Hydrogen is affirmed as the “key link” in the energy transition, indicates a study by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the European Patent Office (EPO) that shows a technological advance in hydrogen. Europe versus the United States United States, which lagged behind during the Trump years.
During the decade 2011-2020, the countries of the European Union (28%) and Japan (24%) dominate the filing of international patent applications related to hydrogen production technologies, according to the study, the first of its kind in the world. In detail, within the Old Continent, Germany (11%), France (6%) and the Netherlands (3%) are the leaders in patenting hydrogen technologies.
Europe is taking a “head start” in terms of manufacturing capacity for electrolyzers, equipment used to produce hydrogen without emitting CO2, by splitting the water molecule (H2O) into oxygen and hydrogen molecules using an electric current.
The United States, with 20% of patent applications, is the only major innovation center that has lost ground, especially during the tenure of Donald Trump (2016-2020). Although the country was number one in 2011, its number “decreased significantly” after 2015 and the country found itself in 2020 “in third position” behind Europe and Japan, the study notes. During the decade, China accounted for 4% of patent applications and Korea for 7%.
Air Liquide in the lead
In terms of research, “we have a shift” towards decarbonised technologies, explains Yannick Ménière, chief economist at the EPO. This is all the more strategic since the current hydrogen production processes are almost 100% of fossil origin, from gas, based on technologies that emit high levels of CO2 into the atmosphere. Hence the nickname of gray hydrogen that is given to the one that is manufactured industrially.
When produced primarily from wind, solar, or carbon-free electricity such as nuclear, hydrogen can “replace fossil fuels” and be used to decarbonize sectors “where there are few clean alternatives,” such as long-distance transportation and fertilizers, says the director of the IEA. General Fatih Birol.
By sectors, the chemical and automotive groups are the most active, led by the French Air Liquide with 174 patent applications, ahead of the German Linde (155). Within universities and public research institutes, the French institutes CEA, CNRS and IFP occupy the top three places in the world for fundamental research in terms of hydrogen patents.
Source: BFM TV
