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PatentLandscapeReport

Hydrogenfuelcellsintransportation

PatentLandscapeReport

Hydrogenfuelcellsintransportation

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©WIPO,2022

WorldIntellectualPropertyOrganization34,chemindesColombettes,P.O.Box18CH-1211Geneva20,Switzerland

DOI:10.34667/tind.46069

ISBN:978-92-805-3416-0(PDF)

ISBN:978-92-805-3417-7(online)

ISSN:2790-7007(print)

ISSN:2790-7015(online)

(CCBY4.0)

Attribution4.0International

Cover:GettyImages/JONGHOSHIN–TiaClara

3

Contents

Acknowledgements4

Keyfindingsandinsights5

Introduction9

Motivationandmethodology

ofthereport11

Hydrogenfuelcelltechnologies

fortheelectrificationoftransport13

Generalfieldoverview,history,and

globalpatentdevelopmentoffuelcells13

Hydrogenfuelcelltechnologiesin

transport:whyhydrogen,andwhy

fuelcells?13

Fuelcellhistory15

Fuelcelltechnologies20

Generaloverview20

Polymerelectrolyteorproton

exchangemembranefuelcells23

Solidoxidefuelcells23

Directmethanolorliquidammonia

fuelcellsandreformertechnology23

Phosphoricacidfuelcells24

Alkalimembranefuelcells24

Moltencarbonatefuelcells24

Patentlandscapeoffuelcell

technologies24

Fuelcellrecycling27

Costanalysisfuelcellsintransport28

Fuelcellrecyclingroadmap28

Fuelcellautomatedproduction30

Fuelcelltechnologies

intransportation34

Marketapplicationbreakdown35

Innovationoriginview37

Patentfilingsbypatentapplicant

type39

Marketviewanalysis:whereare

fuelcellpatentsintransportbeing

filedglobally?44

Shiftingtheanalysisfromapatent

filingcounttoactivepatentportfolios47

Dynamicandcomparative

companyanalysis48

Top20universitiesandresearch

institutesinthefield49

Fuelcellapplication:personaland

commercialroadvehicles51

Fuelcellsasrangeextender55

Fuelcellapplication:shippingand

marinevehicles58

Fuelcellapplication:aviationand

above-groundvehicles64

Fuelcellapplication:railand

trackvehicles68

Fuelcellapplication:specialvehicles71

Thefutureoffuelcell

technologiesintransport77

Technologyreadinesslevel(TRL)79

Patentperspective79

Commercialviability80

Customerbenefitsandproblems80

Needforaction81

Futuredrivers81

Economicdrivers81

Politicaldrivers82

Roadmapandmarketoutlookfor

hydrogentechnologiesintransport82

Annex84

Glossary84

Patentsearches87

References94

4

Acknowledgements

ThisPatentLandscapeReport,HydrogenFuelCellsinTransportation,waspreparedfollowingarelatedrequestfromtheSlovakRepublictotheWIPODirectorGeneral,DarenTang.

ThispublicationwaspreparedwiththestewardshipofMarcoAlemán(AssistantDirectorGeneral,IPandInnovationEcosystemsSector),underthedirectionofAlejandroRocaCampañá(SeniorDirector,IPforInnovatorsDepartment)andAndrewCzajkowski(Director,TechnologyandInnovationSupportDivision),andwasledbyIreneKitsara(IPInformationOfficer,TechnologyandInnovationSupportDivision).

ThereportwaspreparedbytheprojectteamledbyIreneKitsara,includingJochenSpuckandKaiGramke(bothfromEconsight),FrankPassing,PajamHassanandAnishM.Shenji(allfromintuitive.AI)andLakshmiSupriya(PatentAnalysisOfficer,TechnologyandInnovationSupportDivision).ThepatentsearchmethodologywaspreparedbyEconsightwithinputsfromWIPO(IreneKitsaraandLakshmiSupriya).KaiGramkefromEconsightdevelopedsomeofthemetricsusedintheanalysis.VisualizationswerepreparedbyKaiGramke,LakshmiSupriya,withinputsfromCraigDsouza(YoungExpertProfessional,TechnologyandInnovationSupportDivision).PajamHassanandAnishM.Shenjipreparedandanalyzedonlinenews,pressreleasesandquarterlyfinancialreportingregardingfuture-orientedstatements.FrankPassingdevelopedthetechnologyassessmentandroadmapinthereport;andincoordinationwithJochenSpuckprovidedexamplesofsomeofthecompaniesfeaturinginthepatentdatainordertolinkthelatterwithbusinessandthemarket.

