The aerospace and defense industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by automation, environmental sustainability, and operational efficiency, and growing importance of technologies such as 3D printing/additive manufacturing, battery innovation, photovoltaic (PV) cell, and battery swapping technology. As modernization requirements continue to drive investment within both the civil and military aerospace sectors, widespread demand for solar EVs has incentivized significant innovation within the field of electric vehicles. 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 Electric vehicles in defense: solar EVs. Buy the report here.
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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 206,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the aerospace and defense industry, there are 110 innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Solar EVs is a key innovation area in electric vehicles
Electric vehicles that are powered by solar energy are termed as solar EVs. These vehicles have solar panels attached to its body that use PV cells to convert sunlight into electricity, which is then used to charge the vehicle’s battery. Solar EVs combine the benefits of renewable energy and electric mobility, offering a sustainable and clean transportation solution.
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 45+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established aerospace and defense companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of solar EVs.
Key players in solar EVs – 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 solar EVs
| Company | Total patents (2021 - 2023) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| AeroVironment | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Deutsche Telekom | 1 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Karem Aircraft | 3 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Korea Aerospace Industries | 1 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Lockheed Martin | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | 1 | Unlock Company Profile |
| EchoStar | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Ascent Solar Technologies | 1 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Hyundai Autoever | 1 | Unlock Company Profile |
| State Grid Corporation of China | 2 | Unlock Company Profile |
| CEA | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Meta Platforms | 14 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Berkshire Hathaway | 17 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Korea Electric Power | 2 | Unlock Company Profile |
| U.S. Department of Defence | 3 | Unlock Company Profile |
| BAE Systems | 1 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Raytheon Technologies | 1 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Inspace | 1 | Unlock Company Profile |
| State Grid Jibei Electric Power | 1 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Boeing | 33 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Korea Development Bank | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Airbus | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Walmart | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Jd | 1 | Unlock Company Profile |
| HADAL | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| JET PRODUCTS | 2 | Unlock Company Profile |
| SolAero Technologies | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Raytheon | 1 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Intertechnique | 3 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Saildrone | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| HD Hyundai | 1 | Unlock Company Profile |
| X Development | 2 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Triad National Security | 2 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Vector Launch | 1 | Unlock Company Profile |
| ASE Technology | 1 | Unlock Company Profile |
| ThayerMahan | 3 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Agency For Defense Development | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Shadecraft | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Xi'An Huanic Optoelectronic | 1 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Redwire | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
| The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Aigen | 2 | Unlock Company Profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Boeing is one of the leading patent filers in solar EVs. The company, through its subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences, filed patent related to solar power system which is a method to use solar energy by a solar power system comprising a solar panel, a load, and a battery pack group. Boeing also filed few more patents related to solar EVs, such as lightweight flexible solar array, solar cells for a solar cell array, multijunction solar cell having patterned emitter and method of making that solar cell, direct solar imaging star tracker and stacked solar array.
Some other key patent filers in this space include Berkshire Hathaway, Saildrone, Meta Platforms, AeroVironment, Korea Aerospace Industries, and Renault.
In terms of application diversity, Berkshire Hathaway, Saildrone, and ThayerMahan some of the leading innovators. By means of geographic reach, some of the leading patent filers include Berkshire Hathaway, Saildrone, and AeroVironment.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the aerospace and defense industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Aerospace & Defense.
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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.
