Germany lags behind Asian rivals in battery patent filings

MUNICH: South Korea, China and Japan significantly outpaced Germany in patent filings for battery technology in 2024, according to a report by the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) published on Thursday.

Patent applications in battery tech that were effective for Germany increased by 16.6% year-on-year to 7,242, driven largely by a surge in filings from Asia.

South Korea led with 1,817 applications (+10.3%) in Germany, followed by China with 1,591 (+22.6%) and Japan with 1,136 (+7.8%). Germany ranked fourth with 1,112 filings, up 1.9%.

Top applicants included South Korea's LG and Samsung, as well as China's CATL.

Battery technology is considered critical to the future of the automotive industry, where German companies are under pressure to keep pace with Asian competitors.

In contrast, Germany performed strongly in solar technology, including photovoltaic, solar thermal energy and solutions to mount and secure solar panels.

Total patent applications in the field rose by 15.1%, with Germany leading the list with a 57.3% jump in filings to 184, placing it ahead of China - the country where the vast majority of solar panels sold in Germany are manufactured.

The patent office cautioned that the data reflects trends with some delay, as patent applications are published 18 months after the filing date.