Identifying trends in battery technologies with regard to electric mobility: evidence from patenting activities along and across the battery value chain

Electric mobility is a topic of intense discussions in academia and industry since the stability of future energy supply as well as the associated environmental consequences are uncertain. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the research and development status of battery technologies for electric vehicles which are reflecting the interface of the automotive, chemical and electronics sector. The present study applies patent families as technological indicators in order to analyze the research activities of each step of the designed battery value chain individually and in comparison with each other to identify and discuss trends regarding the technologies associated to electric vehicles. By applying this explorative approach to the comparably new field, the study contributes to both the scientific literature on patent analysis as well as on emerging industry and value creation structures related to the electric mobility sector. Although the distribution of patents shows an emphasis on active components, the high number of patents covering more than one value chain step points towards the tendency of considering the whole value chain in systemic research approaches. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of patent assignees reveals insights on the knowledge dissemination across the value chain whereby the major share of industry actors still appears to be focused on their respective core competences but also administers important links to other value chain steps. The increase of collaborative activities across steps further hints towards starting shifts in value creation activities. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.