Battery innovation and the Circular Economy: What are patents revealing?

• DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2023.03.132
• Publication Date: 2023-04-08T15:33:26Z
• Authors: Philipp Metzger; Sandro Mendonça; José A. Silva; Bruno Damásio
• Keywords: Circular Economy; Transformative Learning

This analysis of over 90,000 secondary battery innovations (measured by international patent families) provides a comprehensive account the long-run progress knowledge base with key role in transition to transformative, closed-loop, Circular Economy. Innovation accelerated globally from 2000 2019, sustained dynamic mostly originating Asia. Patterns less toxicity and more diversity technological trajectories are detected found bear evidence pro-circularity. We find number emergent trajectories, such as solid-state, lithium–sulfur, redox-flow sodium-ion batteries, each one different potential push ahead circularity pathway, which allow for detection country clusters. Through methodology that can be interest further research, we examine extent batteries have circular characteristics.