(The Jan. 10 report corrects a figure in the last sentence of the third paragraph: EU as a whole reached 28 rpt 28 percent, according to EPA...)

MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - In hydrogen technology, Japan and the EU take top positions. This is according to a study by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) published on Tuesday. EPO President António Campinos said, "Realizing the potential of hydrogen is an essential part of Europe's strategy to achieve climate neutrality by 2050."

The new heavyweights in hydrogen patents are companies in the automotive and chemical sectors that focus on electrolysis and fuel cell technologies, the study said. An electrolyzer can use electricity from wind and solar plants to produce hydrogen to store energy. "The most innovative regions are now competing for the first phase of industrial deployment, with data suggesting that Europe is gaining the edge as a location for investment in new electrolyzer production capacity."

Hydrogen today is mostly produced with natural gas. But innovation is "shifting toward low-emission solutions, with the EU and Japan leading the way and the U.S. losing ground," the study says. Japan secured 24 percent of all hydrogen patents granted from 2011 to 2020, the U.S. 20 percent and Germany 11 percent. The EU as a whole achieved 28 percent and China 4 percent, according to the EPA.

French gas producer Air Liquide and its German-American rival Linde led the way in patents for established hydrogen technology. BASF, Siemens and Bosch are also among the world's leading applicants. Munich and the Ruhr region are among the world's top ten areas for hydrogen technology, as is Paris. In Germany, many applications also come from Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Nuremberg.

Most innovations for applications are in the automotive industry. Leading applicants are Japanese and Korean companies, above all Toyota, Hyundai and Honda. For other industrial applications, EPA and IEA still see too few innovations. Hydrogen is needed for heavy industry, long-distance transport, ships and aircraft. There are also few other clean alternatives to fossil fuels in fertilizer production, said IEA Director Fatih Birol. One bright spot, he said, was steel production, where the number of patent applications recently rose./rol/DP/mis