More broadly, Europe is leading globally in the development of new technologies in the water sector, the report has found.
The report looks at international patent families (IPFs) and found that companies, researchers and inventors from the EPO’s 39 member states, including the UK, accounted for 40 per cent of all IPFs in water-related technologies in 1992-2021.
European inventors are said to lead in all major areas of water technology, from potable water harvesting and efficient water use to wastewater treatment and flood protection.
According to the United Nations, 2.2 billion people lacked access to safely managed drinking water in 2022, and 3.5 billion lacked safe sanitation services. In addition, droughts and floods cause large numbers of deaths and billions in economic losses every year. In Europe, 12 per cent of the population lives in areas at risk of flooding and around 30 per cent of people in southern Europe face permanent water stress, according to a recent report from the European Environment Agency.
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“Water is one of our most precious resources,” EPO president António Campinos said in a statement. "Given the threats posed by climate change, innovation needs to grow even faster in the coming decades – in both the supply of water and protection from water-related hazards. Our new study and tools provide policymakers and the public with high-quality data and analysis of the water technology landscape, and support inventors in developing innovative solutions to meet our water challenges."
According to the study, there were over 22,000 IPFs filed worldwide between 1992 and 2021 in water-related technologies. The number of newly published IPFs has increased from around 300 a year in the early 1990s to over 1,200 in the 2020s.
The largest area for inventions is water treatment, making up about 60 per cent of all IPFs. The fastest growing area in recent years is efficient water treatment, and especially automation and control of treatment operations.
UK Innovators
Europe has a strong lead in water inventions, followed by the US (with 23 per cent of all water-related IPFs), Japan (12 per cent), China (six per cent) and Republic of Korea (five per cent). The UK ranks seventh worldwide and third in Europe and accounts for 10 per cent of Europe’s share of IPFs.
Europe is also the only major region to possess a high level of specialisation in water-related technologies, meaning its level of patenting in these technologies is higher than its average for all technologies.
The UK’s level of specialisation in water-related technologies was found to be among the highest of the leading European countries (surpassed by Spain and Austria). Countries outside Europe, including Australia, Israel and India, are particularly exposed to threats of water shortages and flooding and have a higher degree of specialisation in water-related innovation.
Access to information
Working with national patent offices across Europe, the EPO has developed a new technology platform on water innovation. The free platform enables scientists, governments and businesses to more easily navigate its online patent database containing over 150 million documents.
In addition, the EPO has updated its free Deep Tech Finder to help investors and potential partners connect with over 100 startups with European patent applications for water-related inventions.
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