Offshore Wind Energy patent trends give insights into sector evolution

The Offshore Wind Energy sector continues to grow, driven by ongoing innovation and a focus on sustainability. The European Patent Office (EPO) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) have just released a comprehensive report on the sector, looking at patent trends and analysing what they can tell us about market dynamics and technological advancements, and considering policy implications.
So, given the importance of Wind Energy to the World’s fight against climate change, what does the report tell us about how the technology – and the sector – is evolving?

The report analyzes global patent filings from 2002 to 2022 in offshore wind energy technologies. Patent filings are good indicators for innovation, commercialization, and knowledge transfer trends across international markets. They can offer insights into technology shifts and identify emerging players or consolidation efforts.

The report looks at how recent patent activity is addressing key technological challenges in the offshore wind energy sector. It is based on an assessment of approximately 17,000 patents related to offshore wind energy, covering inventions in fixed and floating foundations, towers, mechanical power transmission, blades and rotors, hybrid systems, energy storage, and grids and submarine cables.

Key findings from the report include a surge in global patent filings from 2006 to 2012, with floating foundations, transportation, and mechanical transmission being prominent areas of invention. The report also provides important policy insights, such as the dominance of European, Asian, and U.S. markets in offshore wind invention, with Germany and Denmark leading the way. Interestingly, China is seen to have more focus on domestic patents than international filings, indicating a reliance on a strong domestic market.

The report also found increasing innovation in floating foundations, logistics, and green hydrogen production. Notably, it has identified rising interest in combining offshore wind with electrolysers, indicating expectations of a substantial green hydrogen economy.

Other trends discussed in the report include: the expansion of offshore wind markets through floating foundations; alternative designs for towers and blades to enhance sustainability; increased use of rare earth materials in drive trains; on-site energy storage coupled with hydrogen production; and the uptake of submarine electrical infrastructure.

How important is Offshore Wind Energy in transitioning to clean energy?

Climate change is already affecting economies worldwide, so governments and stakeholders are aware of the need to take action to address the global climate emergency. The 2023 edition of the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) World Energy Transitions Outlook concluded that a transition to renewable-based energy is crucial in the battle against climate change, but the current pace of transition is not fast enough.

To limit global warming to the target of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, a reduction of approximately 37 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from 2022 levels is necessary to reach net-zero scenario in the energy sector by 2050. This can only be achieved with a significant transformation of energy systems, including the extensive deployment of renewable generation capacity. Offshore wind is expected to play a significant role, reaching nearly 2,500 GW generating capacity by 2050 – a 40-fold increase from the 63 GW recorded in 2022. This positions offshore wind as a key technology in achieving global climate targets in the next three decades.

However, the deployment of offshore wind faces challenges – including the price of raw materials increasing, integration into energy systems through new interconnections, supply chain bottlenecks, and the need for larger turbines, with more robust foundations – which need to be addressed to accelerate the sector’s contribution to the energy transition. As the report highlights, innovation in many of these areas is underway.

The Cost-Competitiveness of Offshore Wind

Offshore wind stands out as a cost-effective solution for supplying electricity to densely populated coastal areas, given its offshore location, high energy output per square meter, and the ability to scale up quickly to gigawatt levels.

Technological advancements, particularly in larger turbines with extended blades, higher hub heights, and exploration in locations farther from shorelines, have contributed to higher generation capacity factors. The report highlights the potential for significant progress through ongoing research and development efforts, leading to continuous technological improvements.

Originally, offshore wind farms were positioned closer to shore and in shallower depths. However, advancements in wind energy technology have facilitated a shift to greater distances from the coast and into deeper waters. This shift has been made possible by stronger and more consistent wind further out from the coast, and presents opportunities for countries with substantial seabed drops, including the UK.

What do the Patent trends tell us about how Offshore Wind Energy is developing?

The number of granted patents serves as a strong metric for assessing quality of innovation in a sector, and its economic significance. Granted patents are particularly valuable indicators as they signify technology that the granting Patent Office considers to be new and inventive, and can be expected to relate to commercial products.

A growing number of granted patents indicates a commitment by patent owners to invest resources in safeguarding their market share, showcasing the potential for income generation from their inventions.

