October 1, 2020: A study released in September by the International Energy Agency and European Patent Office shows that patenting activity in batteries and other electricity storage technologies grew four times faster than the average of all other technology fields between 2005 and 2018.

Innovation in batteries and electricity storage: A global analysis based on patent data September 2020 is the first such study to be carried out by both agencies into the trends that patent filing tend to indicate.

“Because patents are filed many months, or even years, before products appear on the market, patent information is an early indicator of which technologies could be poised to play ground-breaking roles in the future,” says Antonio Campinos, president of the EPO.

The study found that 7,000 international energy storage-related patents were filed in 2018 compared with just over 1,000 in 2000, with a sharper acceleration since 2005, when there was a growth rate of 14%.

Other technology areas showed just 3.5% growth on average.

Most key battery technology variants were on the rise — including lead-acid, redox flow and nickel batteries — but Li-ion was the dominant innovator, with 45% of all patenting activity to do with Li-ion cells.

“This reflects in small part the use of batteries in an ever-expanding array of personal devices and tools, but the findings of this report point to a much larger driver in recent years: clean energy technologies, in particular electric mobility.”

The study also found that most inventive competition in the Li-ion field was with battery cathodes — “as they are the limiting factor in determining energy density and cost reductions.

“Smartphones, power tools, electric cars and utility-scale stationary batteries all have different requirements and tolerances for energy and power density, durability, material costs, sensitivity and stability.

“While some of these features can be improved through innovation in manufacturing and engineering, innovation is primarily seen through changes to the battery cathode, anode and electrolyte, the primary elements of a battery cell through which electricity is stored and conducted.”

Indeed, batteries still account for less than 3% of the world’s storage volume, with pumped storage hydropower the vast majority, at 90%, and another 90GWh of projects in the pipeline.

However the use of batteries in stationary energy storage applications is growing exponentially, the study says — with an annual rate on par with all other storage technologies combined.

“Excluding pumped storage hydropower, variants of Li-ion technology now account for more than 90% of new energy storage installations, other batteries make up the majority of the remaining 10%, with short-term technologies like flywheels and super-capacitors finding niche markets below 2%,” says the study.

Another major area of innovation is in solid-state electrolytes which are needed to replace the flammable liquid or polymer gel electrolytes currently used.

“Solid-state electrolytes feature a high level of specific energy and high degree of stability, but are expensive,” the study says. “Patenting activity in this area has been growing by 25% per year on average since 2010.

“Commercial applications of solid-state electrolytes in electric vehicles are anticipated in the next decade, and could generate spill-overs that would help to make these batteries competitive for other applications, too.”

IEA executive director Fatih Birol said to meet key international energy and climate goals, up to 10,000GWh of batteries across the energy system and other forms of energy storage would be needed by 2040, which is 50 times the size of current capacity.

He had a warning, though.

“Energy storage — which is a critical technology — is not on track to achieve the levels called for in the Sustainable Development Scenario,” (an earlier report by the IEA) “both in terms of its deployment and its performance,” he said.

“This means that we are failing to put in place the infrastructure that will be needed for renewable energy to expand more rapidly.”

Reprinted from:https://www.batteriesinternational.com/2020/10/01/four-fold-rise-in-13-years-for-global-batteries-and-storage-patents/(If there is any infringement liability, please inform us in time, we will delete the content immediately, thank you.)