ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
POWERS UP
STAKING OUT THE PATENT LANDSCAPE FOR ENERGY
FROM WIND, SUN AND WAVES
BY SUSAN E. CULLEN, PH.D.
WORLD IP TODAY
WHO WILL THE LEADERS IN
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY BE,
WHAT TECHNOLOGIES WILL
THEY PIONEER AND WHERE
WILL THEY COME FROM?
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Overview ............................................................................................................................................................3
Conventional Wisdom on the Three Estates of R&D .......................................................................................3
Findings and Observations
..............................................................................................................4
Patenting Interest in Power from Wind, Sun and Waves ...............................................................................4
Exhibit 1 .............................................................................................................................................................4
Exhibit 2 ............................................................................................................................................................4
Exhibit 3 ............................................................................................................................................................4
Exhibit 4 ............................................................................................................................................................5
Exhibit 5 ............................................................................................................................................................5
Exhibit 6 ............................................................................................................................................................5
Production Worldwide...........................................................................................................................................6
Exhibit 7 ............................................................................................................................................................6
IP Protection is Sought in Market Countries......................................................................................................7
Exhibit 8 ............................................................................................................................................................7
Overview of Technology ........................................................................................................................................8
Exhibit 9 ............................................................................................................................................................8
Wind Power ....................................................................................................................................................9
Exhibit 10 ...........................................................................................................................................................9
Wind Power Inventions in the Three Estates ...................................................................................................10
Exhibit 11 ..........................................................................................................................................................10
Exhibit 12 .........................................................................................................................................................10
Exhibit 13 .........................................................................................................................................................10
Wind Power Invention Landscape.......................................................................................................................11
Exhibit 14 ...........................................................................................................................................................11
Solar Power ...................................................................................................................................................12
Exhibit 15 ..........................................................................................................................................................12
Solar Power Inventions in the Three Estates....................................................................................................13
Exhibit 16 ..........................................................................................................................................................13
Exhibit 17...........................................................................................................................................................13
Exhibit 18 ..........................................................................................................................................................13
Solar Power Invention Landscape .....................................................................................................................14
Exhibit 19 ..........................................................................................................................................................14
Marine Power...............................................................................................................................................15
Exhibit 20 .........................................................................................................................................................15
Marine Power Inventions in the Three Estates ................................................................................................16
Exhibit 21 ..........................................................................................................................................................16
Exhibit 22 .........................................................................................................................................................16
Exhibit 23 .........................................................................................................................................................16
Marine Power Invention Landscape...................................................................................................................17
Exhibit 24..........................................................................................................................................................17
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................................18
OVERVIEW
The race amongst the world‘s largest nations to
secure energy independence in the 21st century is
fueling a surge in alternative energy research and
development. From North America to Europe to
Asia, countries are devoting tens of billions of
dollars to fund research for wind, solar and marine
energy technologies.
Inventors and entrepreneurs around the world are
racing to get a piece of that pie and to lay claim to
the technological breakthroughs that will
ultimately make alternative energy a viable largescale solution. Who will the leaders in alternative
energy be, what technologies will they pioneer and
where will they come from?
To find out, the Intellectual Property Solutions
business of Thomson Reuters analyzed global R&D
activity in the fields of wind, solar and marine
power, tracking global patent activity by
technology type, region and organization type.
By assessing patent activity in this manner,
researchers were able to gain insights into areas of
innovation that are receiving the most attention
across each link in the R&D chain, from academic
and government research to small commercial
developers to large industrial producers who will
ultimately bring new solutions to market. This
approach of measuring patent activity across
these three links – the three estates of R&D –
provides insight into not only the pace of
innovation but also the maturity of new
technologies under development.
CONVENTIONAL WISDOM ON THE THREE ESTATES OF R&D
Contribution to technology development is a
shared activity of the three R&D estates. Typically
R&D activity divides as follows:
First Estate: Participants in the first estate are
commercial entities with a large presence in the
field who not only do their share of innovation
but also do the heavy lifting that scales up
technology and effectively brings it to the public.
Their inventions are frequently incremental
because they have a developmental orientation.
These companies tend to be mature and wellcapitalized. They can grow organically or by
acquisition.
