US clean tech patents hit record high

The US economy may have tanked, but clean energy patents are soaring, according to the latest figures released by intellectual property lawyers Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C.

The Clean Energy Patent Growth Index (CEPGI), which tracks the number of clean tech patents filed in the US, reached an unprecedented high in the second quarter of 2009, with 274 new patents granted.

Some clean energy sub-sectors that had suffered from a decline in the average number of patents filed each quarter during the middle of the decade continued to rebound. For example, fuel cell technology, which had endured a something of a lull in interest during recent years, saw the number of related patents filed during the second quarter of this year exceed all other clean tech sectors. There were 156 fuel cell-related patents granted, up 42 from the same quarter last year.

Similarly, there were 15 more solar patents granted compared to the same quarter last year, at 36, putting its quarterly index back at early 2004 levels.

The number of patents in hybrid electric vehicles also climbed by more than a third year-on-year to 20, bucking a period of relatively flat activity that has continued since early 2006.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the success of fuel cells, along with the recent upturn in hybrid electric patents, automobile manufacturers took home the lion's share of clean energy patents. Honda topped the ranks, followed by GM and Toyota. Nissan, Ford, and Daimler took fifth, seventh and eighth places respectively. Only GE and Panasonic peppered the top seven patent holders with a non-automotive presence.

The number of biofuel-related patents increased by eight compared with the same period last year, reaching 13 patents in the second quarter this year and marking an all-time quarterly high.

Conversely, wind patents decreased by five compared to a year earlier, while tidal energy patents dipped by two, with just eight successful patent filings during the quarter. However, all three of these subsectors are continuing to enjoy a long period of average growth. Wind - a relatively well-established technology - has been enjoying sustained average growth in patent filings since the start of this decade.

The report will provide further succour to the clean tech sector, which is increasingly regarded as one of the first industries to show signs of recovery.

Recent figures from Dow Jones VentureSource also confirmed that investor interest in the sector has returned with the level of venture capital invested in clean tech firms rising 73 per cent between the first and second quarters of this year to $572m.