SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS, France – May 14, 2024 │Dr. Filippo Farina is set to speak at AABC2024 tomorrow. Meet him in Strasbourg to discuss the following issues regarding battery recycling.
Overall picture and next challenges to face
The global growing demand for batteries has led to the increasing interest for lithium-ion batteries recycling. Players on the market need to stay ahead of the technological trends and to understand their competitive environment. In this context, patent landscape analysis is a complementary approach to market research to acquire a deeper knowledge about competitors’ strategies. In this presentation given at AABC 2024, Dr. Filippo Farina reveals IP trends and key IP players on Li-ion battery recycling, with a focus on cathode active materials.
In the 21st century, Lithium-ion batteries have conquered a vast space in currently used electronic devices; more recently, the push for more sustainable technologies has led to the sharp increase of the use of electric vehicles. This success is the result of many technological and industrial combined efforts, still heavily ongoing in current days.
East Asian battery manufacturers started expanding into the western world, building factories to be closer to their OEM customers in the European and North American markets. Being aware and proactive in the intellectual property (IP) space gives companies the much-needed advantages on their competitors in their target markets. Knowing their respective freedom to operate is paramount for protecting their large investments.
Patent landscape analysis as unique approach to competitive intelligence
New technologies need to be protected by IP rights, to have enough granted patents with valid claims and no overlap with competitors’ inventions and geographical protection over the main key regions. Understanding how the market is taking shape and evolving under the light of IP landscape can be a powerful added value to the company strategy, highlighting their strength, weaknesses and potential areas/segments where they could potentially expand.
With the sharp increase of IP protection in the battery space the clash possibilities between companies and patent infringements are expected to increase and it’s best to stay updated. A good knowledge of the intellectual property encompasses many patent filings over the course of many decades, geographical areas and languages. Being up-to-date and aware of the competitive environment is the first step, and market research is not the only tool for this purpose. Patent landscape can constitute a fundamental brick in the knowledge of the technological environment, answering questions about who the actors are, what’s their intended IP protection and where they tend to protect it.
The widespread diffusion of Li-ion batteries brings up more additional challenges in terms of environment, raw materials availability, sustainability, circular economy. Given the abundant presence of these energy storage devices, how is the world dealing with waste and scraps? We are all aware of the need for battery recycling, but how are we organised? What are the most sought-after materials and what are the main recycling methods? Who are the industrial players operating in this space and how are they geographically distributed?
When talking about battery recycling, we mostly think of active materials and battery shells; reality, however, is much more complex than this, as many of the materials and battery components involved need care too. Thinking about carbon/graphite conductive agents, PVDF electrode binders, electrolytes, copper or aluminium electrode substrates or plastic separators is not so intuitive for the common public, and yet they are fully part of the landscape.
This is precisely the scope of KnowMade: painting a broad and general patent landscape view to start delving into more sectorial segments composing that space. Battery recycling is an example of the interesting subjects in the battery space, and it will be the main topic of the presentation of our Technology & IP Analyst Filippo Farina at AABC Europe in Strasbourg. What are the main companies operating in the field? In which segments are they most active? Who are the newcomers? How heavy is the IP activity, and how has it developed over time? Where are the companies seeking IP protection? Those are some of the questions that need answers, especially in a crucial domain like battery recycling.
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About the author
Filippo Farina works for KnowMade in the field of energy storage and conversion devices. He holds a PhD in Materials Chemistry from the University of Montpellier (France). After spending few years in industry (Monrgan Avanced Materials, EcoLab), since 2015 he has been working on materials for batteries and fuel cells at University of Montpellier, CNRS and CEA-LITEN (France).
About KnowMade
KnowMade is a technology intelligence and IP strategy consulting company specialized in analyzing patents and scientific publications. The company helps innovative companies, investors, and R&D organizations to understand competitive landscape, follow technological evolutions, reduce uncertainties, and identify opportunities and risks in terms of technology and intellectual property.
KnowMade’s analysts combine their strong technology expertise and in-depth knowledge of patents with powerful analytics tools and methodologies to turn patent information and scientific literature into actionable insights, providing high added value reports for decision makers working in R&D, innovation strategy, intellectual property, and marketing. Our experts provide prior art search, patent landscape analysis, freedom-to-operate analysis, IP due diligence, and monitoring services.
KnowMade has a solid expertise in Compound Semiconductors, Power Electronics, Batteries, RF Technologies & Wireless Communications, Solid-State Lighting & Display, Photonics, Memories, MEMS & Sensors, Semiconductor Packaging, Medical Devices, Medical Imaging, Microfluidics, Biotechnology, Pharmaceutics, and Agri-Food.