中國石化新聞網訊 據油氣新聞網1月12日報道，根據歐洲專利局(EPO)和國際能源署(IEA)對專利的聯合研究，氫技術的發展正在轉向電解等低排放解決方案。

該報告是第一份此類報告，使用全球專利數據對所有氫技術的創新進行全面的最新分析。其涵蓋了從氫供應到存儲、分配和轉化，以及最終用途應用的所有技術。

國際能源署執行主任法提赫·比羅爾表示，低排放源的氫氣可以在清潔能源轉型中發揮重要作用，有可能在諸如長途運輸和化肥生產等清潔替代品很少的行業替代化石燃料。這項研究表明，創新者正在響應競爭性氫供應鏈的需求，而且確定了需要付出更多努力的領域，特別是終端用戶。我們將繼續幫助各國政府推動安全、有彈性和可持續的清潔能源技術的創新。

EPO總裁António Campinos表示，利用氫的潛力是歐洲到2050年實現氣候中和戰略的關鍵部分。但是，如果氫要在減少二氧化碳排放方面發揮重要作用，就迫切需要在一系列技術上進行創新。該報告揭示了各國和行業部門之間一些令人鼓舞的轉型模式，包括歐洲對新氫技術的出現作出的主要貢獻。其還強調了初創企業對氫創新的貢獻，以及他們依賴專利將發明推向市場。

該研究介紹了2011年至2020年氫技術的主要趨勢，以國際專利家族（IPF）衡量的話，其中每一個都代表了一項高價值的發明，其專利申請已在全球兩個或多個專利局提交。該報告發現，全球氫專利由歐盟和日本主導，這兩個國家在過去十年中申請的IPF顯著增長，分別占28%和24%。歐洲主要國家是德國（占全球總數的11%）、法國（6%）和荷蘭（3%）。

擁有20%的氫相關專利的美國，是過去十年中唯一一個國際氫專利申請下降的主要創新中心。韓國和亞洲大國在氫技術方面的國際專利申請活動仍然平穩，但仍在上升。除這五個主要創新中心外，其他產生大量氫氣專利的國家包括英國、瑞士和加拿大。

2011—2020年期間，制氫技術占氫專利數量最多。雖然目前全球制氫幾乎完全基于化石燃料，但專利數據顯示，低排放創新在氫價值鏈各個環節產生的國際專利數量是現有技術的兩倍多。

2020年，受氣候問題推動的技術占所有與氫生產相關的專利的近80%，其增長主要由電解創新的大幅增加推動。最具創新性的地區現在正在競相舉辦第一個工業推廣階段，根據數據表明，歐洲正在成為投資新電解槽制造能力的地區。

在氫的許多潛在最終用途中，汽車行業長期以來一直是創新的重點，該領域的專利申請持續增長，主要由日本主導。盡管近年來政策和媒體一致關注氫在長途運輸、航空、發電和供暖方面的脫碳潛力，但在其他最終用途應用中還沒有看到類似的勢頭。

如果不解決這些部門化石燃料使用不減的問題，就無法實現國家凈零排放承諾。一個亮點是最近使用氫來脫碳鋼鐵生產的專利申請有所增加——這可能是對《巴黎協定》后共識的回應，即該行業需要快速減排的根本解決方案。

對于成熟的氫技術，創新主要由歐洲化工產業主導，該行業的專業知識也使其在電解和燃料電池等氣候驅動技術方面處于領先地位。

汽車公司也很活躍，不僅僅是汽車技術。在這些專利背后，2011—2020年，大學和公共研究機構創造了13.5%的與氫相關的國際專利，由法國和韓國機構主導，重點是電解等低排放氫生產方法。

該研究發現，2011—2020年對氫能公司的100億美元風險投資中，有一半以上流向了擁有專利的初創企業，盡管他們在報告的數據集的初創企業中所占比例不到三分之一。持有專利是一個初創企業能否繼續吸引資金的良好指標：2011—2020年，超過80%的氫初創企業后期投資都流向了已經在電解、燃料電池或從天然氣中生產氫的低排放方法等領域提交專利申請的公司。

郝芬 譯自 油氣新聞網

原文如下：

Hydrogen advances shifting towards clean energy:IEA

Hydrogen technology development is shifting towards low-emissions solutions such as electrolysis, according to a joint study of patents by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The report is the first of its kind and uses global patent data to provide comprehensive up-to-date analysis of innovation in all hydrogen technologies. It covers the full range of technologies, from hydrogen supply to storage, distribution and transformation, as well as end-use applications.

