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Number of Patents for Green Tech Innovations on the Rise
Green Technology Featured Articles
October 14, 2013

Number of Patents for Green Tech Innovations on the Rise

By Tammy Marie Rose
TMCnet Contributing Writer

A new study released by MIT (News - Alert) and the Santa Fe Institute shows that the number of patents that were issued for renewable-energy technologies has risen greatly over the last decade. There has been dramatic growth in research and development as well.


A green patent is an ‘environmentally oriented’ patent such as energy or environmental quality. While some patent offices have a list of acceptable ‘green’ technologies, most applicants state their invention has an environmental benefit and leave it up to the patent examiner to decide if the claim is true or not.

The new research shows that between 2004 and 2009, the number of patents each year for solar energy raised by 13 percent and wind power increased by 19 percent. Renewable energy patents in the United States went from less than 200 in the period of 1975-2000 to over 1,000 a year by 2009.

Jessica Trancik, an assistant professor at MIT and the co-author of the report, says, "We were quite surprised." The report she co-authored created a database of patents that are energy related in more than 100 countries between 1970 and 2009. They used key word searches to gather the data. In the end they had examined over 73,000 patents that were issued for energy-related technologies. 

“This database gives you a view into innovation activity—who's doing it, and where. Further statistical analysis showed a clear correlation between this rise in patents and prior investments in R&D, along with growth in the markets for such renewable technologies," Trancik added.

Solar and wind had the highest percentage of patents increases and patents for fossil-fuel technology showed a less, but still modest increase. New patents for nuclear technology showed no real increase at all.

The state, and current growth, of clean energy technology related patents is also monitored by the Clean Energy (News - Alert) Patent Growth Index (CEPGI). The CEPGI has been tracking the progress of green energy ingenuity since 2002.




Edited by Alisen Downey


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