The aerospace and defense industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by automation, environmental sustainability, and operational efficiency, and growing importance of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), drones, and satellites. In the last three years alone, there have been over 237,000 patents filed and granted in the aerospace and defense industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Innovation in defense: multi-mode regenerative fuel cells. 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.
110 innovations will shape the aerospace and defense industry
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which plots the S-curve for the aerospace and defense industry using innovation intensity models built on over 206,000 patents, there are 110 innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Within the emerging innovation stage, aircraft fuel cell APUs, self-calibrating scanners, and vibration supression devices are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Aircraft ultrasonic inspection, aircraft power distribution network, and contour scanning interferometry are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are precision-guided firearms and aircraft power management, which are now well established in the industry.
Innovation S-curve for the aerospace and defense industry
Multi-mode regenerative fuel cells is a key innovation area in aerospace and defense
Multi-mode regenerative fuel cells are devices that can convert chemical energy from fuel such as hydrogen and oxygen directly into electrical energy and waste heat through an electrochemical process. The unique feature of multi-mode regenerative fuel cells is the ability to work in two modes, during power generation and during energy recovery, making them ideal for applications requiring both power generation and energy storage.
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 110+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established aerospace and defense companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of multi-mode regenerative fuel cells.
Key players in multi-mode regenerative fuel cells – a disruptive innovation in the aerospace and defense 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 multi-mode regenerative fuel cells
| Company | Total patents (2010 - 2022) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| Liebherr-International | 26 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Rolls-Royce | 31 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Diehl Stiftung | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Lockheed Martin | 67 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Toyota Motor | 46 | Unlock Company Profile |
| UTC Power | 16 | Unlock Company Profile |
| IHI | 30 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft | 17 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Robert Bosch Stiftung | 24 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Siemens | 44 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Hyundai Motor | 41 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Cummins | 22 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Nissan Motor | 14 | Unlock Company Profile |
| CEA | 391 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Naval Group | 120 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Snecma | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| General Electric | 53 | Unlock Company Profile |
| U.S. Department of Defence | 19 | Unlock Company Profile |
| ThyssenKrupp | 49 | Unlock Company Profile |
| BAE Systems | 22 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Porsche Automobil | 34 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Mitsubishi | 22 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Raytheon Technologies | 280 | Unlock Company Profile |
| RTX | 280 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Ballard Power Systems | 78 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Doosan | 24 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Textron | 16 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Safran | 112 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Boeing | 116 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Korea Development Bank | 144 | Unlock Company Profile |
| LG | 19 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Airbus | 261 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Commissariat a l'Energie et aux Energies Alternatives | 16 | Unlock Company Profile |
| STMicroelectronics | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt | 16 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | 50 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Societe BIC | 26 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Kia | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering | 28 | Unlock Company Profile |
| SZ DJI Technology | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| EADS Deutschland | 14 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Meditor European Master Fund | 31 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Alakai Technologies | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| HD Hyundai | 43 | Unlock Company Profile |
| ZeroAvia | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Agency For Defense Development | 50 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Lockheed Martin Advanced Energy Storage | 28 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Universal Hydrogen | 16 | Unlock Company Profile |
| The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission | 376 | Unlock Company Profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Raytheon Technologies is one of the leading patent filers in multi-mode regenerative fuel cells. The company, through its subsidiary Hamilton Sundstrand, filed patents related to methods of fuel cell assembly, hybrid power generation systems, on-board aircraft electrochemical system, and solid oxide fuel cell with water recycle.
The company designs dependable fuel cells for challenging maritime environments. Its customized proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells are crafted to operate in various maritime settings, such as submarine and unmanned underwater vessel (UUV) air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems, as well as unmanned surface vessels (USVs) and surface ships.
Some other key patent filers in this space include RTX, Airbus, and Naval Group.
In terms of application diversity, Textron, Diehl Stiftung, and Rolls-Royce are some of the leading innovators. By means of geographic reach, some of the leading patent filers include Lockheed Martin, Safran, and Boeing.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the aerospace and defense industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Aerospace & Defense.
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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.
