MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - East Asian groups are leading the way in patent applications for a key electromobility technology. In battery technology, the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) received a total of 4651 new applications last year, the federal authority announced in Munich on Monday. South Korea was in first place with 1155 new developments, followed by Japan with 955. German companies and developers were in third place in their home country with 898 applications.

South Korea, Japan and China are considered the three technologically leading nations in battery manufacturing; this is also reflected in the patent statistics. The company with the most applications at the DPMA was Korea's LG Energy Solution, a company of the LG Group, with 768. In second place was the Chinese manufacturer CATL with 295, followed by BMW (175) and VW (125).

In the last ten years, the number of patent applications for battery technology has increased by leaps and bounds; in 2013, there were only 1889, less than half as many as in 2022. However, according to the DPMA, other nations are also ahead of Germany in terms of innovation momentum: the number of domestic applications increased by a good 11 percent in 2022 compared with the previous year. In this respect, South Korea was also in first place with an increase in applications of more than two-thirds (69.9 percent), ahead of the USA (+43.3 percent), China (+40.6) and Japan (+23.3).

DPMA President Eva Schewior appealed to industry and research in Germany: "What the engine used to be for a car is now the battery for an e-car," the authority head explained. "We should therefore make sure that the innovation momentum in this key technology also increases even more in Germany."/cho/DP/stk