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Inventions in climate technologies: A patent analysis


Type

Thesis

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Authors

Elsen, Maximilian 

Abstract

Climate technologies are urgently needed to mitigate the effects of climate change and adapt to the adverse effects of global warming. Governments and organisations worldwide have pledged to becoming carbon neutral by the second half of the century, necessitating the need to monitor the development of climate technologies.

Patents, in this context, offer valuable insights to research the development and diffusion of (climate) technologies. This research addresses the complexities involved in identifying and classifying climate technologies from patent data, while acknowledging the inherent limitations and specific characteristics associated with patent data. By reviewing available means for identifying climate technology patents, this research examines advantageous features of existing classification schemes and discusses present challenges. It identifies the Cooperative Patent Classification Y02 class as the most comprehensive patent classification scheme for climate technologies, owing to its cross-sectional and hierarchical structure.

Based on the Y02 class, this research constructs a dataset of global high-value patented inventions in climate technologies and conducts three studies: The first study (i) investigates patent applications in climate technologies between 1980 and 2019 and critically evaluates them compared to their non-climate related counterparts. The second study (ii) examines contributions from inventors in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) to the development of climate change adaptation technologies. The third study (iii) develops metrics to assess the contribution of organisations towards the development of climate technologies based on their patent portfolios.

The first study reveals that despite the urgent need for the development and diffusion of climate technologies, we find that patented inventions in climate technologies have seen limited growth in recent years. While patent filings in climate technologies have increased particularly between 1999 and 2012, they stagnated since then and experienced a decrease relative to the general patenting trend. Moreover, the study compares patent applications in climate technologies against patenting in non-climate related technologies and evaluates climate inventions based on value metrics from the patent literature. Climate technology patents are perceived of higher technological impact than non-climate patents, a phenomenon that is particularly prevalent during the period 2005-2012.

The second study examines the contribution of LMIC towards the development of climate change adaptation technologies. This is particularly relevant, considering that although most climate inventions originate in high-income countries (HIC), low- and middle-income countries are exposed to great risks from global warming. The study reveals that while the contribution of LMIC is generally low in comparison to HIC, patenting activity varies widely across LMIC. The study further highlights considerable growth in patenting activity of Chinese inventors.

The third study develops metrics that quantify the contribution of organisations towards the development of climate inventions based on their patent portfolios. Companies are crucial in global innovation processes as most climate technologies are developed by corporates. The current literature lacks climate-related metrics, which are pivotal for the development and diffusion of applications and technologies for mitigation and adaptation against climate change. The study identifies metrics regarding the quantity, quality, and specialisation of climate technology patents in patent portfolios.

Based on the conducted studies, this dissertation critically discusses current patent classification schemes for climate technologies and identifies avenues for the field of machine learning and natural language processing.

Description

Date

2023-12-31

Advisors

Tietze, Frank

Keywords

climate technologies, intellectual property, inventions, patent analysis

Qualification

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Awarding Institution

University of Cambridge
Sponsorship
Alan Turing Institute (TUR-002003)
Friedrich Naumann Foundation Wolfson College Alan Turing Institute