“Hydrogen from low-emissions sources can play an important role in clean energy transitions with potential to replace fossil fuels in industries where few clean alternatives exist, like long-haul transport and fertilizer production,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

“This study shows that innovators are responding to the need for competitive hydrogen supply chains, but also identifies areas – particularly among end-users – where more effort is required. We will continue to help governments spur innovation for secure, resilient and sustainable clean energy technologies.”

“Harnessing the potential of hydrogen is a key part of Europe’s strategy to achieve climate neutrality by 2050,” said EPO President António Campinos.

“But if hydrogen is to play a major role in reducing CO2 emissions, innovation is urgently needed across a range of technologies. This report reveals some encouraging transition patterns across countries and industry sectors, including Europe’s major contribution to the emergence of new hydrogen technologies. It also highlights the contribution of start-ups to hydrogen innovation, and their reliance on patents to bring their inventions to market.”

The study presents the major trends in hydrogen technologies from 2011 to 2020, measured in terms of international patent families (IPFs), each of which represents a high-value invention for which patent applications have been filed at two or more patent offices worldwide. The report finds that global patenting in hydrogen is led by the European Union and Japan, which account for 28% and 24% respectively of all IPFs filed in this period, with significant growth in the past decade. The leading countries in Europe are Germany (11% of the global total), France (6%), and the Netherlands (3%).

The US, with 20% of all hydrogen-related patents, is the only major innovation centre to see international hydrogen patent applications decline in the past decade. International patenting activity in hydrogen technologies remained modest in South Korea and the biggest country in Asia but is on the rise. In addition to these five main innovation centres, other countries generating significant volumes of hydrogen patents include the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Canada.

Hydrogen production technologies accounted for the largest number of hydrogen patents over the 2011-2020 period. While global hydrogen production is currently almost entirely fossil-based, the patenting data shows that low-emissions innovations generated more than twice the number of international patents across all segments of the hydrogen value chain than established technologies.

Technologies motivated by climate concerns accounted for nearly 80% of all patents related to hydrogen production in 2020, with growth driven chiefly by a sharp increase of innovation in electrolysis. The most innovative regions are now competing to host the first industrial roll-out phase, with the data suggesting that Europe is gaining an edge as a location for investment in new electrolyser manufacturing capacity.

Among hydrogen’s many potential end-use applications, the automotive sector has long been the focus for innovation, and patenting in this sector continues to grow, led mainly by Japan. Similar momentum is not yet visible in other end-use applications, despite concerted policy and media attention in recent years on hydrogen’s potential to decarbonise long-distance transport, aviation, power generation and heating.

National net zero emissions pledges cannot be achieved without addressing unabated fossil fuel use in these sectors. One bright spot is a recent uptick in patenting for the use of hydrogen to decarbonise steel production – possibly in response to the post-Paris Agreement consensus that the sector needs radical solutions to cut emissions quickly.

For established hydrogen technologies, innovation is dominated by the European chemical industry, whose expertise in this sector has also given it a head start in climate-motivated technologies such as electrolysis and fuel cells.

Automotive companies are also active, and not just for vehicle technology. Behind them, universities and public research institutes generated 13.5% of all hydrogen-related international patents in 2011-2020, led by French and Korean institutions, with a focus on low-emissions hydrogen production methods such as electrolysis.

The study finds that more than half of the $10 billion of venture capital investment into hydrogen firms in 2011-2020 went to start-ups with patents, despite them making up less than a third of the start-ups in the report’s data set. Holding a patent is a good indicator of whether a start-up will keep attracting finance: more than 80% of late-stage investment in hydrogen start-ups in 2011-2020 went to companies that had already filed a patent application in areas such as electrolysis, fuel cells, or low-emissions methods for producing hydrogen from gas.