The report looks at patent trends in the number of applications filed, where they are being filed, which companies are filing and what areas of technology dominate.

The EPO, US, China and Denmark take the top four places by number of patent applications filed annually. The Danish firm Vestas stands out as the lead patent filer in offshore wind energy technologies, showing remarkable levels of patent activity. Patent applications are being filed in seven areas of technology associated with offshore wind energy. These are: 1) Fixed and floating foundations; 2) Towers; 3) Mechanical power transmission; 4) Blades and rotors; 5) Hybrid systems; 6) Energy storage; and 7) Grid, submarine cables, and protecting them.

You can read the full report here.

Interested in a bespoke report, to give you an overview of the patent landscape in your specific area of technology? Get in touch to start a conversation with one of our patent attorneys.

Happy Two IP anniversary Rachel!

November has marked our trade mark attorney Rachel Havard’s anniversary of joining Two IP – happy anniversary Rachel!
Moving on from many years in traditional private practice with lengthy commutes, fixed targets and long working days, Rachel took the leap to join Two IP after realising that there was another option out there for her. Read on to find out how Rachel’s life has radically changed in the past 12 months!

Rachel was at her old firm for 23 years – 16 of those years as a partner – so it was a massive part of her life. With frequent days in the London office, Rachel was spending numerous hours a week commuting from her Warwickshire home – many of those hours needing to be made up for in evenings and at weekends. The responsibility that comes with being a partner in traditional practice, on top of the tiredness Rachel was feeling from the commuting and long hours, undoubtedly took its toll on Rachel’s life at home. In Rachel’s own words “I wasn’t a very nice person to my family. Although I loved where I worked, I could see that my work-life balance was actually a bit out of kilter”.

A change of direction
So in 2022, Rachel recognised that something needed to change.

With her work-life balance askew, Rachel was looking for something a little bit different. “I wasn’t quite sure what that solution might be. I’d been a partner and I didn’t really want to go and be employed somewhere else. I was already in a place where I really liked the people, and so really it had to be something absolutely totally different for me”.

And that is when Rachel found Two IP. After an initial chat with director Anna Molony, Rachel could see that this would be her opportunity to “go it alone without being alone”. Two IP could offer infrastructure, organisation and support but without the constraints and rigidity of process found with a traditional firm. And in November 2022, after taking a much-needed month’s break in between roles, Rachel joined the Two IP team.

So what has changed?
For Rachel, the biggest impact has been on her home life. “My family noticed the difference straight away. Before they would say that I’d be in the room, but not in the room, whereas now I am actually present” shares Rachel.

Being a mother to a teenage daughter who previously found her mum a little unapproachable due to her focus being elsewhere, Rachel has found herself able to offer support and encouragement throughout her daughter’s recent exams. Rachel has also had the time and capacity to support her wider family, to be a more active member of her local community, and to pursue her other interests like getting away in her VW camper van and being an executive producer of a micro-budget independent feature film – find out more on this here!

Rachel’s commute has switched from 5-hour round trips on her London office days to wandering through her garden to her home office. Rachel now has the freedom to choose her own hours, taking the odd afternoon off as she chooses without feeling guilty.

“Ultimately, I feel invigorated and re-energised from making the change. I feel happier”

It is not only Rachel’s personal life which has improved, her clients have benefited too. One year on, Rachel has worked hard to develop her business and now has a solid client base. “I feel like I can give a better service to my clients as I’ve got more time to think around what they need and I don’t have rigid time targets”. Rachel has enjoyed maintaining and cultivating long standing client relationships, as well as building new ones as she also grows her client base closer to home in Warwickshire. “I have more energy which means I can give my clients my full attention without distractions and I feel under less pressure as I set my own time targets”.

The Two IP set up has also brought great support to Rachel in her first year: “It is great to be part of something bigger and to benefit from others’ experience, but at the same time have visibility of everything, with full control over my business development, my diary and my targets”.

As Rachel brilliantly sums up her first year with Two IP: “I am now able to be there for my people – I am no longer distracted and I can be totally mindful and present. And after all, if you’re happy in your private life then you’re going to be happy in your work life, and vice versa!”

