The power industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by improved operational efficiency, and enhanced productivity, and growing importance of technologies such as smart grids, smart meters and advanced metering infrastructure. In the last three years alone, there have been over 695,000 patents filed and granted in the power industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Innovation in power: prepaid electricity metering. 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.

45+ innovations will shape the power industry

According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which plots the S-curve for the power industry using innovation intensity models built on over 83,000 patents, there are 45+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

Within the emerging innovation stage, variable speed gas turbines and HVDC transmission are the disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Perovskite photoactive layering, multi-port power converters, and power distribution control system are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are wind turbine gearbox and offshore wind turbine pre-assembly, which are now well established in the industry. 

Innovation S-curve for the power industry

Prepaid electricity metering is a key innovation area in power

Prepaid electricity metering enables consumers to pay for their electricity in advance by keeping a track of the power consumed. Prepaid metering minimizes the gap between the cost of power supply and the revenue generated.

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 70 companies, spanning technology vendors, established power companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of prepaid electricity metering.

Key players in prepaid electricity metering – 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 prepaid electricity metering

Gogoro, Causam Energy, Shell, AES, and Siemens are among the leading patent filers for prepaid electricity metering.

Siemens EnergyIP Prepay is a comprehensive energy payment solution and a smart way to energy efficiency. It enables flexible tariff models, reduces operating costs, and gives customers the freedom to recharge their account anytime. Siemens also partnered with Tata Power Delhi Distribution for deployment of smart metering technology for over 2,00,000 smart metres in Delhi, India. The Energy IP Meter Data Management System installed and commissioned by Siemens enables timely and accurate collection of electricity meter data.

In terms of application diversity, Hitachi leads the pack, while Mitsubishi Motors and Atos stood in the second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Langmatz held the top position, followed by Panasonic and NEC.

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the power industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Power.

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.