The Swiss voice in the world since 1935
Top stories
Stay in touch with Switzerland

Switzerland posts strong patent growth in 2022

Solar panels
The EPO reported a marked increase for patent applications for clean energy technologies in 2022. Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Swiss companies and inventors filed 9,008 patent applications at the European Patent Office (EPO) in 2022, an increase of 5.9% compared to 2021.

Switzerland is ranked seventh among the top ten countries with the most patent applications last year.

In terms of patent applications per capita, Switzerland remains the leading country (1,031 per million inhabitants), followed by Nordic states, according to the EPO’s Patent Index 2022 releasedExternal link on Tuesday.

Overall, the EPO received 193,460 patent applications last year, an increase of 2.5% on the previous year and a new record. This follows an increase of 4.7% in 2021 and a small dip (-0.6%) in 2020.

+ Power-generating railway tracks are coming down the line

“The rising number of patent applications – an early indicator of companies’ investments in research and development – underlines that innovation remained robust last year despite economic uncertainties around the globe,” the EPO said in a statement.

Clean energy

There was a marked increase for patent applications for clean energy technologies and others for transferring and storing energy. Battery technologies, for example, recorded a 48% increase in applications compared to the previous year.

+ Revolutionary idea to store green power for the grid

The leading countries for applications to the EPO in 2022 were the United States (48,088), Germany (24,684), Japan (21,576), China (19,041) and France (10,900).

The Chinese mobile phone manufacturer Huawei led the ranking of companies with the most patents (4,500). Most applications were from large firms but around 20% came from small or medium-sized companies with up to 250 employees. Some 7% were from universities and public research institutes.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Aargau police continue to search for escaped prisoner

More

Swiss police still hunting handcuffed escapee

This content was published on A prisoner who escaped on Thursday in Baden, canton Aargau, is still on the run. The 23-year-old Albanian, who was in custody for burglary, was wearing handcuffs when he escaped.

Read more: Swiss police still hunting handcuffed escapee
Switzerland reinforces its ground-air defence with German systems

More

Swiss reinforce ground-air defence with German systems

This content was published on Switzerland has purchased five IRIS-T SLM systems for ground-based air defence from Germany, the Federal Office for Defence Procurement (armasuisse) said on Monday.

Read more: Swiss reinforce ground-air defence with German systems
Deer return to Winterthur cemetery

More

Evicted deer return to Swiss cemetery

This content was published on Individual deer are continuing to return to the Rosenberg cemetery in Winterthur, northeastern Switzerland, even after an eviction campaign last winter.

Read more: Evicted deer return to Swiss cemetery
You hardly earn any interest on savings accounts in Switzerland anymore

More

Hardly any interest earned on savings accounts in Switzerland

This content was published on Interest rates on savings accounts in Switzerland have fallen significantly. The brief high in savings interest rates is over, according to a study by online comparison service Moneyland.

Read more: Hardly any interest earned on savings accounts in Switzerland
Nazis

More

Nazi hikers questioned by Swiss police

This content was published on A group of around 25 men in uniforms of the Wehrmacht – the army of Nazi Germany – crossed the Wildhorn massif on Saturday and were questioned by Bern cantonal police.

Read more: Nazi hikers questioned by Swiss police

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR