One of the fundamental requirement in today’s world is transport. Petrol and diesel engines fulfil the requirement but with the cost of pollution and other hazards. Now the traditional combustion engines are becoming outdated with the replacement of fully electric vehicles. Fully electric vehicles (EVs) have zero emission which is better for the environment. There are several advantages with the use of EV. The very first is the lower running cost. This is because charging of the electric vehicle is cheaper than the petrol/diesel prices. Also, the maintenance cost for such vehicles is less. The government is also providing tax and financial benefits by giving incentives.
With the rise in the utility of EVs there are multiple inventions and innovations taking place every day to make the ride much safer and easier. In India there is a gradual growth in the field of EV.
The focus for the development is on the field of energy storage i.e., batteries. Four types of batteries in focus in India to be used as the energy storage. One of the leading manufacturers of the batteries in India is Exide industries. The company having the highest number of patent in India is Honda Motors followed by Suzuki Motor Corp.
AULTON NEW ENERGY AUTOMOTIVE TECH CO LTD is one of the upcoming companies in India.
An EV is defined as a vehicle that can be powered by an electric motor that draws electricity from a battery and is capable of being charged from an external source. An EV includes both a vehicle that can only be powered by an electric motor that draws electricity from a battery (all-electric vehicle) and a vehicle that can be powered by an electric motor that draws electricity from a battery and by an internal combustion engine (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle).
Electric vehicles have low running costs as they have fewer moving parts for maintenance and are very environmentally friendly as they use little or no fossil fuels (petrol or diesel). While some EVs used lead acid or nickel metal hydride batteries, the standard for modern battery electric vehicles is now considered to be lithium-ion batteries as they have a greater longevity and are excellent at retaining energy, with a self-discharge rate of just 5% per month. Despite this improved efficiency, there are still challenges with these batteries as they can experience thermal runaway, which have, for example, caused fires or explosions in the Tesla model S, although efforts have been made to improve the safety of these batteries.
The technology taxonomy focuses on classifying patents based on the technological aspects and innovations within and around EVs. The categorization of patents and patent applications around EVs was done based on technical/functional components and their application areas. It mainly types of batteries used in India and their manufacturers.
The set considered for the analysis comprises of 2033 live patents/patent applications out of 2303
Types of energy storage used in India:
- Lithium-ion batteries
- Lead-acid batteries
- Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries
- Ultracapacitors
Manufacturers of batteries in India:
- Exide Industries
Exide is very popular in the battery manufacturing market. It has collaborated with many developers to produce cost-effective and durable lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.
- Maruti Suzuki
The company has collaborated with Toshiba and Denso for manufacturing electric vehicles and energy storage batteries.
- Tata Group
The company has partnered with Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to develop lithium-ion battery producing plants throughout the nation.
- Hero Motors
The Hero MotoCorp has built a new facility in Tamil Nadu for the manufacturing of EVs and has done strategic investments in the lithium-ion batteries manufacturing.
- Amara Raja Batteries
The Amaron is the famous battery manufacturer in India. Like Tata Group, Amara Raja has collaborated with ISRO to produce lithium-ion batteries for EVs.
Top Assignees filing patents in India.
The figure below illustrates the primary patent holders in the field of EVs (Electric Vehicles), showcasing the assignees with the highest count of patents or patent applications. Among them, HONDA MOTOR CO LTD, SUZUKI MOTOR CORP and LG CORP emerge as the top three, with respective totals of 219, 86 and 73 patents/patent applications.
The top 10 assignees in India from the year 2002. Honda Motor Co. Ltd is leading the chart board. The graph shows the increase in the tread in patent filing in electric vehicle domain post 2010. Many companies have filed patents in various domains of EVs.
Top Inventors:
The figure below shows top inventors with the maximum number of patents/patent applications related to electric vehicles
The graph shows the list of inventors in which Tamaki Kenji is on the leaderboard with 18 patent to his name. He is followed by Kuramochi Akira with 16 patents.
Top General technology patent filing wise.
1. The technological development in India is much seen in the field of batteries and circuits required for the operation of the vehicles. Also, much focus is given on the cooling system required for the vehicle. Also, applications related to smart charging stations are in increasing numbers.
2. Mechanical Engineering is the field of domain where most of the patents are filed, which is followed by electrical engineering.
3. Vehicles require various apparatus and according to the company there are modifications to the same. So, inventions related to apparatus are at the top position in the sub domain category which is followed by electrical machinery.
Patenting Trend.
There has been gradual increase since 2010 in patent filling for the inventions related to EVs. In 2020, the highest number of grants were published.
Upcoming companies filing patents in India.
- AULTON NEW ENERGY AUTOMOTIVE TECH CO LTD
- SHANGHAI DIANBA NEW ENERGY TECHNOLOGY CO LTD
- OLA ELECTRIC MOBILITY PVT LTD
- KWANG YANG MOTOR CO LTD
IPLTECH ELECTRIC PVT LTD.
The chart shows the upcoming companies in India with respect to electric vehicles. The numbers denote the number of patent grants with the companies.
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