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To be added to Fuel cell vehicle

Innovation

The transportation sector is responsible for about a quarter of direct carbon dioxide emissions worldwide, and is an important area for intervention to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change.

In 2020, inventors located in China were the highest filers with more than 7,000 patent applications. China was in the fifth place in terms of number of patents filed just a decade ago, but has now risen to the top. The overall growth of patent filings in this area is attributed to the large increase in filings from China.

A WIPO patent landscape report on hydrogen fuel cells in transportation published in 2022 shows that between 2016 and 2020 patent filings in the area of hydrogen fuel cells, in general and in particular for transportation applications, increased by about 23%, a third wave in patenting activity in the area. The first two waves occurred in the mid-1980s and around 2005. Almost all the patenting activity (96%), at least since the 1950s, is focused in China, Japan, Germany, the Republic of Korea, and the United States of America.

The proportion of active patents of companies like Toyota and Hyundai has increased between 2015 and 2021 (right side of graph) whereas that of companies like Honda, GM, and Nissan has decreased (left side of graph).

Companies dominate patent filings in the area of fuel cells for transportation, with almost 80% of the patents filed by them. All except one among the top 30 patent filers are companies and these top players account for about 40% of all the patents filed in this area. However, filings from research institutions have grown over the last few years and academia is collaborating actively with the industry.

Although filings related to road vehicles such as cars and trucks dominate, inventions in other areas like shipping, aviation, rail and other special vehicles is increasing.

In the area of aviation, hydrogen is expected to play a key role in transforming it into a zero-carbon industry, according to the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking. Airbus, a major aircraft manufacturer, has increased its patenting activity in the area since 2019, after a period of reduced activity in the years before.

Shipping cargo creates a huge amount of  CO₂ emissions and companies such as Amazon, Ikea, and Unilever with widespread supply and logistics chains have pledged zero-carbon shipping by 2040  in order to push the heavily polluting shipping industry to decarbonize faster. With about 90 percent of the world’s trade moving by sea, shipping transportation accounts for 3 percent of all global emissions. The 2022 WIPO report on Hydrogen Fuel Cells for Transportation states that the patent field for shipping applications for fuel cells is comparable in size to the one for aviation and similarly slow in growth. Considering the long average service lifetime of ships, and the recent introduction of LNG (liquid natural gas) technology to fuel ships, this field is expected to continue to have restrained growth, unlike, for example, fuel cells for special vehicles.

Selected future-oriented statements made by companies, organizations and policymakers give a glimpse into a projected future for hydrogen fuel cells in transportation.

In addition to analyzing patent data, the report also analyzed non-patent data such as press releases and corporate statements to understand the state of innovation in the area of hydrogen vehicles. Although battery-powered electric vehicles seem to be the focus for market penetration to meet climate change goals, the data indicates the potential for using hydrogen fuel cells in heavy-duty vehicles, such as construction vehicles, fork lifts, and airport tugs. According to the report, this is because these vehicles require a higher payload, making the high energy density of hydrogen more advantageous than battery-powered solutions.

Although hydrogen can be produced from any number of energy sources, in an era of decarbonization, it is low carbon or green hydrogen that is needed to fuel transportation. Consequently, the availability of renewable energy is expected to play a critical role in hydrogen production, according to an IRENA report, with several challenges lying ahead in meeting demand across the whole value chain. Moreover, the infrastructure for the transportation and storage of hydrogen energy, as well as the fueling of cars, airplanes or ships, needs to be expanded and enhanced over the next few years to ensure the diffusion of hydrogen fuel cell transportation applications into the market.

Technological progress in alternative electrification technologies, like for example future solid-state batteries, could lead to a doubling of driving range and a reduction in the gap separating these technologies from hydrogen fuel cells, which have the advantage of a high energy density through a higher capacity. When comparing the development in patenting activity in the field of fuel cells to that of solid-state batteries, it is seen that the patent dataset of fuel cells is much bigger. But the data also show an increase in patents for solid-state batteries is about to gather pace. The WIPO report states that “while technologywise fuel cells have a high readiness level, the next generation of batteries to power the electrification of road transportation is already appearing over the horizon.”