The automotive industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by increased focus on driver and passenger safety and comfort, and the growing importance of technologies such as electrification, connectivity and autonomous vehicles. In the last three years alone, there have been over 720,000 patents filed and granted in the automotive industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Innovation in automotive: heat exchanger brazing. Buy the report here.
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However, not all innovations are equal, and nor do they follow a constant upward trend. Instead, their evolution takes the form of an S-shaped curve that reflects their typical lifecycle from early emergence to accelerating adoption, before finally stabilizing and reaching maturity.
Identifying where a particular innovation is on this journey, especially those that are in the emerging and accelerating stages, is essential for understanding their current level of adoption and the likely future trajectory and impact they will have.
300+ innovations will shape the automotive industry
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresight, which plots the S-curve for the automotive industry using innovation intensity models built on over one million patents, there are 300+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Within the emerging innovation stage, multi-spark ignition, integrated multi-motor drivetrains and vehicle auxiliary drives are useful technologies that are in the early stages of wider application and should be tracked closely. Solar range extenders, turbocharger shaft bearings, and multi-lamellar clutches are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are auto-transmission lubrication circuits and electroluminscent vehicle displays, which are now well-established in the industry.
Innovation S-curve for the automotive industry
Heat exchanger brazing is a key innovation area in automotive
Owing to the highly turbulent water flows, a brazed plate heat exchanger (BPHE) is normally self-cleaning. Chemical cleaning may be required to maintain efficiency in applications with a high risk of fouling or scaling due to unsuitable conditions such as questionable water quality and high temperatures (scaling).
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 65+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established automotive companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of heat exchanger brazing.
Key players in heat exchanger brazing – a disruptive innovation in the automotive industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of applications identified for each patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of countries each patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to heat exchanger brazing
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
UACJ is one of the leading innovators in heat exchanger brazing. The company has developed cladding an aluminum-silicon alloy with a brazing sheet that provides the alloy with the thin walls required for use in automobile heat exchangers, as well as such desirable characteristics as high strength, corrosion resistance, and formability. Other companies innovating in this technology domain are Mahle, Denso, Valeo, and Mitsubishi Materials.
In terms of application diversity, Mahle held the top position, while Denso and UACJ stood in second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Nippon Steel leads the pack, followed by Daikin Industries and Fuji Electric.
To further understand the key themes and technologies 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.
