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ARTICLE · 19 JUNE 2026

Fuelling IP: Sunny Spells For Solar Power Inventions

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As solar power patent filings surge globally, driven by next-generation technologies and shifting manufacturing centres, innovators face critical decisions about where and how to protect their intellectual property. With China now accounting for over half of all new international solar patent families and emerging markets rapidly expanding their solar infrastructure, understanding the evolving patent landscape has never been more crucial for securing competitive advantage in the renewable energy sector.

United KingdomEnergy and Natural Resources
Alia Tayer
Alia Tayer
James Hitchen
James Hitchen
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Amid mounting geopolitical turmoil straining fossil fuel supply chains, low carbon energy generation investment is high on the priority lists of policymakers in the UK and EU [1, 2]. Last year, the UK unveiled its Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, announcing an ambitious investment programme of an estimated £40 billion per year in clean power generation and transmission network assets until 2030 [3].

So far, public policy tools and state-backed investments have successfully accelerated low carbon innovation and adoption. Yet, the technologies powering the green transition have not always evolved in a linear fashion; while some are enjoying their moment in the sun, others, further along the technology development and adoption pathway, are in a steady period of refinement and optimisation.

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