Second Estate: Participants in the second estate
are commercial entities with a smaller presence in
the field, and they are effectively research engines
and proving grounds. They may be large companies
with minor activity in the technical field, spinoffs
that are meant to improve focus and foster agility,
3
WORLD IP TODAY
or entrepreneurial startup companies. Typically the
companies are either newly founded, or their
interest in the field is not long-standing. This R&D
may be insufficiently capitalized, and these
enterprises grow by being acquired, sometimes
beginning their acquisition cycle with
a joint venture.
Third Estate: Participants in the third estate are
government or privately funded R&D groups
who select technical focus areas based either
on government policy direction or on potential
to contribute to basic or applied knowledge in
the field. They have a measure of freedom from
commercial pressures, and they can test the
newest ideas and suggest the pathways for
the future. This research is typically not full-scale
and tends to be early-stage or prototype level.
The technology grows by being acquired.
FINDINGS AND OBSERVATIONS
PATENTING INTEREST IN POWER FROM WIND, SUN AND WAVES
Since patent filing is a marker for R&D activity,
we prepared a worldwide collection of 12,000+
inventions1 in the area of wind, solar and marine
power generation, and used the collection to
examine the three R&D estates and characterize
the extent of their contributions.
the inventions in alternative energy, and that over
time their fractional contribution has become
greater. There are a large number of entities
contributing to R&D, meaning it is a lively and
competitive area. The contribution of the academic
and government sector to total patenting activity
has also increased rather sharply in the latter part
of this decade.
Though all the estates surely have their role in
changing how we provide sustainable electric
power to the world, a review of their actual
invention performance may help to show whether
our assumptions about them are true, and also
whether there are differences in their relative
contribution in different parts of the world.
The charts below show that solar and wind energy
generation are being developed much more
actively than marine, but that globally in the last
decade, inventive activity in each of the three
technical areas has generally increased, with solar
power showing a recent dip. Normalized time
trends (percentage of total) are shown in the
timeline chart (Exhibit 2).
The first chart (Exhibit 1) shows that smaller
commercial entities provide the lion’s share of
1 The collection was made using the Thomson Reuters Derwent World Patents Index® (DWPISM) for the period January 1998-March 2009.
4000
60%
50%
Wind
(5998)
Percent of Inventions
Number of Inventions
3000
2000
1000
40%
30%
20%
Solar
(6877)
10%
0%
0
97-99
00-02
03-05
06-09
97-99
(partial)
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
INVENTIONS BY THE
THREE ESTATES
Academic/Government
00-02
03-05
06-09
Marine
(643)
(partial)
TRENDS IN PATENTING
INVENTION COUNT
Solar
Wind
Marine
Small Commercial
Large Commercial
Exhibit 1
Exhibit 2
Exhibit 3
If we divide the collection by country of origin,
some important observations emerge. The percentage involvement of each estate in the R&D activity
is shown by country in Exhibit 4. The countries are
ranked in the chart by the percentage of involvement
of the first estate (i.e., larger companies).
Large Japanese, European (EP and DE) and U.S.
companies are relatively highly involved in alternative
energy innovation, but in China the innovation role
of large companies is smaller, and it is next to
nonexistent in the United Kingdom and Korea.
In contrast, Korea, the United Kingdom, and
especially China have an extremely strong
involvement of their academic and government labs
in energy innovation. Looking only at recent activity
(2006-2009 YTD) the emphasis in the different
types of alternative energy generation varies by
country (Exhibit 5). It is striking that patent filings
in China are on a par with those in Japan, and that
each is significantly greater than any of the other
countries or regions.
Japan is the only country where current wind power
research exceeds solar. China and the United States
have the lead in marine power, though the United
Kingdom (GB) is the country where marine power
100%
research is proportionally greater than anywhere
else. Solar is the leading emphasis in China,
Germany and Korea.
To visualize the changes in emphasis over time in
each country, two time periods were compared
(Exhibit 6), “THEN” (between 1998-2005) and
“NOW” (2006-2009 YTD). The ratios shown in
the chart reflect original filings, i.e., the country
or regional office where the filing for a patent
first appeared.
