microbattery patent landscape analysis 2016 report published by yole developpement

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MICROBATTERY Patent Landscape Analysis September 2016 IP and Technology Intelligence 2405 route des Dolines, 06902 Sophia Antipolis, France Tel: +33 489 89 16 20 Web: http://www.knowmade.com

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Page 1: Microbattery Patent Landscape Analysis 2016 report published by Yole Developpement

MICROBATTERYPatent Landscape Analysis

September 2016

IP and Technology Intelligence

2405 route des Dolines, 06902 Sophia Antipolis, FranceTel: +33 489 89 16 20

Web: http://www.knowmade.com

Page 2: Microbattery Patent Landscape Analysis 2016 report published by Yole Developpement

2© 2016 All rights reserved | www.knowmade.com

Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 4Scope of the reportKey features of the reportObjectives of the reports

METHODOLOGY 10Patent search, selection and analysisSearch equationsPatent segmentationTerminologies for patent analysis

NOTEWORTHY NEWS 18

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 20

PATENT LANDSCAPE OVERVIEW 33Time evolution of patent publicationsMain patent assigneesTime evolution of patent assigneesLegal status of patentsIP collaboration networkMapping of patenting activityTime evolution of patent applications by countryCountries of patent filings for main patent assigneesMapping of main current patent holdersMapping of main current patent applicantsKey patent assignees

Summary of patent portfolios of main assigneesIP competitors dependency by citationsMost cited patentsGranted patents near expiration dateIP specialization degree of key playersIP leadership of key playersPrior art strength index of key playersIP blocking potential of key players

PATENT LITIGATION 58

IP PROFILE OF KEY PLAYERS 60CymbetPolyPlus BatteryPanasonicInfinite Power SolutionsFront Edge TechnologyCEAJohnson Battery TechnologiesI-TENApplied MaterialsST Microelectronics

For each player:Company presentationSummary of the patent portfolioKey patents

PATENT SEGMENTATION 101Mapping of Key Players for Battery Technologies and DesignsMapping of Key Players for Battery ComponentsMapping of Key Players for Types of claims and ProcessmethodsMatrix Main Patent Assignees v.s. Technical Segments

Focus on key segments:Type of claimed inventionBattery technologiesBattery designsBattery components (electrodes, electrolytes, barrierlayers, packaging, non-active parts)Process methods (sputtering, evaporation, CVD,PVD, ALD, spraying, printing electrodeposition …)Apparatus

For each segment:Main patent assigneesTime evolution of patent applicationsTechnology evolutionMost cited patents

CONCLUSION 197

KNOWMADE PRESENTATION 209

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3© 2016 All rights reserved | www.knowmade.com

Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

THE AUTHORS

Knowmade is a Technology Intelligence and IP Strategyconsulting company specialized in analysis of patents andscientific information. The company supports R&Dorganizations, industrial companies and investors in theirbusiness development by helping them to understandtheir IP environment and follow technology trends.Knowmade is involved in Microelectronics &Optoelectronics, Compound Semiconductors, ICManufacturing & Advanced Packaging, Power & RFDevices, MEMS & Sensors, Photonics, Micro &Nanotechnology, Biotech/Pharma, MedTech & MedicalDevices. Knowmade provides Prior art search, PatentLandscape Analysis, Patent Valuation, Freedom-to-Operate Analysis, Litigation/Licensing support, ScientificLiterature Landscape, Technology Scouting andTechnology Tracking. Knowmade combines informationsearch services, technology expertise, powerful analyticstools and proprietary methodologies for analyzingpatents and scientific information. Knowmade’s analystshave an in-depth knowledge of scientific & patentdatabases and Intellectual Property.We Know Technology, We Know Patents

Dr. Nicolas BaronNicolas is CEO and co-founder of Knowmade. Heleads the Physics Department. He holds a PhD inPhysics from the University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis, and a Master of Intellectual PropertyStrategies and Innovation from the EuropeanInstitute for Enterprise and Intellectual Property(IEEPI Strasbourg), France.Contact: [email protected]

Dr. Fleur ThissandierFleur works for Knowmade in the field ofMicroelectronics and Chemistry. She holds a PhD inMaterial Chemistry and Electrochemistry fromCEA/INAC, Grenoble, France. She also holds aChemistry Engineering Degree from the SuperiorNational School of Chemistry (ENSCM), Montpellier,FranceContact: [email protected]

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© 2016 All rights reserved | www.knowmade.com

INTRODUCTION

Page 5: Microbattery Patent Landscape Analysis 2016 report published by Yole Developpement

5© 2016 All rights reserved | www.knowmade.com

Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

INTRODUCTIONScope of the Report

• This report provides a detailed picture of the patent landscape for Microbattery Technologies (micro-batteries and solid thin film batteries).• This report covers patents published worldwide up to May 2016.• We have selected and analyzed more than 3,000 patents and patent applications (900+ patent families) relevant to the scope of this report.

