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EPO-IEA study highlights need to accelerate innovation in clean energy technologies to meet climate goals

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EPO President António Campinos: “This report is a clear call for action to step up research and innovation into new low-carbon energy technologies, and improve existing ones.”

  • Global patent data shows innovation in the past decade has been increasing faster in low-carbon energy technologies than in fossil fuels
  • Average annual growth rate of clean energy inventions in the past decade has slowed compared with 2000-13 level
  • Innovation is shifting from renewable energy supply to end-use and cross-cutting technologies such as batteries, hydrogen, smart grids and carbon capture
  • Clean energy technologies in end-use sectors such as transport, buildings and industry now account for majority (60%) of all low-carbon energy inventions
  • Cross-cutting technologies showed strongest patent growth since 2017
  • The rise in patents related to electric vehicles is a key driver of clean energy innovation
  • Europe leads overall with a 28% share of global low-carbon energy patents in past decade, followed by Japan (25%), US (20%), South Korea (10%) and China (8%)
  • IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol: “Around half the emissions reductions to get to net zero by 2050 may need to come from technologies that are not yet on the market.”
  • EPO President António Campinos: “This report is a clear call for action to step up research and innovation into new low-carbon energy technologies, and improve existing ones.”
 

Media contacts European Patent Office

Luis Berenguer Giménez

Principal Director Communication / Spokesperson

Tel.: +49 89 2399 1203
press@epo.org

About the EPO

With 6 400 staff, the European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the largest public service institutions in Europe. Headquartered in Munich with offices in Berlin, Brussels, The Hague and Vienna, the EPO was founded with the aim of strengthening co-operation on patents in Europe. Through the EPO's centralised patent granting procedure, inventors are able to obtain high-quality patent protection in up to 44 countries, covering a market of some 700 million people. The EPO is also the world's leading authority in patent information and patent searching.

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