The oil & gas industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by safety concerns, regulations on carbon emissions, and energy transition, and the growing importance of technologies such as artificial intelligence, digitization, and robotics. In the last three years alone, there have been over 523,000 patents filed and granted in the oil & gas industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Innovation in oil & gas: high-pressure gas vessels. 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
High-pressure gas vessels is a key innovation area in oil & gas
High-pressure gas vessels refer to containers designed to hold gases at pressures higher than atmospheric pressure, and are used in various applications including storage, transportation, and industrial processes.
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 high-pressure gas vessels.
Key players in high-pressure gas vessels – a disruptive innovation in the oil & 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 high-pressure gas vessels
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Toyota Motor is one of the leading patent filers in high-pressure gas vessels. In March 2022, the company announced the development of a resin-based hydrogen storage tank that can withstand up to 70Mpa of pressure for automobiles. The tank also finds applications in other sectors such as shipping and railways, and can help to diversify the adoption of hydrogen as a fuel. Some other key patent filers in the high-pressure gas vessels industry include Hyundai Motor, Bayerische Motoren Werke, and Kia.
In terms of application diversity, Suzuki Motor leads the pack, while Tatsumi Ryoki and A3 LABS stood in the second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Suzuki Motor held the top position, followed by Kobe Steel and JTEKT.
The increasing need for energy transition and the potential adoption of gases such as hydrogen for energy is driving the market for high-pressure gas vessels.
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.