Strikingly, the Japanese emphasis has switched
from solar to wind, and the Chinese emphasis has
switched from wind to solar. The German emphasis
on solar has also increased (true as well for the
smaller number of EP filings). The United Kingdom is
the country with the greatest emphasis on marine
power generation, with Korea following. In the time
period before 1998, there was significant research on
marine power in Japan that was based in the shipbuilding industry, but this effort appears to have
been almost totally abandoned. The United States
R&D seems balanced between solar and wind, with
a small but steady interest in marine.
1800
75%
1200
50%
600
25%
0%
0
JP -5110 EP -238 US -1185 DE -1036 CN -460 GB -163
SHARE OF PATENTING BY THE THREE ESTATES
Large Commercial
Small Commercial
JP
KR -273
CN
US
DE
KR
GB
RECENT INVENTION ACTIVITY
Academic / Government
Exhibit 4
Wind
Solar
Marine
Exhibit 5
CN
THEN
NOW
DE
THEN
NOW
EP
THEN
NOW
GB
THEN
NOW
JP
THEN
NOW
KR
THEN
NOW
US
THEN
NOW
CHANGE IN
RESEARCH
EMPHASIS
BY COUNTRY
THEN: 1998-2005
NOW: 2006-2009YTD
Wind
Solar
Marine
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Exhibit 6
5
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EP
PRODUCTION WORLDWIDE
As the map from the U.S. DOE Renewable Energy
Data Book2 indicates, activity in wind and solar
technology has progressed to a significant number
of installations that successfully generate
electricity and transfer it to the power grid. Among
other things, the feasibility of each technology
depends on the challenges and opportunities
presented by the installation sites. R&D often
originates and is protected in those parts of the
world where the installations would be practical.
Many countries around the world, particularly
those with natural resources in the form of
prevailing wind corridors, unimpeded sunlight
and aptly structured coastlines, see themselves
as hosts for alternative energy solutions.
2 http://www1.eere.energy.gov/maps_data/pdfs/eere_databook.pdf July 2009. This data book includes statistics gathered
from multiple sources as indicated therein.
TOP COUNTRIES WITH INSTALLED RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY
1. China**
2. U.S.
3. Germany
4. Spain
5. India
Exhibit 7
*Including small hydro, geothermal, solar, wind, and biomass. Does not include large hydropower capacity.
**Majority of China’s renewable energy is from small hydropower.
Source: REN21, WEC, U.S. Department of Energy
IP PROTECTION IS SOUGHT IN MARKET COUNTRIES
Regardless of where inventions occur, they are
protected by patents in many additional countries
where patent owners hope to obtain some
exclusivity in their target markets.
The number of filings in Australia (AU) by outsiders
is very large, signaling the external view that
Australia will be an important market.
Following Australia are India, Canada, Brazil,
Spain, Mexico, Norway, New Zealand, South Africa
and Taiwan. The number of PCT (WO) applications
is also relatively high, signaling intent to protect
globally and potential willingness to invest in
building infrastructure in these countries.
DE
CN
WO
INVENTIONS PROTECTED
EP
US
KR
AU
JP
KR
US
AU
CN
GB
DE
IN
WO
CA, BR, ES, MX, NO, NZ, ZA,
TW, AND ALL OTHERS
EP
JP
GB
IN
OTHERS
Exhibit 8
7
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OVERVIEW OF TECHNOLOGY
The 12,000+ inventions in the collection can be
organized by text mining to provide a visual
map3 of the emphasis areas for R&D. The map
(Exhibit 9) was probed to find inventions related to
wind, solar and marine power generation. Each dot
represents one invention, but not all documents
are visible in the view shown.
3 Produced by Thomson Reuters ThemeScape™
– Inventions related to wind power
– Inventions related to solar power
– Inventions related to marine power
Exhibit 9
The map outlines the three areas and points out
the strong overlap between wind and marine
technology, occurring because both use turbines
with rotors, stators and controller elements.
Solutions found in one area may have application
in another.
WIND POWER
According to the U.S. DOE Renewable Energy
Data Book for 2008, wind energy is the fastest
growing alternative energy source globally, and
output increased by a factor of seven between
2000 and 2008. Production in 2008 was about
120 GW. The scaling of wind power generation
takes advantage of the knowledge accumulated in
development of large air turbines, particularly from
the aircraft industry. Small air turbines can be used
to generate power locally for off-grid applications,
but the generation of large amounts of power
requires large turbines deployed on “wind farms.”
