Europe (Washington Insider Magazine) – A recent European Patent Office (EPO) study reveals that European inventors account for 40% of global water-related technology patents. The EPO has launched new tools to assist inventors, researchers, policymakers, and investors in tackling challenges in water supply, management, flooding, and coastal erosion.
New EPO Resources for Water Technology
The EPO has introduced three key resources to support the water technology sector. These include a study on global trends in water-related technologies, a technology platform for navigating patent information, and updated filters in the Deep Tech Finder tool to connect European startups with investors. These resources were developed by the EPO’s Chief Economist, Patent Knowledge, and the Observatory on Patents and Technology.
Global Water Challenges Highlighted
According to the United Nations, 2.2 billion people will lack safe drinking water in 2022, while 3.5 billion will lack access to safe sanitation. Also, droughts and floods kill many people and cost billions of dollars in economic losses yearly. Innovation may play a critical role in addressing these two concerns.
Europe’s Leading Role in Water Technology
The study shows Europe as a global leader in developing water-related technologies, with 40% of international patent families (IPFs) from EPO’s 39 member states between 1992 and 2021. Germany, France, and the UK are the top contributors in Europe, followed by the US and Japan.
University Innovation on the Rise
While large companies like Veolia (France), Xylem (USA), and Kurita (Japan) dominate water technology patents, university contributions have significantly increased. Universities and public research organizations now represent 14% of all water-related IPFs, up from under 5% in the 1990s. The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing University (China), and CNRS (France) are leading institutions.
Enhanced Access to Water Technology Information
The EPO, in collaboration with national patent offices, has developed a new technology platform for water innovation. Based on datasets from the study, this platform features 77 search concepts grouped into themes of clean water and sanitation, and protection against water-related hazards. These concepts help scientists, governments, and businesses navigate the Espacenet patent database with over 150 million documents.
Connecting Startups with Investors
The EPO has updated its Deep Tech Finder tool to connect investors with over 100 investment-ready European startups specializing in water-related inventions. This free online tool profiles over 8,500 European startups in various technologies, from digital solutions to healthcare, clean energy, and space exploration.
