The Woodcock Washburn law firm recently released its 2009 Cleantech Patent Forecast, which predicts rising numbers of clean tech patents in the next few years.
The firm used a proprietary algorithm to predict future clean tech patent trends based on past and current trends in various clean tech sectors. The sectors analyzed by the report are wind, solar, biofuels, hybrid-electric and fuel cells, all of which are predicted to see growth.
The projected growth in issued patents is as follows:
wind – from 236 in 2008 to almost 600 in 2012
hybrid-electric – from 743 in 2008 to over 1,400 in 2012
solar – from 363 in 2008 to over 900 in 2012
biofuels – from 140 in 2008 to 530 in 2012
fuel cells – from 723 in 2008 to 931 in 2011, down to 912 in 2012
According to the report, the relatively slow growth in fuel cell patents reflects the maturity of the sector compared to the other clean tech sectors.
Whether or not the forecasted stats turn out to be accurate, few would dispute the report’s predictions as to the general trajectory of green patents.