Key issues in development include alloys or
composites usable to create lightweight but strong
turbines that resist wear, use of variable speed or
other mechanisms to extract maximum power and
limit stress on the turbines, noise reduction, dealing
with intermittency, and maximizing efficiency of
transfer to the grid. Off-shore wind farms are
potentially important in certain geographic areas
and have additional technical requirements. Costs
are concentrated in equipment and installation,
and maintenance is relatively negligible.
Geographic limitations relate to having sufficient
space in prevailing wind corridors. Some countries
(e.g., Denmark) solve this problem with at-sea
installations.
WIND ENERGY CAPACITY (2008) – SELECT COUNTRIES
Germany (23,903 MW)
U.K. (3,240 MW)
Denmark (3,180 MW)
France (3,400 MW)
Italy (3,740 MW)
Portugal (2,860 MW)
U.S. (25,369 MW)
Japan (1,880 MW)
Spain (16,754 MW)
China (12,210 MW)
India (9,645 MW)
MW
30,000
24,000
18,000
12,000
6,000
0
Japan
Portugal
Denmark
U.K.
France
Italy
India
China
Spain
Germany
U.S.
Source: GWEC, EIA, AWEA, REN21, U.S. Department of Energy
Exhibit 10
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WIND POWER INVENTIONS IN THE THREE ESTATES
The first estate in wind energy includes 17 assignees
that hold 27% of the IP in the area (Exhibit 12). In the
second estate there are 915 commercial entities with
smaller IP portfolios, but together they account for
66% of the IP in this technical area. Academic and
government entities hold the remaining 7% of the IP.
Information on sellers of wind turbines obtained
from the Renewable Energy Data Book names six
companies as the top global providers of turbines
(Exhibit 13). The first estate companies GE and
Siemens are among these providers. Interestingly,
Mitsubishi is in the IP first estate but is not named
as a top turbine provider as of 2006. Mitsubishi
currently claims to have at least 2,000 MW of
installation, and to be increasing rapidly.
Its U.S.-based energy company provides turbines
for major installation in the Americas and in Japan.
The shift in patent emphasis to wind indicates
intent of Japanese heavy industry to enter this
market more actively, exporting equipment to
locations where it can be used.
Vestas and Enercon have relatively small IP
portfolios, but are leading providers. Enercon4 was
a technology founder, but it has relatively few new
inventions. Vestas Wind Systems is in litigation
regarding its activity in this field. It is useful to look
among other small IP holders to find caches of
technology that ordinarily might be overlooked.
Smaller companies grow by partnering.
The University of Shanghai is the academic/
government entity with the most IP in the wind
energy collection. This reflects the long-standing
government encouragement of university research
and patenting. Characteristically for China at this
point in time, there are fewer patents by Chinese
companies than there are by the universities.
As noted earlier, there is a shift in China
inventive activity from wind to solar, and it
is unknown whether this R&D will transfer to
the marketplace via Chinese companies or
external investment.
4 The assignee for Enercon is often Aloys Wobben, the key inventor. Enercon sells via the business unit United Solar (Ovonix).
10.3%
7.3%
2224 (66%)
915 (91%)
28.2%
7.7%
258 (7%)
77 (7%)
15.4%
17 (2%)
15.6%
903 (27%)
15.5%
COUNT OF ASSIGNEES
COUNT OF INVENTIONS
Large Commercial
Large Commercial
Small Commercial
Small Commercial
Academic / Government
Academic / Government
GLOBAL WIND TURBINE
MARKET SHARE 2006
Total Turbine Installations: 2,454 MW
Vestas (DK)
Suzion (Ind.)
Gamesa (ES)
Siemens (DK)
GE Wind (US)
Others
Enercon (GE)
Source: AWEA, EERE, BTM Consult
Exhibit 11
Exhibit 12
Exhibit 13
WIND POWER INVENTION LANDSCAPE
A text-mining map (Exhibit 14) containing the wind
energy inventions provides more detail on the
activity in this field. The inventions dealing with
connecting wind power installations to the grid
are highlighted. The preponderance of the grid
inventions are from U.S. sources, among them
GE, Vestas and Clipper Windpower.
