The cleantech industry is growing rapidly, driven by innovation and investment, with new technologies and ideas reaching patent offices at a record rate. In 2024, the EPO (European Patent Office) reported that filings had increased 64.8% over the past decade in the field of electrical machinery, apparatus, energy alone. This makes it the fastest growing of all 35 technology fields at the EPO since 2015. The EPO states that this growth is largely attributable to the rapid rise of inventions in areas such as batteries and smart grid technologies.
To provide a snap shot of some of the innovation currently taking place, in the next section we highlight three cleantech patents filed in 2025. These cover a range of sectors including green hydrogen, and waste management.
Patent: novel process design for effective implementation of Aduro’s Hydrochemolytic™ Technology (HCT).
Status: Patent pending, filed on 30th January 2025
Who they are: Aduro are a clean technology company using the power of chemistry to transform lower value feedstocks such as waste plastics, heavy bitumen, and renewable oils, into new resources.
Where: United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
What it means: the patent is for a novel process design for effective implementation of Aduro’s Hydrochemolytic™ Technology (HCT). The design will be integrated into the company’s Next Generation Process (NGP) Pilot Plant, set for completion later this year[i]. A key innovation of the NGP design is that it uses widely available industrial equipment, enabling a more efficient and scalable implementation of HCT. The patent application represents the culmination of years of research to create an effective modular process to deconstruct polyaddition polymers such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and others, whether contaminated or non-contaminated feedstock. By rethinking conventional processing methods, Aduro has developed a practical and scalable solution to overcome longstanding challenges in chemical recycling[ii].
Patent: Scalable Automated Oxyhydrogen Production System.
Status: Patent Pending # 63/782/745 filed on 3rd April 2025
Who they are: Enertopia defines itself as an ‘Energy Solutions Company’ focused on intellectual property patents in green technologies, these range from energy management to hydrogen technology, and even water collection using solar energy infrastructure.
Where: United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
What it means: The system produces, stores, and utilises Oxyhydrogen gas in scalable quantities for direct or indirect use in multiple applications. The processed gas can be used in appliances, turbines, engines and generators, or equipment that requires a heat source[iii]. The system is designed to be used in both stationary and mobile applications as needed. One such example is to use oxyhydrogen gas to run a propane refrigerator, and the technology can be adapted to various cooling systems, targeting a market where commercial refrigeration sales reached $40.82 billion in 2023.
Patent: Coupled Multi-Phase Oxidation-Reduction for Production of Chemicals.
Status: Patent pending, filed on 11th March 2025
Who they are: NewHydrogen is developing ThermoLoopTM - a breakthrough technology that uses water and heat instead of electricity to produce the world’s cheapest green hydrogen.
Where: United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
What it means: NewHydrogen is a company developing ThermoLoop, a technology that uses water and heat rather than electricity to produce the world’s lowest cost green hydrogen. By using heat directly, the business claims the expensive process of making electricity can be skipped, lowering the cost of green hydrogen. Inexpensive heat can be obtained from concentrated solar, geothermal, nuclear reactors and industrial waste heat. Working in partnership with UC Santa Barbara, their goal is to help usher in the green hydrogen economy that Goldman Sachs estimated to have a future market value of $12 trillion[iv].
[i] Aduro-Clean-Technologies-Files-New-Patent-Application-on-Novel-Process-Design-2025.pdf
[ii] Ibid
[iii] Hydrogen Technology - Enertopia Corporation
[iv] Newhydrogen
Lauren has extensive experience as an analyst and market researcher in the digital technology and travel sectors. She has a background in researching and forecasting emerging technologies, with a particular passion for the Videogames and eSports industries. She joined the Critical Information Group as Head of Reports and Market Research at GRC World Forums, and leads the content and data research team at the Zero Carbon Academy. “What drew me to the academy is the opportunity to add content and commentary around sustainability across a wealth of industries and sectors.”
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