (including national and supranational jurisdictions such as EPO, WIPO, USPTO, and CNIPA) to evaluate meaningful trends in electrolyzer innovation from early-stage development through recent commercialization acceleration. Patent filing patterns reveal distinct innovation waves, with particular acceleration during 2010-2014 and 2020-2023 periods, indicating technology maturation phases. A subsequent critical enhancement involves patent family dimension analysis, examining geographical diversity and family sizes across publication authorities using hierarchical priority selection (EP → WO → US → CN → Others), revealing strategic differentiation between comprehensive international protection (EP: avg 5.84 authorities per family) and domestic market focus (CN: avg 1.01 authorities per family). The assessment encompasses triadic family analysis identifying 327 elite patents with simultaneous US-granted, EP, and JP presence, representing highest commercial value innovations. Subsequently, comprehensive materials analysis addresses strategic element dependencies, examining rare earth elements (REE), platinum group metals (PGM), base metals, and critical raw materials to assess supply chain risks and manufacturing scalability. Forward citation analysis of 69,134 citation relationships maps knowledge transfer patterns and technological influence networks. The methodology culminates in applicant ranking analysis across 12,711 unique entities, revealing competitive landscape dynamics with Chinese Academy of Sciences leading innovation output (308 families) while maintaining distributed innovation patterns (top 10 applicants control only 7.6% of families). All analytic steps described above were performed by means of "Technology Intelligence Platform" (TIP) the tool recently made available by the European Patent Office (https://www.epo.org/en/searching-for-patents/data/technology-intelligence-platform).
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1. Considering electrolyzer technology for hydrogen production, the number of patent applications has considerably increased after the year 2000, with acceleration during 2010-2014 and 2020-2023 periods, most of such improvement being ascribed to filing events targeting Asian patent offices, particularly CNIPA which represents 61.1% of representative publications in the final dataset. 2. However, following the analysis of patent family dimensions and geographical diversity, it turns out that the filing strategies differ dramatically when comparing the most representative patent authorities: EP publications show comprehensive international protection (average 5.84 distinct authorities per family), while CN publications demonstrate domestic focus (average 1.01 authorities per family), with WO and US publications showing intermediate patterns. 3. Most patent families specifically concerning electrolyzer technology are characterized by dual-mode detection criteria, with 62.0% (11,593 families) identified through text-based hydrogen production patterns and 50.0% (9,356 families) through IPC classification codes (primarily C25B 1/02, C25B 1/04, C25B 1/042), while 37.0% (6,925 families) satisfy both detection criteria, ensuring comprehensive coverage with 99.99% data enhancement success rate. 4. Almost 61.1% of patent families specifically concerning electrolyzer technology correspond to patent applications filed to CNIPA, with Chinese Academy of Sciences leading innovation (308 families), followed by Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute (203 families). However, most Chinese families correspond to applications filed exclusively domestically. Other players, such as Honda Motor Company (154 families) and Toshiba Corporation (108 families), demonstrate different strategies with broader international filing patterns, reflecting distinct approaches to global IP protection. 5. Upon analyzing the forward citations of the retrieved patent documents across 69,134 citation relationships and examining the 327 elite triadic families (representing 1.74% of the dataset with simultaneous US-granted, EP, and JP presence), it appears that family dimensions strongly correlate with commercial significance. The overall grant rate of 48.19% varies considerably by authority, with applicants like Honda achieving 62.92% success rates compared to Chinese Academy of Sciences' 44.55%, indicating different strategic approaches to patent prosecution across jurisdictions. 6. The comprehensive materials analysis reveals strategic dependencies, with limited critical elements usage (indicating supply chain risk awareness), significant PGM presence in high-performance systems, and dominant base metals utilization (Fe: 9.8%, Mo: 3.6%, Cr: 1.9%), supporting the technology's manufacturing scalability and commercial viability across different electrolyzer types (alkaline, PEM, SOEC). Each result can be replicated using the notebooks included in the Methodology section.
Institutions
- Consorzio per l'AREA di Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica di TriesteFriuli-Venezia Giulia, Trieste
- University of Milano-BicoccaLombardia, Milano