– Inventions dealing with connecting wind power installations to the grid
Exhibit 14
11
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SOLAR POWER
Research is focused on changing the compositions
of thin films, and third-generation inventions
include dye-sensitization and use of nanomaterials
and organic materials. Solar concentrator
technology is also an approach that may enhance
photovoltaics or directly provide thermal energy.
Key issues in development of photovoltaics include
flexible films with higher efficiencies, general
increases in efficiency to reduce installation size
and cost, light-tracking control, dealing with
intermittency, storage, and maximizing efficiency
of transfer to the grid. Costs are concentrated in
equipment and installation, and maintenance
substantial, but low relative to installation
According to the U.S. DOE Renewable Energy
Data Book for 2009, solar energy capacity tripled
between 2000 and 2008. Solar power generation
takes advantage of the knowledge accumulated in
development of cells from the semiconductor and
consumer electronics industries. Small photovoltaic
installations on rooftops can be used to generate
power locally for off-grid applications, but the
generation of large amounts of power requires
deployment on “solar farms.” Solar cell development
is focused on using efficient, cheaper and more
reliable materials, with scale-up issues related to
global availability of materials, especially silicon
whose availability is volatile. Traditional
monocrystalline solar cells have 93% of the market
but are more expensive to make than flexible thinfilm solar cells, which have 7% market share, but
flexible cells made of silicon require only 1% of the
material used in traditional rigid cells.
Of all the alternative energy sources, solar facilities
are the least restricted by geography, with power
plants in use even in Antarctica, but the countries
with the most solar production facilities are
Germany and Japan and certain states in the
United States, where use is driven with strong
government incentives.
SOLAR ENERGY GENERATION (2007) – SELECT COUNTRIES
Netherlands (56 M kWh)
Germany (4,060 M kWh)
France (92 M kWh)
U.S. (2,133 M kWh)
Switzerland (44 M kWh)
Korea (82 M kWh)
Italy (147 M kWh)
Spain (803 M kWh)
Japan (2,017 M kWh)
Australia (116 M kWh)
Millions of kWh
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Switzerland Netherlands
Exhibit 15
Korea
France
Australia
Italy
Spain
Japan
U.S.
Germany
Note: Number calculated using capacity factors of 18% for PV in U.S., Australia, and Mexico; 14% for PV in Spain, Italy, France, and Switzerland;
12% for PV in for Germany, Japan, Korea, and the Netherlands; and 25% for CSP (in U.S. and Spain only).
Source: IEA PVPS; La Generacion del Sol, U.S. Department of Energy
SOLAR POWER INVENTIONS IN THE THREE ESTATES
The first estate in solar energy includes 20 large
assignees that hold 39% of the IP in the area
(Exhibits 16 and 17). In the second estate there are
1,025 commercial entities with smaller IP portfolios,
but together they account for 53% of the IP in this
technical area. Academic and government entities
hold the remaining 8% of the IP.
The U.S. firm Energy Conversion Devices is a
prominent holder of solar energy patents,
particularly in the area of thin-film solar devices.
It is absent from the DOE pie chart because most of
its sales are for rooftop rather than grid-connected
installations, but its thin-film expertise is also aimed
at large installations.
Information on sellers of solar installations that
was obtained from the Renewable Energy Data
Book names 10 companies as the top worldwide
providers of photovoltaic installations.
Academic and government interest in this area is
more active overall and less China-dominated
than is the case for wind power. Institutions from
Germany, Japan, the United States, and Korea are
engaged in research covering thin films, nanotubes
and dye-enhanced solar cells, among other
subjects. One of the most prolific academic
contributors to patenting of solar inventions is the
Institute for Solar Energy Research, Leibniz
University of Hannover, Germany. It has many
affiliations with companies active in the field.
None of the larger players in this field have been
as active at filing for patents recently. Research in
solar power was very intense in the periods 20002005, and has diminished, particularly in Japan.
