Innovation-driven developments in automotive lithium-ion battery technologies: A patent-based comparison of China and the United States

doi:10.19799/j.cnki.2095-4239.2025.0259

Abstract

Abstract:

Analyzing patent information pertaining to lithium-ion battery technologies used in electric vehicles in both China and the United States is conducive to identifying international mainstream innovation-driven trends in developments for this technology and China's position in this international competition. This analysis can also serve as a valuable reference for attaining high-quality development and high-level security of relevant technologies and industries within China. By analyzing information obtained from the incoPat patent database, we conducted a comprehensive comparison of innovations in automotive lithium-ion battery technologies between the two countries from three perspectives: patent quantity, patent quality, and technical fields and hotspots. We find China has made a notable effort to catch up with the U.S. in terms of patent quantity; however, its performance based on patent quality is less remarkable. In terms of the command of basic core technologies and the market value of patent outcomes, China still faces certain shortfalls compared with the U.S. Both countries hold advantages at specific stages of the technology life cycle. Whether China can achieve breakthroughs in key technologies in the short-to medium term will determine the future competitive landscape between the two nations. While both countries have dedicated significant R&D resources to key core technologies in automotive lithium-ion batteries, their technical research priorities and the technological goals they emphasize vary. Based on our analysis, we offer recommendations for future development efforts in China from three perspectives.

Key words: new energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, innovation-driven development, patent analysis, China, the United States

CLC Number:

G 306

Yisheng CAI, Wenting JIN. Innovation-driven developments in automotive lithium-ion battery technologies: A patent-based comparison of China and the United States[J]. Energy Storage Science and Technology, 2025, 14(10): 4043-4053.

Figures/Tables 9

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评价维度	具体指标	衡量维度	指标意义	参考文献来源
技术质量	专利被引次数	技术影响力	被引次数越多，说明专利技术的基础性与通用性越强，对后续专利的影响越大	李睿等^[19]
	IPC小类数	技术覆盖范围	IPC小类数越多，表明该技术的技术覆盖范围较广	张杰等^[20]
	专利引证次数	技术创新度	引证次数越多，技术的基础越深厚、创新度越高	霍翠婷等^[21]
市场质量	布局国家数	国际市场广度	布局国家数越多，专利技术面向的国际市场越广泛	杨武等^[22]
	同族专利数	国际市场竞争力	同族专利数越多，专利技术在国际市场上的竞争力越强	朱雪忠等^[16]
	转让次数	市场流通性	转让次数越多，市场流通性越好	罗国立等^[23]
法律质量	有效专利占比	专利权稳定性	有效专利占比越高，意味着被撤销或宣告无效的情况越少，权利越稳定	霍翠婷等^[21]
	权利要求数量	专利权保护范围	权利要求数量越多，权利保护范围越广、越坚固	杨武等^[22]
	专利权人数量	专利权维护力量	专利权人数量越多，意味着有越多的主体共同参与权利的维持和保护	霍翠婷等^[21]

项目	具体阶段	中国	美国
技术生命周期	萌芽	2009—2017年	2001—2009年
	成长	2018—2025年	2010—2016年
	成熟	2026—2031年	2017—2025年
	衰退	2032—2037年	2026—2032年

申请年	中国				美国
申请年	技术质量	市场质量	法律质量	专利质量	技术质量	市场质量	法律质量	专利质量
2000	0.12	0.09	0.22	0.17	0.68	0.62	0.33	0.66
2001	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.39	0.66	0.32	0.56
2002	0.47	0.09	0.17	0.28	0.46	0.48	0.51	0.58
2003	0.21	0.15	0.19	0.22	0.93	0.49	0.44	0.74
2004	0.40	0.20	0.24	0.33	0.62	0.61	0.36	0.64
2005	0.29	0.30	0.40	0.40	0.63	0.82	0.61	0.84
2006	0.28	0.27	0.40	0.38	0.52	0.54	0.54	0.65
2007	0.32	0.12	0.22	0.26	0.69	0.74	0.72	0.87
2008	0.32	0.27	0.45	0.41	0.69	0.55	0.68	0.77
2009	0.26	0.18	0.28	0.29	0.64	0.55	0.65	0.74
2010	0.32	0.25	0.41	0.39	0.51	0.66	0.74	0.77
2011	0.27	0.20	0.55	0.41	0.42	0.55	0.66	0.66
2012	0.29	0.24	0.46	0.40	0.34	0.54	0.65	0.62
2013	0.31	0.21	0.47	0.40	0.50	0.56	0.71	0.71
2014	0.30	0.24	0.45	0.39	0.29	0.45	0.72	0.59
2015	0.26	0.18	0.45	0.35	0.32	0.54	0.69	0.63
2016	0.27	0.23	0.43	0.37	0.30	0.49	0.66	0.59
2017	0.28	0.29	0.40	0.43	0.27	0.51	0.64	0.58
2018	0.27	0.21	0.44	0.52	0.27	0.47	0.66	0.57
2019	0.26	0.27	0.48	0.51	0.23	0.42	0.72	0.56
2020	0.24	0.26	0.45	0.44	0.23	0.41	0.53	0.48
2021	0.22	0.21	0.42	0.41	0.20	0.38	0.45	0.42
2022	0.18	0.18	0.39	0.35	0.14	0.34	0.40	0.36