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DPMA Annual Report 2024: Sharp rise in patent applications from Germany on renewable energies

Germany among the leaders in published patent applications in solar technology and wind power - DPMA President: Protected innovations important factor for achieving climate targets - Battery technology continues to boom - Interesting innovation trends and statistics in the DPMA Annual Report 2024

Press release of 22 May 2025

Munich. The number of published patent applications from Germany in key renewable energy generation technologies increased significantly last year. In solar technology, inventions by German companies, research institutions and independent inventors increased by 57.3 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year. In wind power, the growth rate was 14.2 percent. This was by far the largest increase among the countries with the highest number of applications. In the country ranking, Germany also occupied top positions in terms of the absolute number of applications in both areas. This is the result of an analysis by the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) of published patent applications with effect for Germany in the DPMA Annual Report 2024 published today.
(See also our Fact sheet Analysis of renewable energies and our Fact sheet Analysis of batteries).

"We still have immense challenges ahead of us in the transformation towards a climate-friendly energy supply. It is therefore extremely good news that innovation activity continues to gain momentum, especially in Germany," emphasizes DPMA President Eva Schewior. "Technical innovations are an important factor in enabling us to achieve our climate targets. And patent protection offers enormous incentives to create such innovations."

In addition to solar technology and wind power, we also looked at energy sources such as hydropower, geothermal energy and biogas. A total of 1,354 patent applications from Germany and abroad with effect for Germany were published in the areas examined last year - 5.1% more than in 2023. The trend is different in the two technologies with by far the highest number of applications, solar technology and wind power: in solar technology, publications increased significantly by 15.1%, while in wind power they fell by 5.7%.

Germany leads the country ranking for solar technology with 184 applications (+ 57.3 %). It is followed by China with 133 applications (+ 12.7 %) and the United States with 79 applications (- 16.0 %). In wind power, Denmark leads with 163 applications (- 16.8 %), followed by Germany (121, + 14.2 %) and Spain (60, - 11.8 %).

Solar technology: Many individuals apply for patents

In the booming solar technology sector, in addition to the further development of solar cells for generating electricity (photovoltaics) and systems for generating heat from solar energy (solar thermal energy), there is a clear innovation trend in solutions for installing and mounting solar modules. In the relevant technology subclass H02S 20 (“Supporting structures for PV modules”), the number of published patent applications rose by 32.5 percent compared to the previous year. For example, work is increasingly being carried out on support structures for so-called agri-photovoltaic systems, whereby large open spaces are used for agriculture and energy generation at the same time. However, new solutions for mounting solar modules on building façades and roofs (building-integrated photovoltaics) also continue to play a major role.

There is a broad range of applicants in the solar technology sector. In addition to research institutions, many smaller companies from Germany are also registering. It is also striking that private applicants play an exceptionally large role in solar technology. Almost 30 percent of German applications come from natural persons - far more than the average of all published applications. “Obviously, solar technology is a field of innovation that not only moves research and development departments, but also many small companies and independent inventors,” says DPMA President Schewior.

Battery technology: application dynamics stronger in other countries

Renewable forms of energy such as wind and sun are not always equally available. Energy storage systems such as batteries are therefore necessary. The upward trend of recent years in battery technology continues: 7,242 patent applications with effect for Germany were published in 2024 - an increase of 16.6 percent compared to the previous year. In contrast to solar technology, however, Germany only made a small contribution to this growth: 1,112 publications came from Germany, 1.9 percent more than in 2023, putting the country in 4th place in the country rankings. In all other top 5 filing countries, filings are developing more dynamically. The Republic of Korea is in first place with 1,817 publications (+10.3%), followed by China (1,591, +22.6%) and Japan (1,136, +7.8%) in second and third place respectively. In 5th place is the United States (860, + 33.1%).

As patent applications in battery technology are mainly concentrated on a few large companies, it is worth taking a look at the top 5 applicants. Here, too, Asian companies dominate. LG Energy Solution, Ltd. (1,042 publications) and Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (332 publications) are two Korean companies in first and third place. Between them, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited from China (605 publications) is in second place, followed by GM Global Technology Operations LLC (232 publications) and Bayerische Motorenwerke AG (206 publications). The fact that two automotive companies are also among the top 5 applicants illustrates the great importance of battery technology for electromobility. “Battery technology is a key technology for the transformation of our energy system and for electromobility,” says DPMA President Eva Schewior. “Excellent research and consistent protection of the resulting innovations are urgently needed to keep pace with the leading countries.”

Note on the method: For the analysis on renewable energies and battery technology, we considered published patent applications with effect for Germany at the DPMA and the European Patent Office without double counting. Patent applications are published after 18 months. New inventions filed in 2024 are therefore not yet included.

DPMA Annual Report 2024: Statistics and lots of useful information on intellectual property

In addition to current technology trends, the DPMA-Annual Report again offers a wealth of statistics - such as the ranking of the German Länder for patents, utility models, trade marks and designs as well as the ranking lists of the companies with the highest number of applications. There is also further useful information from the DPMA as well as interesting external perspectives. Among other things, representatives of the Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovations explain the immense importance of industrial property rights for the economic success of groundbreaking new technologies.

Reader-friendly, multimedia and optimized for mobile use: We publish the DPMA Annual Report digitally in HTML format. In case you need the report for your documents, a working version in PDF format is available for download on its homepage.

The German Patent and Trade Mark Office

Inventiveness and creativity need effective protection. The DPMA is the German centre of expertise for all intellectual property rights - for patents, utility models, trade marks and registered designs. As the largest national patent office in Europe and the sixth largest national patent office in the world, it is committed to Germany’s future as a country of inventors in a globalised economy. Its almost 2,800 staff based at three locations - Munich, Jena and Berlin - are service providers for inventors and companies. They implement the innovation strategies of the Federal administration and develop national, European and international IP systems further.

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Last updated: 22 May 2025