The power industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by the need to significantly improve generation efficiency and reduce pollutant emissions from coal-fuelled power plants, including sulphur dioxide (SO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), particulates (PM) and CO2, and the growing importance of technologies such as Coal Based IGCC plants, IGCC with Cogeneration, and IGCC based on Biomass and Wastes. In the last three years alone, there have been over 439,000 patents filed and granted in the power industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Environment Sustainability in Power: Integrated gasification combined cycle.
However, not all innovations are equal and nor do they follow a constant upward trend. Instead, their evolution takes the form of an S-shaped curve that reflects their typical lifecycle from early emergence to accelerating adoption, before finally stabilising and reaching maturity.
Identifying where a particular innovation is on this journey, especially those that are in the emerging and accelerating stages, is essential for understanding their current level of adoption and the likely future trajectory and impact they will have.
90+ innovations will shape the power industry
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which plots the S-curve for the power industry using innovation intensity models built on over 83,000 patents, there are 90+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Within the emerging innovation stage, smart lighting system, PCM thermal energy storage, and solid electrolyte fuel cell membrane are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Ceramic oxide nuclear fuel, geothermal heat pumps, and hybrid PV plants are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are combined-cycle gas turbines and ethylene co-polymer PV modules, which are now well established in the industry.
Innovation S-curve for environmental sustainability in the power industry
Integrated gasification combined cycle is a key innovation area in environmental sustainability
Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plants use both gas turbine and steam turbine technology along with a coal gasification system. An IGCC system is designed to achieve higher efficiency than conventional coal-fired power generation systems through the gasification of coal coupled with a combined cycle (CC) process.
GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 30+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established power companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of integrated gasification combined cycle.
Key players in integrated gasification combined cycle – a disruptive innovation in the power industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent and broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in and reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to integrated gasification combined cycle
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) is leading patent filer in integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) solutions for thermal power plants. MHI manufactures a diverse range of heavy machinery. Its products and services include IGCC power plants, consisting of two types of coal gasification technologies, air-blown and oxygen-blown technologies. Marubeni, 8 Rivers Capital and Shell are the other key patent filers in integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the power industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Power.
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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
