Home » Business » Clean energy, batteries will be 50 times more powerful: patent boom (also in Italy)

Clean energy, batteries will be 50 times more powerful: patent boom (also in Italy)

The promise of universal access to energy. An energy for cleaner. There is no more time to waste, the world is on the brink and climate change is a reality. And so, in recent years we have seen massive growth in investments in renewable sources and a parallel decline in the costs of clean technologies (while coal has lost its competitiveness in many countries compared to wind and solar). In short, the perennial global energy race has an increasingly green face. At least in intent.


The boom in the battery sector

A key role in the clean energy transition could be played by the rapid growth of innovation in the battery sector. According to a joint study by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the International Energy Agency (IEA), published on 22 September 2020, inventions related to electricity storage have shown an annual growth of 14% over the past 10 years. . A pace four times faster than the average for all technological sectors. According to the report, batteries alone account for nearly 90% of all patent activities in the field of electricity storage. The growth of innovation driven mainly by advances in the field of rechargeable lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries used in consumer electronic devices and electric cars. It is precisely electric mobility that favors the development of new lithium-ion chemicals to improve power, duration and charge / discharge speed, as well as recyclability and the ability to integrate greater quantities of renewable energy into electrical networks. such as wind and solar.


Patents: the primacy of Asian companies

But which countries are on the podium for new patents applied for? The study finds that Japan and South Korea beat Europe, China and the United States in the number of international patents. Between 2000 and 2018, in Europe, Germany was the country that requested the most (5080), far outstripping any other European country. France, which comes second, stops at 1354 patents, while the United Kingdom at only 652. In the same period, Italy contributed with 263 international patent applications (40% of which were advanced between 2014 and 2018 highlighting a growing trend in recent years).

The battery market will have to grow 50 times by 2040

Naturally, the increase in demand corresponds to a significant drop in battery prices (about 90% from 2010 to date in the case of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and about two thirds in the same period compared to stationary applications. , including management of the electricity grid). And so we return to the initial problem: the achievement of the climate and sustainable energy objectives envisaged. According to the IEA Sustainable Development Scenario (the Agency, it must be remembered, provides authoritative data, analysis and recommendations on all fuels and technologies and helps governments formulate policies for a secure and sustainable future), by 2040 we will need nearly 10,000 gigawatt hours of batteries and other energy storage systems. In a nutshell, something like 50 times the size of the current market.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.