Included in the report Not included in the report

•Patents mentioning micro-battery or solid thin film battery as a part of adevice without describing its manufacture.•Patents on electrodes or electrolytes in which their specific use in micro-batteries or solid thin film batteries is not described.•Patents related to thin film batteries with liquid electrolytes and solid

batteries without 3D or thin film electrodes and a thin layer of electrolyte.

•Patents related to micro-batteries and solid thin film batteries.

Micro-scaled in at least one dimension

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6© 2016 All rights reserved | www.knowmade.com

Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

INTRODUCTIONKey Features of the Report (1/2)

• The report provides essential patent data for Micro-Batteries and Solid Thin Film Batteries.

• It identifies more than 20 major patent holders and it provides in-depth IP analysis of key technical segment and keyplayers including:

– Time evolution of patent publications and countries of patent filings.

– Current legal status of patents.

– Ranking of main patent applicants.

– Joint developments and IP collaboration network of main patent applicants.

– Key patents.

– Granted patents near expiration.

– Relative strength of main companies IP portfolio.

– Matrix applicants/technology issues for more than 20 companies.

• The Micro-batteries IP profile of 10 major companies is presented, including key patents, recent patented technologies,technological issues, partnerships, last market news.

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

INTRODUCTIONKey Features of the Report (2/2)

• The report provides an extensive Excel database with all patents analyzed in the report.

This useful patent database allows multi-criteria searches:

- Patent publication number

- Hyperlinks to the original documents

- Priority date

- Title

- Abstract

- Patent Assignees

- Segmentation

- Legal status for each member of the patent family

• This report does not provide any insight analyses or counsel regarding legal aspects or the validity of any individualpatent. Knowmade is a research firm that provides technical analysis and technical opinions. Knowmade is not a law firm.The research, technical analysis and/or work proposed or provided by Knowmade and contained herein is not a legalopinion and should not be construed as such.

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

INTRODUCTIONObjectives of the Report

Objectives of this patent landscape is to:

Understand the IP landscape for Micro-batteries.

Identify key patents.

Understand trends in Micro-batteries IP and future technological choices.

Identify the major IP players in Micro-batteries and the relative strength of their patent portfolio.

Identify newcomers in Micro-batteries.

Identify IP collaboration networks between key players.

Identify main patent litigations.

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© 2016 All rights reserved | www.knowmade.com

METHODOLOGY

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

• The data were extracted from the FamPat worldwide database (Questel-ORBIT) which provides 80+ million patent documents from95 offices.

• The search for patent was performed in May 2016 hence patents published after this date will not be available in this report.

• The patents were grouped by patent family. A patent family is a set of patents filed in multiple countries to protect a single inventionby a common inventor(s). A first application is made in one country – the priority country – and is then extended to other countries.

• The selection of the patents has been done both automatically and manually (all details in next slides).

• The statistical analysis was performed with Orbit IP Business Intelligence web based patent analysis software from Questel.

• The patents were manually categorized in technical segments using keyword analysis of patent title, abstract and claims, inconjunction with expert review of the subject-matter of inventions (all details in next slides).

• For legal status of European (EP) and PCT (WO) patent applications, EPO Register Plus has been used. For legal status of US patents,USPTO PAIR has been used. For legal status of other patents, information have been gotten from their respective national registers.

METHODOLOGYPatent Search, Patent Selection, Patent Analysis (1/2)

Number of selected patent families for the Micro-batteries IP Investigation:912 over a number of returned results > 6,600

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

METHODOLOGYPatent Search, Patent Selection, Patent Analysis (1/2)

Keywords and term-set definition

Search equations / Search strategy

Manual screening of the results

Patent classification

Relevant Non relevant

Refine search using IPC classes and

citations analysis

Patent Segmentation

Patent Analysis

Segmentation improved during patent analysis

Landscape Overview

In-depth analysis of Key Technology Segments

and Key Players

Patent Ranking and Key Patents analysis

Phase I

Phase II

Phase III

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

METHODOLOGYPatent SegmentationFor each segment, the numbers representthe numbers of patent families.Note that a patent can be found in severalcategories.

Types of claims- Pure products- Method and products by method- Apparatus

Processes methods-CVD_Chemical Vapour Deposition-ALD_Atomic Layer Deposition-PVD_Physical Vapour Deposition-Sputtering-Evaporation-Electrodeposition-Electrophoresis-Sol-gel-Print-Spray

Battery designs-Micro-batteries-Flexible batteries-Thin Film batteries-Other battery designs-3D batteries

-Stacked in the same packaging-Multi-layers-3D-electrodes or substrate

Battery components

Electrolytes

Solid electrolytes- Li3N- LiPON- LixPOy

Polymer or gelled electrolytesOther electrolytes

Non-active parts

Barrier LayersPackaging

Electrodes

Cathode- LiCoO2

- LiTiOS- Oxides materials for cathodes- LiFePO4

- TiS2

Anode- Li metal- Silicon or Germanium- Carbon- Oxides for anodes

Microbatterypatent families

900+790+

900+

880+

730+

790+

520+ 590+ 330+

Battery Technologies- Primary Lithium batteries- Secondary Lithium batteries- Primary Non-Lithium batteries- Secondary Non-Lithium batteries

Knowmade © 2016

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

2016, I-TEN raised 10M€ from Innovacom Gestion , Demeter Partners and Rhone-Alpes Creation Viveris Venture. The company alreadyraised 3.2M€ in 2014.

