Annual patents filed in sustainable energy in Germany
Germany: Annual patents filed in sustainable energy was 118 patents in 2025. ▲ Rising
Annual patents filed in sustainable energy in Germany, 2000–2025
Source: IRENA – INSPIRE Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in patents.
Analysis
The most recent figure for annual patents filed in sustainable energy in Germany is 118 patents, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 91.4% on the previous year and down 98.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual patents filed in sustainable energy in Germany peaked at 11,250 patents in 2019 and was at its lowest, 118 patents, in 2025.
That places Germany 8th out of 74 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Annual patents filed in sustainable energy in Germany, year by year
| Year | patents | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4,395 patents | — |
| 2001 | 4,268 patents | -2.9% |
| 2002 | 4,318 patents | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 4,056 patents | -6.1% |
| 2004 | 3,928 patents | -3.2% |
| 2005 | 4,573 patents | +16.4% |
| 2006 | 5,186 patents | +13.4% |
| 2007 | 6,220 patents | +19.9% |
| 2008 | 6,749 patents | +8.5% |
| 2009 | 7,365 patents | +9.1% |
| 2010 | 8,776 patents | +19.2% |
| 2011 | 9,821 patents | +11.9% |
| 2012 | 10,142 patents | +3.3% |
| 2013 | 9,200 patents | -9.3% |
| 2014 | 8,865 patents | -3.6% |
| 2015 | 8,454 patents | -4.6% |
| 2016 | 8,290 patents | -1.9% |
| 2017 | 9,835 patents | +18.6% |
| 2018 | 10,875 patents | +10.6% |
| 2019 | 11,250 patents | +3.4% |
| 2020 | 10,118 patents | -10.1% |
| 2021 | 5,242 patents | -48.2% |
| 2022 | 3,697 patents | -29.5% |
| 2023 | 4,406 patents | +19.2% |
| 2024 | 1,370 patents | -68.9% |
| 2025 | 118 patents | -91.4% |
Germany compared with similar countries
- Germany's 118 patents is above the median for high income countries, which is 5.5 patents, 21.5× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Germany's 118 patents is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 4.5 patents, 26.2× the median. (38 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5,106 patents | 3,928 patents | 7,365 patents | 10 |
| 2010s | 9,551 patents | 8,290 patents | 11,250 patents | 10 |
| 2020s | 4,158 patents | 118 patents | 10,118 patents | 6 |
Countries ranked near Germany
More energy & mining data for Germany
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate -0.1985 % change on previous year (2025)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Fuel imports 8.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual patents filed in sustainable energy in Germany?
- Annual patents filed in sustainable energy in Germany was 118 patents in 2025, according to IRENA – INSPIRE Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual patents filed in sustainable energy recorded in Germany?
- The highest recorded value was 11,250 patents in 2019.
- What is the lowest annual patents filed in sustainable energy recorded in Germany?
- The lowest recorded value was 118 patents in 2025.
- How does Germany rank for annual patents filed in sustainable energy?
- Germany ranks 8th out of 74 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual patents filed in sustainable energy rising or falling in Germany?
- Over the last ten years it is down 98.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Germany data come from?
- The figures come from IRENA – INSPIRE Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual patents filed in sustainable energy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Figures in recent years are subject to a time lag; submitted patents may not yet be reflected in the data.