This file photo provided by Hyundai Motor shows the all-electric IONIQ 5 production line at its Ulsan plant.
DAEJEON, June 23 (Korea Bizwire) — A worldwide effort to develop heat management systems for electric cars and other eco-friendly vehicles for improved efficiency and longer range is gaining traction.
The Korea Intellectual Property Office reported that the submission of patents related to an integrated heat management system for eco-friendly cars from five countries or regions (the U.S., Japan, Europe, South Korea and others) jumped by an average of 11 percent every year over the last decade.
Sorted by country or region, China has submitted the largest number of patents in the last 10 years (3,725 patents, 51 percent), followed by the U.S., Japan, South Korea and Europe.
By company, Toyota Motors Corp. submitted the largest number of patents (678), followed by Hyundai Motor Co. (609), LG Chem Ltd. (425), Honda Motor Co. (320) and Ford Motor Co. (254).
Sorted by the type of technology, patents related to heating using waste heat jumped by 29.7 percent annually over the last five years, making the highest leap, followed by heat management of batteries and fuel cells (18.1 percent), heat pumps (14.5 percent) and heat management using X-way valves (14 percent).
The recent spike in the submission of patents related to waste heat management is largely aimed at maximizing range by overcoming a lack of heat sources and using the air conditioning system less frequently.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
