Really excellent article here on how the number of biodfuel patents are growing at a fast rate. Looks like business, big and small, is working towards a biofuel future. I like how biodiesel research is outpacing ethanol research by more than 6-1. Link here.
Patents in the biofuel sector dominated renewable energy in 2007, and there are more on the way.
Over the last six years, a total of 2,796 biofuel related patents
were published in the U.S., with the number increasing by over 150
percent in each of the past two years.
In 2007, the number of
biofuel patents (1,045) was more than the combined total of solar power
(555) and wind power (282) patents published in that year.
Patents by the numbers
From
the biofuel related patents published in 2006 to 2007, we have analyzed
the following technologies: agricultural biotechnology, biodiesel,
biomass, ethanol and other alcohols, and enzymes.
The number of
patents published in these technologies in 2006 - 2007 was biodiesel
(299), agricultural biotechnology (110), ethanol and other alcohols
(42), enzymes (35) and biomass (41).
We also assessed the number
of cellulosic related patents published in 2006 to 2007 and found the
following distribution: biodiesel (1), agricultural biotechnology (1),
ethanol and other alcohols (4), enzymes (5) and biomass (5).
Broken
down by ownership entity, the patents published in the selected
technologies in 2006 to 2007 were 57 percent owned by corporate
entities, 11 percent owned by universities or other academic
institutions and 32 percent undesignated, where the patent applications
do not list the patent owner.
Biofuel patents around the globe
The
five countries, by location of the patent owning entity, with the
highest number of biofuel patents in 2006 to 2007 were the U.S. (184),
Germany (34), Japan (14), Italy (10) and France (10).
In the
U.S., the patents were owned by 78 different entities. In Germany,
Japan, Italy and France, the corresponding number was 14, 12, 14 and 5.
Biofuel patents around the U.S.
In
the U.S., the five states with the highest number of biofuel patents
were Missouri (41), California (25), Iowa (15), Illinois (13) and
Minnesota (11).
In Missouri, biofuel patents were owned by seven
different entities. In California, Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota, the
corresponding number was 14, 1, 6 and 5.
Analysis
Our
review has left us with the following impressions. First, if we assume
that biofuel, solar power and wind power are the leading renewable
energy technologies, then in 2007 biofuel patents clearly dominate
renewable energy, in terms of sheer numbers.
Moreover, if we
assume that biodiesel and ethanol and other alcohols are the leading
biofuel technologies, then in 2007 biodiesel came in first place, with
ethanol and other alcohols being a far second.
Looking to the
future, as venture funding and government funding inside and outside of
the U.S. increases, we expect that the number of biofuel patents will
continue to grow steadily.
In the U.S. alone in 2007, venture
entities invested $2.9 billion into the biofuel industry. This amount
is expected to increase significantly within the country and around the
world in the coming years.
In addition, the U.S. federal
government has allocated, for 2008 to 2015, $500 million in grants
under the Energy Independence and Security act of 2007 to promote the
development of advanced biofuels.
We also expect that the number
of agricultural biotechnology biofuel patents will significantly
increase in the coming years as transgenic plant technology is directed
to biofuel applications.
In the future, we also expect that legislation directed to climate change will strongly influence biofuel patents.
For
example, the recently enacted Energy Independence and Security act of
2007 requires that 16 billion gallons of U.S. transportation fuel be
cellulosic biofuel by 2022.
The act requires that by 2022, 21
billion gallons of U.S. transportation fuel be derived from sources
other than traditional ethanol biofuel.
Accordingly, in the
coming years, we expect to see an increase in cellulosic biofuel
patents, and we also expect that traditional ethanol biofuel patents
will continue to lag behind biodiesel patents in the future.
Ronald Kamis is a partner and Mandar Joshi is a technical specialist in the Washington, D.C., office of Baker & Daniels.
Kamis counsels life sciences and renewable energy companies in patent
matters. Joshi assists clients in the procurement of life sciences and
renewable energy patents.
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