Panasonic Panasonic. You remember them. They build the batteries for the batmobile. I mean the Tesla. They are in the pack when it comes to fuel cells. Half of the patent activity for 2011 was for automotive. The future will knock your lithium socks off.
The 2012 Fuel Cell Patent Review is the second
in Fuel Cell Today’s series of reports on fuel
cell patent activity. It analyses both granted patents and patent applications published in
2011, by comparison with publications in 2010.
The fuel cell patent numbers reported here reflect the continued technological progress in
the industry, and the advent of commercialisation in some fuel cell applications from 2007.
The number of granted fuel cell patents increased by 51%, from 1,806 in 2010 to 2,732 in
2011; this growth was significantly higher than that for overall granted patents worldwide
(10%) or for combined United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and European
Patent Office (EPO) patents (3%).
Assignees for these patents were dominated by those from Japan and the USA, accounting
for 69% of the granted patent total in 2011. Half of the top ten companies were from the
automotive sector, highlighting their continued commitment to fuel cell technology. Other
leading companies in 2011 were Panasonic and Samsung, each a well-known household
name.