“Exploring Future Trends in Battery Technologies through Patent Filings Analysis”

Patent Filings: A Window into the Future of Battery Technologies

While predicting the future is often considered a fool’s game, patent filings can provide valuable insights into the direction of industry trends, particularly in the realm of new technologies. Ben Lincoln and Alice Mortiboy, from European IP law firm Potter Clarkson, have delved into patent filings related to battery chemistries to identify areas of active research and potential future industry trends.

Understanding Battery Chemistries

Each battery is designed for a specific purpose, with properties such as capacity and cost being influenced by the battery’s chemistry. However, each new chemistry brings with it technological compromises and limitations, resulting in a constantly evolving landscape of battery technology.

Since the 1960s, when research into rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) began, a variety of battery chemistries have been explored. Lincoln and Mortiboy have focused on those highlighted in ‘The 2021 Battery Technology Roadmap’ published in the Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics. These include lithium/sodium/aluminium/potassium-ion batteries, solid-state lithium-ion, lithium-oxygen, lithium-sulphur, zinc-air, aluminium-air, dual-ion, aqueous, flexible and flow batteries.

Using patent search software, they conducted a search of key terms in the abstract, title, and claims of patent families worldwide over the last decade. This allowed them to identify which battery chemistries are in decline and which are emerging.

General Trends in Battery Chemistries

Notably, LIBs continue to dominate the battery chemistry landscape. This is unsurprising given their widespread use in everyday portable devices. However, the data also reveals a general increase in all metal-ion technologies over the last decade, indicating a broader growth in battery technologies.

Emerging Battery Chemistries

While LIBs remain dominant in terms of patent filings, the data provides interesting insights into potential emerging battery technologies. For instance, patent families related to flow batteries, which offer advantages such as safety, flexible layout, and long life cycle, represent the second largest number of filings among all battery chemistries reviewed.

Geographical Trends in Patent Filings

When examining the geographical distribution of patent filings, it becomes clear that China is leading the way, particularly in the area of flow batteries. All of the top five applicants for patent family filings in this area over the last decade are based in South-East Asia, highlighting the region’s dominance in this field.

However, when considering patent families with applications published in either Europe or the US, the picture changes. For instance, Sumitomo Electric Industries moves into the top position. This suggests that the geographical location of an applicant’s intellectual property filings can provide insights into where the technology is being produced, where the applicant sees their commercial markets, and where their competitors are located.

Emerging Players in Battery Technologies

Over the last decade, there has been a rise in patent filings related to dual-ion batteries (DIBs) and sodium-ion batteries. In both cases, China leads the way in terms of the number of patent families. However, when limiting the results to patent families with either a European or US application published, industry emerges as the top applicant of patent filings related to these technologies.

The Future of Battery Technologies

As society continues to move away from fossil fuels, batteries will become an increasingly integral part of our lives. The ongoing innovation in this field, as evidenced by patent filings, suggests an exciting future of new battery chemistry developments and emerging technologies.

While the dominance of China and the US in patent filings is clear, the acquisition of UK-based sodium-ion battery technology company Faradion by Indian company Reliance Industries may indicate India’s entry into the sodium-ion battery space. As such, the global landscape of battery technology innovation and patent filings continues to evolve, offering intriguing insights into the future of this crucial industry.