The latest report released by the WIPO on January 6th showed that innovation in the global transport sector is increasingly focused on environmentally friendly future technologies, including air taxis, wireless charging for electric vehicles, and autonomous cargo ships. China, Japan, the United States, South Korea and Germany take the lead in innovation in future transportation technology.

It is pointed in the report, titled "WIPO Technology Trends: The Future of Transportation", that a remarkable 1.1 million patents related to the future of transportation or sustainability and digitalization megatrends have been published since 2000, including green fuels and intelligence, connected transportation systems. As of 2023, the compound annual growth rate of patents in the transportation field have reached 11%, which is more than twice the growth rate of all published patents worldwide, highlighting the transportation industry’s growing importance to global economies.

The report reveals that the fields with the largest increase in patent applications for transportation technologies are related to sustainable power, such as electric vehicle batteries and hydrogen fuel cells, making sure that transportation is transformed into a cleaner and more environmentally friendly way. At the same time, patent growth for traditional products such as internal combustion engines and other fossil fuel-based systems has flattened.

The report also lists the most innovative countries, companies and institutions in this field by the investigation of the latest trends in transportation patents. Data shows that the countries with the most patents related to future transportation technologies are China, Japan, the United States, South Korea and Germany. Since 2000, these five countries have collectively created nearly 1.05 million inventions in the future transportation technology sector. It is believed that China's strong growth momentum is driven by its dominant position in the electric vehicle market in recent years.

From Xinhua Net

February 6th, 2025