The power industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by rising energy demand, renewable integration, and the need for grid stability and resilience, and growing importance of technologies such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. In the last three years alone, there have been over 656,000 patents filed and granted in the power industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Cloud in power: cloud-enabled power grids. Buy the report here.
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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 70,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the power industry, there are 40+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Cloud-enabled power grids is a key innovation area in cloud
Power grid systems that have been integrated with cloud computing technologies to improve their management, monitoring, and control are referred to as cloud-enabled power grids. This entails processing, analyzing, and storing huge amounts of data gathered from numerous devices and sensors within the power grid using cloud servers and data centers. Power grid operators can enhance energy efficiency, optimize grid performance, support advanced applications such as demand response and grid integration of renewable energy sources, and enable real-time monitoring and control by utilizing the scalability, flexibility, and computational power of the cloud.
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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 140+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established power companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of cloud-enabled power grids.
Key players in cloud-enabled power grids – a disruptive innovation in the power 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 cloud-enabled power grids
| Company | Total patents (2010 - 2022) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| State Grid Corporation of China | 246 | Unlock Company Profile |
| China Southern Power Grid Co Ltd | 97 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Samsung Group | 63 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Shell plc | 37 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Emerging Automotive, LLC | 29 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Alphabet Inc | 27 | Unlock Company Profile |
| ista International GmbH | 24 | Unlock Company Profile |
| EnerSys | 24 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Equinix Inc | 20 | Unlock Company Profile |
| NARI Technology Co Ltd | 20 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Causam Energy, Inc. | 20 | Unlock Company Profile |
| General Electric Co | 18 | Unlock Company Profile |
| State Grid Information and Telecommunication Co Ltd | 18 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Masco Corp | 17 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Itron Inc | 17 | Unlock Company Profile |
| NARI Group Corp | 15 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Diehl Metering Systems GmbH | 15 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Mitsubishi Electric Corp | 14 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Accenture Plc | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Kymco Motors | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Toshiba Corp | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Copper Labs Inc | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| International Business Machines Corp | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| China General Nuclear Power Corp | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Kyocera Corp | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| State Grid NARI Nanjing Control System Co Ltd | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Xuji Electric Co Ltd | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Korea Electric Power Corp | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Mercedes-Benz Group AG | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Ford Motor Co | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Hitachi Ltd | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Stark Software International Ltd | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Hubbell Inc | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Xuji Group Corporation | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Honda Motor Co Ltd | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Nouvenn Corp | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| OK amba | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| State Grid Hebei Electric Power Supply Co Ltd | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Allure Energy, Inc. | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Doosan Corp | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| XJ Electric Co., Ltd | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| CyberPower Systems Inc | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| LG Corp | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Beijing Smartchip Microelectronics Technology Co Ltd | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| State Grid Shanghai Municipal Electric Power Company | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Electro Industries/GaugeTech | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Neutron Holdings Inc | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Shift Energy Inc. | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) is one of the leading patent filers in cloud-enabled power grids. The company’s core business includes the construction and operation of power grids. It focuses on research and development of ultra-high voltage (UHV) transmission and smart grid technologies. SGCC owns proprietary intellectual property rights and promotes the export of technology and related equipment. It also operates large-scale commercial UHV projects. SGCC supplies power to municipalities, provinces, and autonomous regions, servicing most of the territory in China. Some other key patent filers in the automotive industry include China Southern Power Grid, Samsung Group, and Shell.
In terms of application diversity, EnerSys, and Causam Energy are the key patent filers. By means of geographic reach, Shell held the top position, followed by Samsung Group and Alphabet. To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the power industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Cloud Computing in 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.
