BEIJING: China has emerged as the global frontrunner in green and low-carbon technology patents, marking a significant shift in the landscape of sustainable innovation.
According to a July 28 research report compiled by China’s top intellectual property regulator, Chinese patentees had a total of 101,000 green and low-carbon patent applications published in 2023, nearly quintuple the number of second-place Japan, and far outpacing South Korea, the United States and Germany.
The figure represents a 20.1% year-on-year growth, surpassing the global average by 7.1 percentage points. As per report, China has turbocharged the green and low-carbon patenting arena in terms of the number of published patent applications and grants, and also innovated across all sectors of green and low-carbon technology patents.
Highlighting the surge in Chinese green patent applications and grants, the report mentioned that from 2016 to 2023, Chinese patentees maintained a robust 12.3% annual growth rate, with 555,000 total published applications worldwide, nearly three times that of runner-up Japan (200,000). The US, South Korea and Germany rounded out the top five with 157,000, 108,000 and 74,000 respectively, the report showed. Together, the five major filing countries accounted for 85.7% of global total applications.
Over the same period, green patents granted to Chinese applicants totalled 230,000, marking 35.1% of the five major patenting regions, followed by Japan, Europe, the US and South Korea.
The report noted that in 2023, 82.5% of patent applications published globally came from the patent offices of China, the US, Europe, Japan, and South Korea. The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) published the highest portion with 97,000 green patents, marking a 14.5% increase from the previous year, and 45,000 green patents were granted, up 8% from 2022, the report said.
These figures represent over half of the global totals, with worldwide published green patent applications reaching 193,000 and grants totalling 95,000 in the same year. From 2016 to 2023, green patent applications published in China reached 573,000, growing at an average annual rate of 10.0% – outpacing China’s overall patent growth of 7.8%.
During the same period, China was granted 249,000 green patents. This growth contrasts with traditional innovation powerhouses like the US, Japan, and Germany, which saw declining rates in several green technology areas.
Notably, 13 out of the top 50 patentees are based in China during the 2016-2023 period, including nine companies such as the State Grid (3rd place) and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) (26th place), and four universities and research institutes including the Chinese Academy of Sciences (9th place).
As the clean energy patents on the rise, the report revealed that China has also dominated all the five sectors of green technology patents: fossil fuel decarbonisation, energy conservation and recycling, clean energy, energy storage, and greenhouse gas capture, utilisation, and storage. –Agencies