3091 (53%)
50.6%
3%
1025 (87%)
3%
494 (8%)
126 (11%)
3.4%
4%
20 (2%)
2253 (39%)
8.2%
4.1%
5.5%
COUNT OF ASSIGNEES
COUNT OF INVENTIONS
Large Commercial
Large Commercial
Small Commercial
Small Commercial
Academic / Government
Academic / Government
4.2% 6.8% 7.2%
GLOBAL SOLAR PV
PRODUCTION 2008
6,941 MW nameplate capacity
Q-Cells (GER)
SunPower Co. (US)
Suntech (China)
Sanyo (JP)
Sharp Solar (JP)
Trina Solar (China)
Kyocera (JP)
Others
Motech (Taiwan)
Baoding Yingli (China)
JA Solar (China)
Source: PV News
Exhibit 16
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Exhibit 17
Exhibit 18
SOLAR POWER INVENTION LANDSCAPE
A text-mining map (Exhibit 19) containing the solar
energy inventions provides insight on the activity in
this field. Technical areas of recent interest are
highlighted on the map. Thin films are the flexible
format for solar cells that use less silicon, making
them less expensive. The problem to be solved
with thin films is efficiency. Dye-sensitized solar cell
inventions are also highlighted, and the overlap
between the two technologies is indicated by the
white dots. Much of the dye technology arises in
Korea and Japan.
– Thin-film solar cell inventions
– Dye-sensitized solar cell inventions
– Overlap of thin-film and dye-sensitized solar cell inventions
Exhibit 19
MARINE POWER
Marine energy is not even on the charts yet as a
potentially major source of electrical power. Part of
the reason for this is that the proposed methods of
capturing ocean and tidal energy are diverse, and
both R&D efforts and investments are fragmented.
The methods that are under development rely either
on capturing oscillatory energy from wave motion
or on turning turbines using wave or tidal motion.
Installations may be off-shore, near-shore or
in estuaries. The industries with the greatest
knowledge applicable to the marine environment
are ship-building, oil drilling and hydropower (dams),
but most of these companies are not stepping up to
invest in marine energy programs. Although
potential is considerable, investment in the area is
risky because of the harsh environment and difficult
equipment maintenance. Pre-1990 efforts by
Japanese shipbuilders have essentially stopped.
Investment by the U.K. government occurred in two
waves – one in the early 80s, and a second still
ongoing, and the level of U.K. inventions track these
investments. The Carbon Trust5 predicts this
technology may become commercial around 2020.
Key development issues include alloys or composites
usable to create turbines that resist corrosion and
wear, environmental impact, dealing with weather
anticipation, and enabling transfer to the grid.
Costs are heavy in equipment, installation, and
maintenance, and will need to be balanced by high
output to make them commercially viable, but
modeling suggests that there is sufficient potential
to justify development efforts.
Tidal and wave energy test activity is so far distributed
in countries where there are especially suitable local
features such as large tidal movements or accessible
areas away from shipping lanes, but at present the
most important driver is government incentives and
funding rather than involvement of heavy industry.
The La Rance barrage is a relatively large (~240 MW)
tidal installation in France that has supplied a city of
300,000 for 40 years.
5 Carbon Trust http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/publications/publicationdetail.htm?productid=CTC601
WORLDWIDE ADVANCED WATER POWER COMMERCIAL AND PILOT PLANTS IN OPERATION
Kislaya Bay (Pilot)
5
Fall of Warness
7
RITE Project
2
3
Islay Project
1
Aguçadora Wave Park
8
4
Xingfuyang
Jiangxia
6
Wave
Port Kembla
Wave Energy Project
Tidal
Source: FERC, Pelamis Wave Power, Verdant Power, MIT Technology Review, EDF
Exhibit 20
15
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MARINE POWER INVENTIONS IN THE THREE ESTATES
There is very little (9%) contribution of the first
estate to R&D and patenting in marine technology
(Exhibit 22) because it is still insufficiently proven,
and what little there is resides in Japanese
companies. Some large companies partner with
government to support early-stage testing and
development, with IP accruing to the developers.
These companies often have government
investment. Some examples are Ocean Power
Technologies, Ocean Technologies Ltd., Clipper
Windpower, Marine Current Turbines and Clean
Current Power Systems. The Carbon Trust6
summarizes the stages of development it has
surveyed as shown in Exhibit 23.
Most of the companies in the second estate are
in the United States, the United Kingdom and
Europe, and these companies tend to be small
startups led by a key inventor.