ThereportdrawsonhelpfulinputreceivedduringtheconceptualizationphasefromThomasBrachmann(HondaR&D)andTimKarlsson(IPHE),andfromseveralinterviewscarriedoutbyJochenSpuckwithindustryrepresentativesplusinputsprovidedbyWIPOcolleagues,includingAnjavonderRoppandPeterOksen(bothfromtheGlobalChallengesDivision).BookNowLimitededitedthereportwithinputsfromIreneKitsara,LakshmiSupriyaandAndrewCzajkowski.ThanksalsogotoCharlotteBeauchamp(Head,PublicationsandDesignSection)forherinvaluablesupportandadvice,VanessaHarwoodforhereditorialoversightandSheydaNavabforthereport'sdesign.

Furtherinformation

Onlineresources:Theelectronicversionofthisreportcanbe

accessedat

/publications/en/details.jsp?id=4604

.

Thiswebpagealsoincludesdatasetsfromthereport.

Contact:

rmation@

5

Keyfindings

andinsights

TransformingthetransportationsectortoputitonaNetZeropathwaywillrequireacombinationoftechnologicalinnovation,governmentandcorporatedecision-making,andadaptedcustomerbehaviortoallcometogetheroverthecourseofthenextdecade.Policyeffortsacrosseverytransportationapplicationwillneedtoberapidlydevelopedandextended.Expandinginternationalcooperationwillbecrucialinmeetingthetargetofreducinggreenhousegasemissionsbytransportation,asectorresponsibleforalmost24percentofdirectcarbondioxideemissionsfromfuelcombustion.Withbattery-poweredelectrictransportationhavinggrownoverthelastfiveyears,thepoliticalmomentumforhydrogenfuelcelltransportationhasgatheredstrengthoverthelasttwoyears.ThisWIPOPatentLandscapeReportprovidesearlyobservationsonpatentingactivityinthefieldofhydrogenfuelcellsintransportation.Theseobservationsarecombinedwithonlinenews,pressreleasesandcorporatefinancialreportingtoobtaindeeperinsightsintothefutureoftransportation.

Athirdwaveofpatentfilingisgainingmomentum

Therehasbeenastrongincreaseinpatentfilingssince2016,bothinfuelcellsingeneralandtheirapplicationintransportationinparticular.Afirstwaveofpatentfilingsoccurredinthemid-1980s,followedbyasecondaround2005,withathirdwavestartingaround2016.Thepatentsearchidentified52,433patentfilingsinthefieldoffuelcellsthatdescribetransportationapplications,accountingforone-quarterofpatentfilingsrelatedtofuelcellsingeneral.Inall,61percent(32,018patentfamilies)oftheseincludedatleastonegrantedpatent.Halfofthispatentdataset(26,449patentfamiliesandutilitymodels)were

consideredactiveatthetimeoftheanalysisinMarch2022.Ahighnumberoffuelcellpatentsdescribeaspecificuseintransportationandthisnumberisgrowingappreciably,thushighlightingtheincreasingimportanceofthisparticularmarketsector.(SeetheInfoBoxbelowforinformationconcerningtheuseoftheterms“patentfilings,”“patentfamilies”and“dataset”inthisreport.)

Patentfilingactivityisconcentrated

injustfivejurisdictionswhichare

alsothebiggestinventorlocations

Inventionsrelatedtofuelcellsintransportation

werefiledforpatentprotectionacross88

patentoffices,withactivepatentspresent

in80jurisdictions.Whilethissuggestsa

widespreadofactivityglobally,astrongconcentrationofpatentswaslocatedinjustfivejurisdictions.Wefoundthat96percentofthepatentfamiliesidentifiedincludedatleastonepatentapplicationfiledeitherinJapan,theUnitedStatesofAmerica(U.S.),China,theRepublicofKorea,Germany,orattheEuropeanPatentOffice(EPfilings)ortheWorldIntellectualPropertyOrganization(WIPO)(administeringthePatentCooperationTreaty(PCT)andrepresentingPCTfilings).Thissuggeststhatthebiggestproductionsitesarestrivingtoestablishthemselvesinthefivemainindustryregions,withmarketsstartinglocallybeforethenspreadingworldwide.Thewidespreadofactivityalsoseemstosignalarelativelyeasyaccesstothetechnologyingeneral.

