Energy Transition involves a structural change in the energy system from our existing model to a new paradigm, going well beyond the simple replacement of one source of fuel energy by another. To help meet global climate change goals of limiting the increase in global average temperature to 1.5 °C, set at the Paris Climate Agreement 2015, policy makers could strengthen investment conditions by shifting incentives to make renewable power more attractive to investors – thus stimulating innovation and patenting in renewable technologies.

Global energy transitions follow a long process, from the growth of coal replaced by oil and then the rise of gas. In the UK alone, coal has taken more than 60 years to phase out of consumption, so to reach climate change goals within the time frame, low-carbon technologies need to be advanced to meet energy supply demands. The availability of infrastructure is a predominate problem, both time consuming to adapt and costly due to huge sunk costs involved, delaying the speed of transition.

According to the Global Innovation Index 2018, technology solutions exist for two-thirds of the global primary energy supply. This includes technology related to energy storage and grid infrastructure, enabling reliable, affordable and renewable power systems. The remaining one-third is currently not viable at current pace or simply unavailable, particularly in industry, transport and buildings sectors. The next steps are to further encourage renewable innovation to speed up the energy transition process and bring clean technologies to the marketplace.

Having access to a powerful patent searching and analysis tool, like PatBase, can aid R&D companies in discovering new opportunities, building their patent portfolio and breaking through the ‘wait-and-see’ attitude that is prevalent in energy innovation. PatBase now has over 60 countries high quality full text data, meaning users can benefit from past innovations in a variety of sectors, such as 3D printing, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence, and produce new breakthroughs; accelerating the energy transition process and leading the way in global climate change goals. Sign up for a demonstration and free trial today, contact Minesoft at [email protected] or call us today on +44 (0)20 8404 0651.