The academic-government group is a
proportionally large contributor, with institutions
in the United Kingdom, the United States and Asia
participating. Of note is the activity from the Korea
Ocean Research & Development Institute (KORDI).
6 The Carbon Trust, Future Marine Energy.
60
37 (17%)
24 (17%)
Number of concepts
50
163 (74%)
114 (80%)
40
30
20
10
0
Wave Energy
Generators
4 (3%)
COUNT OF ASSIGNEES
Tidal Stream
Energy Generators
21 (9%)
COUNT OF INVENTIONS
Large Commercial
Large Commercial
Small Commercial
Small Commercial
Academic / Government
Academic / Government
DEVELOPMENT STATUS OF
WAVE AND TIDAL STREAM
TECHNOLOGIES
Source: Carbon Trust
Concept Design
Detailed Design
Part-Scale Model
Full-Scale Prototype
First Production Model
Exhibit 21
Exhibit 22
Exhibit 23
MARINE POWER INVENTION LANDSCAPE
A text-mining map (Exhibit 24) containing the
marine energy inventions provides more detail on
the activity in this field. A variety of methods for
extracting wave energy exist, some employing
submerged turbines, others using wave oscillations
and other methods. The method highlighted on the
map uses wave oscillations to compress air to drive
mechanical elements and generate rotary motion.
– Methods involving wave oscillations to compress air to generate power
Exhibit 24
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CONCLUSION
The international race to secure energy
independence and to establish dominance in
alternative energy technology is still in its early
phases. Nations and businesses around the globe
are investing billions of dollars in public and private
funds into development of such technologies. A
closer look at patent activity in this area reveals
that there are many players trying to carve out
small niches for themselves. If we mapped out the
current alternative energy R&D activities, it would
consist of a thousand small streams – each one
making small, incremental progress, and often
overlapping one another.
If ever wind, solar or marine energies are to rival or
supplant established energies like oil, gas and coal
as viable, largescale solution to the world‘s
growing energy needs, it will take more than
individual efforts. These streams will need to
converge to reduce redundancy and create larger
opportunities. The key to such a convergence is
increased collaboration across boundaries,
partnerships and licensing. Companies large and
small should take a look around and pay great
attention to the competitive landscape, do more
buying and licensing or become development
partners with others who are pursuing
complementary technologies or new ideas.
Today, the solar and wind sectors are more active
than marine, with wind leading the way. Solar likely
has better long-term potential because it is
possible to install solar facilities in more places and
have it work. Wind is only viable in specific
locations and is plagued by controversy, with some
detractors who don’t want the turbines
overshadowing their property, disrupting their view,
or interfering with shipping lanes. Marine trails the
other two sectors mainly because there is no
agreement on the most effective method of
extracting energy in a challenging and sometimes
violent environment. In marine energy, choices will
have to be made to allow focused effort.
The goal for all involved is to create technologies
that can produce greater amounts of energy, and
to reduce the price per watt for such technologies.
Paradoxically, per person consumption must drop
to allow us to live within the limits we have. Need is
increasing and new areas are developing.
What we are seeing is a natural progression. To a
great degree, the industry is still in its pioneering
phase, with a proliferation of competitors. What
will follow is consolidation, with larger companies
buying smaller ones to speed development.
Everyone wants to be the winner, but collaboration
will create many winners and allow alternative
energy to thrive and create great opportunities for
those with the right R&D strategy. With
collaborative effort we will see swifter and greater
impact on the global grid and a reduction in
dependence on fossil fuels.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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© 2009 Thomson Reuters L-352266/9-09
Susan E. Cullen, Ph.D., is IP Consulting Services Director with the IP
Solutions business of Thomson Reuters. Dr. Cullen led a research group
for 18 years and has 10 years of IP management experience that includes
directing a licensing office and supporting the redesign of the IP practices
at Monsanto/Pharmacia. Since 2000, she has worked as a consultant in
IP analysis. She develops methodology for extracting competitive and
technical intelligence from IP and gives advanced training to users of
Thomson Reuters analytical tools. Dr. Cullen has a Ph.D. in Microbiology
from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, a B.S. in Chemistry. She is a
registered U.S. patent agent and an Adjunct Full Professor at Washington
University in St. Louis.