Europe at forefront of innovation in water technologies

New study shows 40% of inventions in water-related technologies come from European applicants. New EPO tools help inventors, researchers, policymakers and investors in this sector. 

Today, the EPO publishes three valuable resources to support inventors, researchers, policymakers and investors who are dealing with the critical challenges of water supply and management on the one hand, as well as the threats coming from flooding and coastal erosion on the other. Our new study examines the developments and global trends in water-related technologies. A newly launched technology platform helps scientists and engineers more easily navigate our wealth of free patent information. Finally, we have added four new filters for water-related technologies to our free Deep Tech Finder tool, which connects investment-ready European startups with investors. These three resources have been jointly developed by the EPO’s Chief Economist and the Observatory on Patents and Technology. 

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. It is clear that innovation can play a major role in addressing these twin challenges. 

“Water is one of our most precious resources,” said EPO President António Campinos. "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."

Study reveals global trends 

Europe is leading globally in the development of new technologies in the water sector, according to our study published today. This looks at international patent families (IPFs), finding that applicants from the EPO’s 39 member states accounted for 40% of all IPFs in water-related technologies in the period 1992–2021. Europe has a strong lead in water inventions, followed by the US and Japan. The leading European countries are Germany, France and the UK. 

Technology trends 

According to the study, there were over 22 000 IPFs filed worldwide between 1992 and 2021 in water-related technologies. The largest area for inventions is water treatment, making up about 60% of all IPFs. The fastest growing area in recent years is efficient water treatment, and especially automation and control of treatment operations.  

Large companies dominate but university innovation on the rise 

The top patent applicants in water technologies are Veolia (France), Xylem (USA) and Kurita (Japan). But the contribution of universities and public research organisations has grown significantly, from under 5% of all water-related IPFs in the 1990s to 14% in the period 2017–21. The top universities/research institutes are the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing University (China) and CNRS (France).  

Improving access to information about water technologies 

Working with national patent offices across Europe and beyond, the EPO has developed a new technology platform on water innovation, related to the datasets developed for the study. Patent examiners from the EPO and 10 national offices (Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Morocco, the Netherlands, Türkiye, and the UK) have used their expertise to prepare 77 search concepts grouped into two broad themes: clean water and sanitation (including treatment, management and supply); and protection against water-related hazards (namely flood defences and measures against coastal erosion). These ready-made concepts enable scientists, governments and businesses to more easily navigate our free Espacenet patent database containing over 150 million documents, so that they can benefit from information about the latest advances in the water sector, as well as discovering opportunities for further research. 

Linking European startups with investors 

The EPO has also updated its free Deep Tech Finder to help investors and potential partners connect with over 100 investment-ready European startups with European patent applications for water-related inventions. This free online tool now contains profiles for over 8 500 European startups active in dozens of technologies, from digital technologies to healthcare and from clean energy to space exploration.