Intotal,62percentofthepatentfamilies

identifiedfiledforpatentprotectionatonly

onepatentoffice,withJapanandChina

eachaccountingforone-fifthofthepatent

applicationsfiledinasinglejurisdiction.By

comparison,inthefieldofelectricvehicles

ingeneral,nationalfilingsatasingleoffice

6

PatentLandscapeReport–Hydrogenfuelcellsintransportation

accountedforanevenlargerproportion(69percent)ofthetotal,whereasinthefieldofcancerresearchitwaslowerat47percent.

Whilepatentfilingsstemfrominventorsbasedin85jurisdictions,thesamefivejurisdictionswherethemajorityoffilingactivityisconcentratedwerealsothefivebiggestoriginsforinventors,namelyChina,Japan,theU.S.,theRepublicofKoreaandGermany,accountingfor89percentofallpatentsinthefield.

Bigplayerswithinthebusinesshavemadeasignificantcontributiontothepatentlandscape

Thetop30playersinfuelcellsintransportaccountedfor40percentofthepatentdataset(21,152of52,433patentfamilies).Thisratherhighconcentrationissimilartothewhatwasobservedinelectricvehicles(top

30playersaccountingfor43percentofthedataset),andindicatesthelevelofinvestmentbymarketplayersinthefield.Indeed,severaloftheseplayers,namely,Toyota,Hyundai,VWGroup,GM,Daimler,Bosch,HondaandNissan,areactiveinnearlyeverytransportationfield.Moreover,itwouldseemtheirinvolvementencompassesnotonlyspecificend-products,butalsothemanufacturingofcoreelements.

Newplayersareemerginginthepatentlandscapeduetohighfinancialinvestments

However,newplayersarealreadycompetingwiththetop-rankedplayersofrecentyears,andthismaybringchangetothelistoftopplayersinthefuture.Incontrasttowhatisthesituationinthefieldofelectricvehicles,amongthetoprankingcompaniesaccordingtopatentfilingratethereareanumberthatareeithernotyetestablishedmarketplayers–severalofwhicharebasedinChina–orsmallercompanies,especiallyinnicheapplicationssuchasspecialvehicles.Patentfilingsandactivepatentportfoliosare,however,dominatedbythelargercarcompaniesinparticular.Othertopplayersacrosstransportationapplicationsotherthanroadincludecompaniesactiveinaviation,shipbuildingandspecialvehicles,whileautomotiveandbatterysuppliersalsofeatureamongthetopapplicants.

Thepatentlandscapeindicatesagrowinginterestinautomatedproduction,whilefuelcellrecyclingisalsocovered

Confirminganoverallpictureofahighlymaturetechnology,alongsideahighshareofpatentsindirecttransportationapplications,wealsoseeagrowthinpatentsforautomatedproduction.Massproductionhasbeenaddressedmorefrequentlyonlyrecently,withaspecificfocusbyplayersfromChina.Atthesametime,recyclingisalsostartingtogrow,eventhoughpatentfilingsarestilllowinnumber.Inbothareas,developmentsinpatentingactivityclearlyindicatethat,technology-wise,thelevelofreadinessseemstoberatherhigh.

Theresearchcommunityisplayingavitalroleinpatentingaimedatovercomingtechnologicalchallenges

Thereisonlyoneuniversityandresearchinstitution(theChineseAcademyofSciences)amongthetop30patentapplicants.However,patentfilingsfromuniversityandresearchinstitutionshavegrowninthelastfewyears.Chineseuniversitieshavebeenremarkablyactiveinthefield,whiletherehasalsobeenrelatedactivitybyuniversitiesintheU.S.,theRepublicofKorea,JapanandEurope.Besidespatentingactivity,someuniversitiesandresearchinstitutionsexhibitaremarkablyhighlevelofcollaborativeactivity,workingtogetherwithindustry,butalsowithotheracademicpartnerssuchastheFrenchAlternativeEnergiesandAtomicEnergyCommission(CEA).

