The Hydrogen Revolution: An evaluation of patent trends in the fuel cell industry
Ed White, Thomson Scientific
November 2004
We reproduce here the executive summary of this white paper from Thomson Scientific.
From a space-race era technology to a modern ecological messiah, the fuel cell has caused mass media interest in the last few years and has spawned the “Hydrogen Revolution”. Last year, the possible use of hydrogen as a major energy source was elevated to a political issue, with President Bush highlighting fuel cell research and development spending levels in his State of the Union address.
Issues such as rising oil prices and increasing awareness of environmental concerns have forced companies to think about alternatives to the traditional internal combustion engine and find ways to reduce the global reliance on fossil fuel energy sources.
This report describes the explosive rise in fuel cell patenting over the past five years (1999 to 2003). The number of patented inventions has more than quadrupled during this time period and companies are fiercely competing to stake ownership on intellectual property that could one day become multi-billion dollar products.
Using data mining tools to analyze the Derwent World Patents Index® database, we survey the state of fuel cell patenting globally, revealing the players involved and the technology at stake.
The rise in the number of fuel cell patent applications has been punctuated by the shift in industry interest from pure energy fuel cell research companies to car manufacturers and consumer electronics firms. We will look into more detail at the forces at work in this shift.
Examining the technology itself, we will look at some of the potential problems that must be overcome before fuel cells can become mass-market items and what exactly is being patented. We will look at novel solutions to infrastructure problems, such as the storing of highly inflammable hydrogen.
We will also investigate the geographical shifts that have occurred during the survey period, with applications to the United States Patent and Trademark Office becoming a major factor for the first time in fuel cell patenting.
Finally, we discuss how attention in the media and in George W. Bush’s 2003 State of the Union address is now being matched by real R&D dollars being spent by companies whose bottom line is shareholder value.