Trends in low-carbon energy innovation
Episode description
Moderator: Jeremy Philpott, Communications Manager, EPO
Guests: Yann Ménière, Chief Economist at the EPO and Nick Johnstone, Chief Statistician at the International Energy Agency (IEA)
The latest joint study from the EPO and IEA into low-carbon energy (LCE) technologies shows the urgent need for more innovation to respond to climate change. Many of the technologies we will need to meet carbon neutrality targets in the coming decades are still in development. The experts explain how “classic” green energy production technologies (wind, solar, geothermal and hydroelectric) have matured and LCE patenting activity in the last 3 years has been increasing at 3.3% p.a. – barely one quarter the rate seen a decade ago. Innovation is now seen in hydrogen, batteries, smart-grids and carbon capture. Electric vehicles are a particular driver for innovation. The study considered over 420,000 LCE international patent families from the last twenty years, revealing the very different specialisms in LCE technologies around the world.