If you are an experienced attorney and Rachel’s first year with Two IP has inspired you to see there is another option out there, we would love to talk to you!  To find out more, visit our website here or book a confidential chat with one of our Directors here.

Do Autonomous Vessels float your boat?

With the prevalence of electric vehicles and the advancement of automonous vehicles, we are all now becoming more and more familiar with new technology and automation on our roads, but have you ever considered what goes on out at sea?
In our latest article, our patent attorney and technology expert Coreena Brinck tells us more about what excites her about Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) and the mind-blowing capability of the technology which powers them.
So the question remains – do autonomous vessels float your boat?

They do for me, Dr Coreena Brinck, a consultant patent attorney here at Two IP.

From time to time, I like to reflect on tech areas I’ve particularly enjoyed working with and Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) definitely makes my top five.

Patenting technology utilized at sea has its own challenges, but this is a typical area where we are likely to see significant increases in patent filings in the next few years as technology is developing at a terrific pace, and no doubt given the stakes, more patent litigation.

MASS Capabilities: past, present and future

MASS have been around for a long time as a concept, but even as recently as 2016, huge challenges for making true MASS a reality remained (see this collaborative study by Rolls-Royce here if you are interested). Move on just five years to 2021 and development was progressing at a pace where the International Maritime Association conducted a regulatory scoping exercise on how existing maritime regulation could apply to ships with some degree of automation and a goal-based MASS code is now on track for being rolled out in 2025.

So why do I find MASS technologies so interesting?

Well, it is not just that it is kind of clever. A MASS may have capabilities ranging from simple automated processes and decision support to taking fully autonomous decisions and actions, A MASS involves advanced hardware (think control systems for the operation of the ship, navigation systems, control over (un)loading equipment etc.) as well as advanced software. Sailing in tidal waters, whether in a small boat or a gigantic container ship, involves understanding currents, wind, weather, and tides for autonomous navigation, hazard management, and manoeuvres such as docking and undocking, which are all pretty challenging for an AI system to safely control. I will admit all of this makes the tech pretty interesting to my nerdy brain.

Nor is it that working on this sort of technology reminds me how I used to really enjoy getting out on the water. These days it’s more likely to be on a SUP, but I’ve enjoyed sailing on small boats and have even hazarded a passage crossing the English Channel in the past! And I confess I still look forward to going out again on a sailboat at some blurry point in future on a fine day with a stiff breeze.

I also enjoy this sort of technology as it offers a greener future. Norway in particular sees MASS as helping to take freight traffic off roads. Here in the UK, it could also make a big difference if there was more coastal freight, although I can’t help but also think of our inland waterways and the benefits autonomous vessel technology could bring if more use could be made of our historic canal networks. Alas, in the UK so many of these have been neglected that it is unlikely autonomous vessel technology on canals could transform the UK freight industry.

Why is regulation in this area so important?

Well, similar to the way that regulations and standards operate in the autonomous vehicle space, compliance with regulation ensures a higher degree of safety. Different MASS operators can be more confident that MASS made by different compliant manufacturers will behave in a safer and more predictable way, which is vital for MASS AI systems to operate optimally and ensure safety of life at sea, safety of cargo, and of the MASS itself.

Where is the future of MASS heading?

There are four stages of autonomous vessel technology, and we are already teetering on stage 3:

  • Degree one: Ship with automated processes and decision support. Seafarers are on board to operate and control shipboard systems and functions. Some operations may be automated and at times be unsupervised but with seafarers on board ready to take control.
  • Degree two: Remotely controlled ship with seafarers on board. The ship is controlled and operated from another location. Seafarers are available on board to take control and to operate the shipboard systems and functions.
  • Degree three: Remotely controlled ship without seafarers on board: The ship is controlled and operated from another location. There are no seafarers on board.
  • Degree four: Fully autonomous ship: The operating system of the ship is able to make decisions and determine actions by itself.

If you want to find out more about IMO regulation for autonomous vessels, click on this useful link here.

Exciting times loom ahead and I’d love to work again on this type of tech going forwards.

If you want more advice on patenting an invention which relates to MASS, then contact Dr Coreena Brinck via our website here or by emailing her at hello@two-ip.com.

