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 695,000 patents filed and granted in the power industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Fuel cells in power: fuel cell power electronicsBuy the report here.

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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 83,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the power industry, there are 45+ 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.

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 120+ 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 (2021 - 2023) 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, Cummins leads the pack, while Suzuki Motor and Safran stood in the second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Xslent Energy Technologies held the top position, followed by Cummins and Gree Electric Appliances.

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.