Recently, according to a report on the website of German Business Daily on January 20th, a German company patent named US11873784B2 is attracting wide attention. Although the patent name and the description of "internal combustion engine gas metering valve" do not clearly reveal its importance, this valve is a key component of Bosch company hydrogen engine. Not long ago, Bosch company showed off this eye-catching hydrogen engine at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Hydrogen molecules can easily escape from the welds of storage tanks or pipelines due to their extremely small volume. Bosch has successfully solved this technical problem with the help of patents such as US11873784B2. It is reported that this hydrogen engine is planned to be put into the market this year, and Bosch's grand goal is to generate 5 billion euros in revenue through hydrogen technology by 2030.
The report pointed out that other German companies, such as Volkswagen, Siemens and BASF, are also actively promoting research related to climate change. A recent study by the Bertelsmann Foundation focused on Germany's "advanced" patents in green technology, and the results are both satisfactory and cause some concern.
According to Bertelsmann Foundation, Germany has nearly 10,000 "world-class patents" in the world and has a leading position in the global research base. However, Daniel Bosch, project manager at the foundation, warned: "Germany is the only European country that can compete with the most important research base in the world. At the same time, however, other countries, especially China, are putting more resources into it. Germany is in danger of losing its influence. "
Figure 1: The number of top green patents in China has surged
The results show that in the past five years, the number of top green patents in China has increased from 11,000 to 37,000 every year, while the number of patent applications in Germany has only increased by about one third during the same period. Bertelsmann Foundation's analysis shows that China's research investment in the fields of "new mobility" and "efficient production" has gradually increased, forming a “three new kinds” (namely Electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar cells) development strategy.
In China, the implementation of the "three new kinds" strategy has promoted the rapid development of new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, photovoltaic products and other industries. These key areas are fully reflected in Chinese patent applications, and are reflected in products and exports through patent innovation. According to Chinese statistics, as of the first nine months of 2023, China's exports of new energy vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products increased by 42% year-on-year.
On the whole, although Germany has a leading position in world-class patents in the field of green technology, China's rapid rise in this field shows that the center of global scientific and technological innovation is shifting. For Germany, the key to maintaining its leading position will be to continuously increase investment in research and development and promote more innovative patent applications to ensure its competitiveness in the global science and technology competition.
