IFI Insights: Do patent applications of electric vehicle startups predict the road ahead in EV industry mergers and acquisitions?

Startup Stars

First, IFI looked at the patents of companies that were considered attractive enough to acquire. Of startups scooped up in the past 10 years, Sakti3, an Ann Arbor, Michigan battery company acquired by Dyson in 2015, leads the pack with 69 patents granted. NovaTorque, a manufacturer of electric motors for industrial and commercial applications comes in second, followed closely by Finnish company Visedo, a developer of electric drive train components. Wireless Advanced Vehicle Electrification (WAVE), a Salt Lake City-based provider of wireless charging solutions for heavy duty EVs, holds 25 patents granted since its founding in 2011, though most of the patent activity has been quite recent (more on that below). WAVE was acquired in 2021 by Ideanomics.

Cracking the Patent Codes for Clues

Classifying invention is complex, which is why there are two major hierarchical systems in order to categorize methods, devices, and processes that have not previously existed. The first system is the International Patent Classification (IPC), used since 1971 and the second is the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC), which started in 2013. IFI analyzed both classification systems to determine the technological inroads EV startups are making. The charts to the right show the top technologies of the acquired startups that IFI examined by code. Below are the definitions for both the top three IPC and CPC codes. You can also see them by hovering the mouse over any bar.

Top IPC Codes:

• G05D 1/02 – Control of position or course in two dimensions
• G05D 1/00 – Control of position, course or altitude of land, water, air, or space vehicles, e.g. automatic pilot
• H01M 4/04 – Manufacture of electrodes in general

Top CPC Codes:

• Y02T 10/70 and Y02E 60/10 – Respectively correspond to climate change mitigation and GHG reduction technologies and specifically referring to Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries and Energy storage using batteries
• H01M 10/0562 – Manufacture of secondary cells characterized by solid materials used as electrolytes

Charging Ahead

At the heart of electric vehicles, and renewables in general, is the system for storing energy: rechargeable batteries. Just as drilling for crude fueled the oil and gas industry for the past century and more, powering the EV industry forward has required enormous focus on rechargeable battery technology. The big automakers – Daimler, Toyota, Volkswagen, Audi and Ford – are steering plenty of their electric vehicle R&D into battery IP. So are players in the automotive parts and solutions area of the industry such as Denso, Vitesco, and Phoenix Contact.

Charged Up Startups

Considering how core rechargeable batteries are for the EV industry to flourish, investors will be keeping their eyes on the road for promising startups in this area. Here is a chart of the most active startups that are patenting in battery charging systems.

Patents On Autopilot

Assessing patents in the EV industry wouldn't be complete without looking at the AV (autonomous vehicle) portion of the technology stack. Despite the money pouring into the technology and the fanfare whenever an autonomous vehicle advance – or failure – makes headlines, artificial intelligence and autonomous driving, while certainly on the horizon, are much further down the road when it comes to widespread use. Still, the technology is accelerating. Using patent classification codes related to autonomous driving, artificial intelligence and machine learning, we identified the top companies patenting in the space over the past two years. Naturally, global automakers are active in the space – Ford, Toyota, Kia and Hyundai, among others. Chipmakers Nvidia and Intel are also patenting in the area. Autonomous driving pure play Motional, a joint venture of Hyundai and auto supplier Aptiv, also figures prominently. Notably absent from the upper echelon: Tesla, which appears 23rd on the list with 11 patents in the past two years.