Fuelcellshaveachievedahighdegreeoftechnologicalmaturity,withpolymerelectrolytemembranefuelsleadinginpatentfilings

Fuelcellsareawell-knowntechnologywithahighdegreeofmaturity.Thereareseveraltypesoffuelcells,withpolymerelectrolyte(orprotonexchange)membranefuelcells(PEMFCs)leadinginthepatentdatasetandappearingtobethemostpromising.

7

Keyfindingsandinsights

Chinaiscurrentlythetoporiginofpatentfilingsrelatedtohydrogenfuelcellintransportation

PatentfilingsinChinahavebeenincrediblystronginthelasttwotothreeyears,eitherastheofficeoffilingforlocalinventorsortheofficeofsubsequentpatentfilingforinventionsoriginatingfromJapan,theU.S.,theRepublicofKoreaandGermany.WhileChina-basedinventorsaccountforagreatportionofthedataset,fewChinesecompaniesfeatureamongthetopranksintermsofoverallactiveportfoliostrength.Lookingatthetopcorporateplayersinpatentfiling,theycomefromJapan,theRepublicofKorea,GermanyandtheU.S.Thismaychangequickly,ifChinesecompaniescontinuetopatentatarateidenticaltoorhigherthanwhathasseeninthelastfewyears.

Filingsrelatedtotheroadsectorintransportationisthebiggestcategoryinthepatentdata,withothercategories,particularlyaviationandshipping,emerging

Thedominantapplicationforfuelcellsandhydrogenintransportationisinroadvehicles,includingcarsandtrucks.Patentfilingsrelatedtoshipping,aviation,railandspecialvehicles(i.e.,commercialvehicles,includingfork-lifts,airporttugs,tractorsanddredgers,andvariousconstructionvehicles)onlyaccountforasmallportionofthefuelcellsintransportationdatasetincomparison.Specialvehiclesaremoreorlessthefirsttypeoffuelcell(FC)vehicletoenteranichemarket(

E

,2018),whilepassengercarsmaystillbeyearsawayfrommakingalargemarketentrance(seeFigure49,Roadmap).

Anincreasedfocusonbattery-poweredelectricvehicles,withapossiblenicheinheavy-dutyvehiclesandbusapplicationsintransport,extendingavehicle’srangebyadditionallyusingfuelcells

Patentdataindicatesactivityinhydrogenfuelcellvehicletechnologiesisstrong,withcorporationspouringhugeinvestmentsintodecarbonizingthesector.Becausebattery-poweredelectricvehiclesappeartohaveahighdegreeofenergyefficiency,asshownbystudiesinthelasttwoyears(e.g.,Plötz,2022),

companiesarefocusingonpenetratingthemarketwithbattery-poweredelectricvehiclestomeetclimatetargetsfaster.Still,corporatestatementsandpatentdataprovideevidencethatheavy-dutyvehiclesisapotentialmarketforhydrogenfuelcells,duetotherequiredpayloadofthesevehiclesmakingthehigherenergydensityofhydrogenacrucialfactorandmoreadvantageousinthisrespectthanbattery-poweredelectricvehiclesolutions.Thisishighlightedbytheexamplesshowninthesectioncoveringfuelcellapplication:personalandcommercialroadvehicles,,whichareonlyafewofthenumerouspatentsclaimingfuelcellstobesuitableforuseincommercialvehiclestoextendavehicle’srange.

Hydrogenfuelcellsareexpected

tobeaviablesolutiontoaviation

meetingclimatetargets

Hydrogenistheenergyvectorexpectedtoplayakeyroleintransformingaviationintoazero-carbonindustrysectoroverthenexttwodecades.Airbus,forinstance,statedinapressreleasemadein2022thathydrogenfuelcellsisoneofthemostpromisingtechnologiesonoffer(Airbus,2022).Airbusisthemajoraircraftmanufacturerwithinthefuelcellsforaviationfield,withincreasingpatentfilingactivitysince2019,afteraperiodofreducedactivityintheprecedingyears.Thissamepatterncanalsobeobservedforotherplayers,suchasRaytheon.

