The automotive industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation. Activity is driven by cost, engine performance, fuel efficiency, and durability, and growing importance of technologies such as electric, connected and autonomous vehicles. In the last three years alone, there have been over 1.2 million patents filed and granted in the automotive industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Environmental sustainability in Automotive: Fuel cell-battery combination.  Buy the report here.

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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 619,000 patents to analyse innovation intensity for the automotive industry, there are 290+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry. 

Fuel cell-battery combination is a key innovation area in environmental sustainability 

A hydrogen-based fuel cell produces electricity to charge batteries in vehicles in addition to supplying energy to the drivetrain. Like lithium batteries, hydrogen itself serves as an energy carrier and storage mechanism.

GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 140+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established automotive companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of fuel cell-battery combination. 

Key players in fuel cell-battery combination – a disruptive innovation in the automotive industry  

‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators. 

‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’. 

Patent volumes related to fuel cell-battery combination

Company Total patents (2021 - 2023) Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies
Toyota Motor 1047 Unlock Company Profile
Nissan Motor 287 Unlock Company Profile
Hyundai Motor Group 273 Unlock Company Profile
Honda Motor 235 Unlock Company Profile
Panasonic 200 Unlock Company Profile
General Motors 167 Unlock Company Profile
Robert Bosch Stiftung 143 Unlock Company Profile
Porsche Automobil Holding 134 Unlock Company Profile
Kia 133 Unlock Company Profile
Samsung SDI 102 Unlock Company Profile
Toshiba 77 Unlock Company Profile
Kyocera 74 Unlock Company Profile
Mercedes-Benz Group 71 Unlock Company Profile
Murata Manufacturing 64 Unlock Company Profile
Johnson Controls International 64 Unlock Company Profile
Sony Group 60 Unlock Company Profile
LG 60 Unlock Company Profile
Ford Motor 56 Unlock Company Profile
Meditor European Master Fund 53 Unlock Company Profile
Tesla 50 Unlock Company Profile
Honeywell International 47 Unlock Company Profile
Suzuki Motor 44 Unlock Company Profile
Brookfield Asset Management 43 Unlock Company Profile
Bayerische Motoren Werke 43 Unlock Company Profile
Dyson Holdings 39 Unlock Company Profile
Yamaha Motor 39 Unlock Company Profile
Hitachi 36 Unlock Company Profile
BlackBerry 33 Unlock Company Profile
Cummins 32 Unlock Company Profile
Microsoft 32 Unlock Company Profile
Mahle 28 Unlock Company Profile
Denso 27 Unlock Company Profile
International Business Machines 25 Unlock Company Profile
EaglePicher 25 Unlock Company Profile
Cadenza Innovation 24 Unlock Company Profile
Siemens 24 Unlock Company Profile
Bloom Energy 23 Unlock Company Profile
Fastcap Systems 23 Unlock Company Profile
Boeing 23 Unlock Company Profile
Swatch Group 23 Unlock Company Profile
CEA 23 Unlock Company Profile
Chung-Hsin Electric and Machinery Manufacturing 21 Unlock Company Profile
Dell Technologies 20 Unlock Company Profile
Doosan 19 Unlock Company Profile
Toyota Jidosha Kogyo 19 Unlock Company Profile
Johnson & Johnson 19 Unlock Company Profile
AB Volvo 18 Unlock Company Profile
Naval Group 18 Unlock Company Profile
NACCO Materials Handling Group 17 Unlock Company Profile
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation 17 Unlock Company Profile

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

Toyota is a leading patent filer in the fuel cell-battery combination market with 1,047 patent applications. Toyota is continuing to develop fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) as they are one of the most promising technologies for achieving sustainable mobility and energy diversification. Nissan, Panasonic, and Hyundai are a few of the other top patent filers in the same field.  

To further understand how environmental sustainability is disrupting the automotive industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Automotive

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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.

GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.