The aerospace and defense industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by the need to lower operational costs, larger consumer trends, and electrification, and growing importance of technologies such as hydrogen and electric aircraft and advanced materials. In the last three years alone, there have been over 84,000 patents filed and granted in the aerospace and defense industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Environmental sustainability in defense: hydrogen fuel cells. Buy the report here.

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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 260,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the aerospace and defense industry, there are 110 innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

Hydrogen fuel cells is a key innovation area in environmental sustainability

By combining hydrogen and air in the presence of a catalyst, fuel cells produce electricity to drive electric motors, the only by-product being water vapour. Compared to batteries, fuel cells are more energy converters than storage devices.

GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 550+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established aerospace and defense companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of hydrogen fuel cells.

Key players in hydrogen fuel cells – a disruptive innovation in the aerospace and defense industry

‘Application diversity’ measures the number of applications identified for each patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.

‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of countries each patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.

Patent volumes related to hydrogen fuel cells

Toyota Motor is the leading patent filer for hydrogen fuel cells, followed by Exxon Mobil and Hyundai Motor. Other key innovators in the space include Honda Motor, Kia, Panasonic, The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, and Airbus.

H2 KIBOU is a cutting-edge pure hydrogen fuel cell generator developed by Panasonic, which emits zero CO2 and has an impressive electrical efficiency of 56%.

In terms of application diversity, Exxon Mobil leads the pack, followed by Toyota Motor and Hyundai Motor. By geographic reach, ExxonMobil is the leading patent filer, followed by Exxon Mobil, Mcalister Technologies, and NACCO Materials Handling Group.

Hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen powered flight looks to have a bright future with the largest benefit of the technology being that it is emission free, and the only by-product is water.

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the aerospace and defense industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Sustainability In Aerospace And Defense.

GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.

GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.