The oil and gas industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by the need for improving productivity, minimizing downtime, enhancing safety and reducing emissions, with the growing importance of technologies such as quantum computing, Artificial Intelligence and big data]. In the last three years alone, there have been over 523,000 patents filed and granted in the oil and gas industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Innovation in oil & gas: biofuel catalytic cracking. Buy the report here.
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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 stabilizing 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.
60+ innovations will shape the oil & gas industry
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which plots the S-curve for the oil & gas industry using innovation intensity models built on over 196,000 patents, there are 60+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Within the emerging innovation stage, high-pressure gas vessels, boil-off gas treatment, and oil recovery CWI are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Green hydrogen synthesis, hydrocarbon lubricants, and oil well surveillance are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are cryogenic gas separation and olefin metathesis catalysts, which are now well established in the industry.
Innovation S-curve for the oil & gas industry
Biofuel catalytic cracking is a key innovation area in oil & gas
Catalytic cracking involves the breaking down or cracking the large molecules into smaller ones to produce distillates and gasoline. Nowadays, it is also being used to synthesise biofuels.
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 80+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established oil & gas companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of biofuel catalytic cracking.
Key players in biofuel catalytic cracking – a disruptive innovation in the oil and gas industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of applications identified for each patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of countries each patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to biofuel catalytic cracking
| Company | Total patents (2010 - 2022) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| Anellotech | 153 | Unlock Company Profile |
| UPM-Kymmene | 82 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Shell | 74 | Unlock Company Profile |
| KiOR | 56 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Arkema | 35 | Unlock Company Profile |
| TotalEnergies | 34 | Unlock Company Profile |
| IFP Energies nouvelles | 31 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Lurgi | 29 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Elevance Renewable Sciences | 25 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Biogenic Reagents | 24 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Poet | 22 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Albemarle | 22 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Expander Energy | 20 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Valmet | 20 | Unlock Company Profile |
| POET Research | 20 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Fortum | 20 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Council of Scientific and Industrial Research | 19 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Energy Absolute | 15 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Air Liquide | 14 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Honeywell International | 14 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Wilmar International | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Phillips 66 | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| SK | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| NewMarket | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Farmer’s Business Network Canada | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| W. R. Grace | 11 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Poet Investments | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Beijing Haixin Energy Technology | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Petroleo Brasileiro | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| BioCube | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| G4 Insights | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| BDI- BioEnergy International | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Archer Daniels Midland | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Steeper Energy Aps | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Poet Plant Management | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Inaeris Technologies | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Benefuel | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| The Hong Kong and China Gas | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Biobtx BV | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| LP Amina | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Poet Biomass | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Cibus Europe BV | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Poet Nutrition International | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Poet Leasing | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Novo Nordisk Foundation | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| POET Design & Construction | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| RAG-Stiftung | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Brown & Brown | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Petroliam Nasional | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Catalytic Distillation Technologies | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Anellotech is a sustainable technology company that leads the patent filers in biofuel catalytic cracking in the oil and gas industry. Its research and development team actively works on producing petrochemical-based compounds such as benzene, toluene and xylene from non-food biomass by catalytic cracking through Bio-TCat™ technology.
Other key patent filers in this field include UPM-Kymmene, Shell, KiOR, and Arkema.
Biofuel catalytic cracking has huge potential in the oil and gas industry because of its cost effectiveness, biodegradability, and reusability. Unlike other conventional techniques such as thermal catalytic, it has potential for greater yields in biofuels simply by diversifying catalysts. Therefore, it is crucial for companies to invest in innovative solutions that ensure sustainable production of biofuels through catalytic cracking.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the oil & gas industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Oil & Gas.
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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.