Policiesandcorporatepledgesto

decarbonizesupplychainsand

logisticsareincreasingpatenting

activityinshipping

SincecompaniesareresponsibleforCO2emissionswithintheirsupplyandlogisticschains,theyhavepledgedzero-carbonshippingby2040(see,forexample,BBC,2021)inordertopushtheheavilypollutingshippingindustrytodecarbonizefaster.Withabout90percentoftheworld’strademovingbysea,shippingtransportationaccountsfor3percentofallglobalemissions.Thepatentfieldforshippingapplicationsforfuelcellsiscomparableinsizetotheoneforaviationandsimilarlyslowingrowth.Consideringthelongaverageservicelifetimeofships,andtherecentintroductionofLNG(liquidnaturalgas)technologytofuelships,thisfieldisexpectedtocontinuehaverestrainedgrowth,unlike,forexample,fuelcells

8

PatentLandscapeReport–HydrogenFuelCellsinTransportation

forspecialvehicles.However,itisworthnotingthatshippingcompaniessuchasDaewoopatentactivelyinthefieldoffuelcellsforspecialvehicles,specificallyinrelationtotheirapplicationwithintheharborenvironment(e.g.,up-/unloading,cranes,andso).

Hydrogenfuelcelltrainsasanalternativetodieselhybridfordecarbonizingrailnetworks

Hydrogentrainshaveseveraladvantagesoverbatterypoweredelectrictrains,inparticular,theycanrefuelfasterandtravelfurtherthantheirelectricalternatives.ItthereforecomesasnosurprisethatGermany,JapanandtheUnitedKingdom(U.K.)seehydrogentrainsascentraltotheirplanstodecarbonizetheirnationalrailnetworks.Theyhavealreadybeguntheirdeployment,withthefirsthydrogentrain(byAlstrom)introducedonGermanrailwaysin2018inpartnershipwithSiemensMobility,andtheEastJapanRailwayplanningtostarttestinghydrogentrainsinJapanduringMarch2022.

Thediffusionofhydrogenfuelcelltechnologiesdepends

uponsystemicdriverssuchasinfrastructure,theavailabilityofrenewableenergyandadvancesinbatterytechnology

Althoughhydrogencanbeproducedfromanynumberofenergysources,inaneraofdecarbonization,itislowcarbon(“green”)hydrogenthatisneededtofueltransportation.Consequently,theavailabilityofrenewableenergyisexpectedtoplayacriticalroleinhydrogenproduction,withseveralchallengeslyingaheadinmeetingdemandacrossthewholevaluechain(IRENA,2022).Moreover,theinfrastructureforthetransportationandstoringofhydrogenenergy,aswellasthefuelingofcars,airplanesorships,needstobeexpandedandenhancedoverthenextnumberofyearsinordertoensurethediffusionofhydrogenfuelcelltransportationapplicationsintothemarket.

Technologicalprogressinalternativeelectrificationtechnologies,likeforexamplefuturesolid-statebatteries,couldleadtoadoublingofdrivingrangeandareductioninthegapseparatingthesetechnologiesfromhydrogenfuelcells,whichhavetheadvantageofahighenergydensitythroughahighercapacity(IEEESpectrum,2021;EPOandIEA,

2020).Whenwecomparethedevelopmentinpatentingactivityinthefieldoffuelcellstothatofsolid-statebatteries,wecanseethatthepatentdatasetoffuelcellsismuchbigger.Butanincreaseinpatentsforsolid-statebatteriesisabouttogatherpace,eventhoughthishasonlybecomeapparentinthelasttwoyears.Thisgoestoindicatethat,whiletechnology-wisefuelcellshaveahighreadinesslevel,thenextgenerationofbatteriestopowertheelectrificationofroadtransportationisalreadyappearingoverthehorizon.

9

Introduction

Transportisessentialtoeconomicgrowth.However,inacarbon-basedworld,movingpeopleandgoodsfrompla