How to significantly increase your chances of getting VC startup funding

The European Patent Office (EPO) and European IP Office (EUIPO) have recently released a study looking at the finance and exit performance of European startups – it found that innovative startups with patent and trade mark applications are 6 times more likely to get VC funding and more than twice as likely to make a successful exit for investors and founders.
We take a look at the study’s findings and discuss why, if you are a startup, protecting your Intellectual Property (IP) might give you so much advantage.

What did the study find?

Filing patent and trade mark applications in the seed or early growth stages is associated with a higher likelihood of obtaining VC funding. The effect of applying for IP protection in the early stage is particularly noticeable. Startups that have filed trade mark applications are 4.3 times more likely to get seed funding, and for those that have filed patent applications the effect is even more significant – they are 6.4 times more likely to receive seed funding.

The positive effect of IP protection is even stronger in the early growth stage. Startups with an EU trade mark application have a 6.1 times higher likelihood of obtaining early-stage funding and those that have filed a national trade mark application are 2.8 times more likely to obtain funding, compared to startups with no trade mark protection. European patents/applications are associated with a 5.3 times higher likelihood of obtaining early-stage funding, and startups that have filed national patent applications are 3.8 times more likely to be successful in early-stage funding rounds, compared to startups with no patent applications or patents.

And the effect continues at exit. Companies that have filed patent and/or trade mark applications are more than twice as likely to result in successful exit for investors, with a higher likelihood being observed for companies that have obtained European patents and/or trade marks than for those that only have national patents and/or trade marks.

On average, across all areas of technology, 29% of European (including the UK) startups have applied for national or European patents and trade marks. Biotechnology is by far the most IP  intensive sector, with nearly half of startups obtaining patents or registered trade marks. Other IP-intensive sectors include science and engineering (25% file patent applications and 38% file trade mark applications), healthcare (20% obtain patents and 40% trade marks) and manufacturing (20% obtain patents and 36% obtain trade marks).

You can find out more by listening to the EPO Podcast episode about the study, its methodology and its findings here.

Why does IP protection have such a positive effect?

For many VC investors, reviewing a startup’s IP portfolio is one of the key assessments that they make when deciding whether or not to invest, and on what terms. So why does IP protection matter to VCs?

A strong IP portfolio can give a startup a significant competitive advantage, with patent protection in particular offering potential market dominance and higher revenue potential. The ability to prevent others making or selling competing products also protects the VC investors’ funds – a strong patent portfolio can create a significant barrier to entry into a new technology area, discouraging both established competitors and those looking to move into the sector from attempting to copy your technology.

A strong IP strategy is also critical to a startup achieving its business goals and growth potential. All companies have a business strategy and technology led companies have an R&D strategy that supports the business strategy. The most successful technology led companies also have an IP strategy. You can read more about what to include in your IP strategy in our blog article here.

Ownership of patents, trade marks and designs is associated with better performance in terms of job creation and productivity (revenue per employee). And companies are active in obtaining IP rights are more likely than other companies to experience high growth in subsequent years. VC investors are looking for both.

IP rights can also be valuable business assets in and of themselves, which can also influence the funding amount that a VC is willing to offer in return for an equity holding in the company. It is also worth remembering that IP can be licensed, or used as the basis for strategic partnerships, both of which can generate income. VCs are looking for a plan to monetize the IP rights in a startup as both can potentially result in higher returns on their investment.

And finally, like everyone, VC investors want to avoid pain. Investing in startups can be a risky business, and VCs generally aim to mitigate those risks as much as possible. Strong patent and trade mark protection, as well as a good understanding of the IP landscape and Freedom to Operate (FTO) within it, mitigates those risks. Expect any VC worth their money to take a long, hard look at your portfolio and to ask difficult questions about FTO.

How can we help?

For startups, both IP protection and funding are critical – we can help you with getting appropriate IP protection. For VC investors, there is a need to be able to screen and evaluate startups that are developing original products – we can assess IP portfolio’s and advise on how strong they are.

Are you in the early stages of a start up business or a VC investor looking for expert help?

For guidance, support and advice from our team, contact us by email here or visit our website www.two-ip.com.