2 million patents & 400 standards for renewable technology now together on INSPIRE

Renewable energy patents and standards provide a window into the growth and innovation taking place in the renewable energy sector. Patents show who is developing what and where, and which countries are leading the charge in which technology. International standards ensure that renewable energy technology works safely, and bring more money into the industry by boosting investor confidence.

But accessing this information has not always been an easy task, with information spread across disparate, difficult-to-use databases.

Thanks to a new online platform launched today by IRENA, policy makers and other energy sector players can now access the world’s largest collection of global renewable energy standards and patents in one place. The International Standards and Patents in Renewable Energy platform (INSPIRE), is the first and most complete solution of its kind, helping users search through, locate and analyse 400 international standards and more than 2 million patents for renewable energy technology. This consolidation fosters collaboration between innovators, spurs improvement through product comparison and helps identify partners by matching domestic energy needs to innovative energy solutions.

Thanks to collaboration between IRENA, the European Patent Office (EPO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the INSPIRE platform has multiple functionalities. The standards section enables users to search through a database of more than 400 internationally used standards and generate reports as needed. It also explains what standards are, how they can be used and why they are important for quality assurance, investor confidence and technology trading. The patents section contains information on over two million patent documents relating to carbon mitigation technologies from the world’s most comprehensive global patent statistics database, the EPO’s PATSTAT.

The combination of resources on INSPIRE will help users analyse various aspects of renewable energy policy and innovation. It can help indicate the effectiveness of policies to promote renewable energy innovation through the analysis of trends in patent activity. Users can also perform metadata analysis of technology trends, comparing development within, or between, different technologies. For example, the number of patents filed for renewable energy technology has increased annually by more than 20 per cent in recent years, while the average increase for other technologies is around 6 per cent.

Partner quotes:

“The INSPIRE platform demonstrates the role of the global patent system as a support for innovation in renewable energy, encouraging research and development in technologies to serve modern energy needs while addressing climate change. INSPIRE also showcases the role of patent information, which provides valuable high-level information to advise policy makers on the renewable energy sector.” – EPO President Benôit Battistelli

“By linking the technical information in IEC international standards to practical applications in renewable energy, INSPIRE will be a precious resource for energy regulators. It will assist policy makers in finding relevant international standards faster and more efficiently. It will also help educate stakeholders about the strategic role of international standards and conformity assessment for the cost-efficient expansion of renewable energy generation.” – IEC General Secretary & CEO Frans Vreeswijk

Learn more on INSPIRE at here