The UK has set its sights on an ambitious target: reaching net zero by 2050. This goal demands an overhaul of how we produce, consume, and innovate, and green technologies will play a pivotal role in this transformation. The key question is: are we innovating fast enough? Recent reports from the UK Intellectual Property Office and the European Patent Office on patent filing trends offer one way to evaluate the progress of the green industrial revolution.
Reaching net zero involves multiple factors, including:
1. Legislation: Effective laws and regulations implemented at both national and international levels to set enforceable targets.
2. Education: To ensure public support for policy changes and assist in their implementation.
3. Innovation: Advancements in technology to enable sustainable alternatives to existing practices.
Green innovation within the chemical industry, in particular, will have a critical role as we transition towards a more sustainable future.
Although innovation can be difficult to measure, patent filing data provides one useful metric to gauge growth and global trends in emerging technologies. A number of recent reports explore the data around green technologies and provide fascinating insights.
Growth in green technology patent filings
A UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) report published in February 2024, titled The Race to Net Zero: Tracking the Green Industrial Revolution through IP1, examined trends in patent filing data. It revealed that between 2000 and 2020, patent filings relating to green technology increased by over 400%, far outstripping the growth in overall patent filings. In contrast, “brown technologies” (those relying on fossil fuels) only experienced a two-fold growth over the same period.
The report also broke down green technology patent filings by sector. Electronics, including battery technology, electrode materials, and solar batteries, accounted for over 50% of green technology patent filings. Chemistry came in second, with water treatments making up around 5.8% of the chemistry-related filings.
The prominence of battery-related filings is unsurprising given the recent shift to electric vehicles and renewable energy sources, both of which require extensive battery storage. In the UK at least, a new Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) is currently under construction at Coalburn in South Lanarkshire, located on the site of a former coal mine. Believed to be the largest battery storage project in Europe, the intention is that it will be charged using excess power from wind farms, providing a mechanism to balance the variability in power generation from this energy source.2
The UK report also looked at the Relative Specialisation Index (RSI)3 in certain green technology areas. When comparing the top 10 patenting countries worldwide, the report noted that the UK ranked most highly in terms of the RSI in the sectors of greener buildings and offshore wind power. Both of these specialisations position the UK well in sectors that will be critical for achieving net zero.
Tackling Plastic Pollution in the Chemical Industry
One of the key challenges the chemical industry will face on the road to net zero is plastic pollution. Achieving full circularity will require innovation in recycling technologies and the development of bioplastics—materials made from renewable feedstocks and/or which are biodegradable.
An EPO report from 2021, Patents for Tomorrow’s Plastics: Global Innovation Trends in Recycling, Circular Design and Alternative Sources4, looked at trends in this specific sector and contained a number of interesting insights.
In terms of patent filings, the US and Europe appear to show equal dominance in the fields of plastic recycling and alternative plastics. In each case, about 30% of international patent filings relating to recycling and alternative plastic technologies originated from applicants based in these jurisdictions. Within Europe, the UK, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium were highlighted in report for their relative specialisation in plastic recycling and bioplastic technologies.
Notably, the report revealed a large proportion of filings in chemical and biological plastic recycling methods originates from universities and public research organisations, indicating a strong foundation in upstream research. However, Europe’s dominance in research has not translated into commercial enterprises. US start-ups and scale-ups have generated four times as many industry-related patents in the last decade compared to their European counterparts.
The gap between upstream research and commercial applications in Europe could be suggestive of untapped potential. More support and incentives are needed to fast-track the commercialisation of such innovations, particularly as new green technologies often compete against well-established and cheaper fossil fuel-based technologies. For instance, new bioplastics must contend with long-used and well-characterised fossil fuel-derived materials, especially in heavily regulated industries like packaging for food or medical products, or in transportation.
What are Patent Offices doing to help?
Patent Offices around the world are also doing their bit to raise awareness of new green technologies and to ease the path of these applications through to grant.
As one example, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) launched WIPO Green in 2013. WIPO Green is an online database of green technologies that are available for license or sale. The platform offers one way to bring those offering patented green technologies to those who need these technologies to assist them in forming partnerships and bringing the technology to market. The European Patent Office hosts a “Deep Tech Finder” database, which allows a user to quickly search and identify European universities, spin-outs and startups holding patent applications in specific fields – including green materials, recycling technologies and water treatments amongst many others.
Many patent offices, including the UKIPO, also offer accelerated prosecution of green patent applications through initiatives like the Green Channel.
Conclusion
Innovation will have a key role in achieving net zero, and patent filing trends certainly show that innovators are doing their best to kick start the green industrial revolution. However, translating research into commercial applications remains a challenge. By addressing barriers to market entry and fostering industry collaboration, we can ensure that green technologies fulfil their potential and pave the way for a sustainable future.
Mairi Rudkin is a Partner at Marks & Clerk. She joined the patent profession in 2011 after working in the fields of synthetic organic chemistry and medicinal chemistry. She handles a diverse range of chemical subject matter including medicinal chemistry, formulation chemistry, polymers and sustainable chemistry.