2016, Cymbet Corporation announced that it has completed a recapitalization and restructuring of the company in connection with a$10 million-plus equity investment led by Dallas, TX-based Island Shore Investments (ISI). This significant investment and restructuringwill fund the production and introduction of new products and provide additional working capital to expand Cymbet’s business in keymarkets. The announced financing is the first part of a two-part funding round, the second portion totalling $5-7 million, which is to becompleted in the first half of 2016.

2016, CEA-LETI joined the Stanford System X Alliance and signed a new agreement with Intel to develop microelectronic components.

2016, Philips announced that it will commercialise 5 connected devices for health applications.

2016, STMicroelectronics acquired assets on RFID and NFC from AMS group.

2016, Fraunhofer IZM opens a new microbattery prototype fabrication line based on precision screen-printing. Current developments atthe Fraunhofer IZM reach a minimum size of 2 x 2 mm2 with a diameter of only 2 mm and a thickness of 200 μm.

2015, Dyson acquired SAKTI3, an American start-up incorporated in 2007 as a spin-off from University of Michigan.

2015, a patent on “Contact lenses with hybrid power sources” filed by Google was published (WO2015137937).

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© 2016 All rights reserved | www.knowmade.com

PATENT LANDSCAPE OVERVIEW

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

PATENT LANDSCAPE OVERVIEWTime Evolution of Patent Publications

Note: The data corresponding to theyear 2016 is not complete since thepatent search was done in May 2016.

Knowmade © 2016

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

PATENT LANDSCAPE OVERVIEWMain Patent Assignees

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

PATENT LANDSCAPE OVERVIEWTime Evolution of Patent Assignees

RankingFor each year, the numbersrepresent the numbers ofpatent families.

Note: The data corresponding to the year 2014, 2015 and2016 may not be complete since most patents filed duringthese years are not published yet.

Last patent applications before 2005Slowing patent applications since 2005

No patent application since 2010First patent application after 2005

Knowmade © 2016

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

PATENT LANDSCAPE OVERVIEWCountries of Patent Filing for Main Patent Assignees

Countries are defined by the country code from the patentnumbers. The number represents number of published patentfamilies. Note that PCT (Wo) and European (EP) applications mayhide other countries that are not yet published.

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

PATENT LANDSCAPE OVERVIEWMapping of Main Current Patent Holders

Number of patent families*containing granted patents inthe corresponding country.

* A patent family is a set of patents filed inmultiple countries by a common inventor(s) toprotect a single invention.

Knowmade © 2016

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

PATENT LANDSCAPE OVERVIEWPatent Portfolio Summary of Main Patent Assignees

Knowmade © 2016

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

PATENT LANDSCAPE OVERVIEWMost Cited Granted Patents

Ranking

* Expected Expiration Date is dependent on the accuracy and timeliness of the information provided by the patent offices. This indicator may change at any time without notice based on new information received from

the patent offices. No decision should be made based solely on this indicators.

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

PATENT LANDSCAPE OVERVIEWMain Assignees IP Leadership

Knowmade © 2016

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

PATENT LANDSCAPE OVERVIEWMain Assignees IP Blocking potential

The more the number of forward citations from different patent applicants is high, the more thecapacity to hamper the other firms’ attempts to patent a related invention is important.Note: This graph is at patent family level. The identification of a “blocking patent” requires an in-depth specific analysis ofeach patent documents composing the patent families.

Knowmade © 2016

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IP PROFILE OF KEY PLAYERS

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission)Company Profile

• The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission or CEA, is a French public government-funded research organization in the areas of energy,defense and security, information technologies and health technologies. It maintains a cross-disciplinary culture of engineers and researchers, building on thesynergies between fundamental and technological research. It is divided into 5 divisions: Nuclear energy (DEN), Technological research (DRT), Life sciences(DSV), Sciences of matter (DSM) and Military applications (DAM). Research on micro-batteries in CEA is now performed in LETI, the CEA institute specialized inmicro-electronic devices. CEA has created more than 150 start-ups in about 20 years, such as SOITEC, Alchimer (renamed Aveni), Crocus Technology, Tronics,ISORG, Microoled, Movea, Enerbee, EnWires …

• CEA doesn’t commercialize products but it produces prototypes. It focuses on R&D for micro-batteries (materials, process methods…). It has a special processplatform to product prototypes in condition near from the one of production. This platform is composed of about 30 manufacturing devices, including PVD-CVD apparatus. CEA-LETI has a partnership with ST Microelectronics to develop their micro-batteries pilot line in Tours. In 2016, CEA-LETI joined the StanfordSystem X Alliance and signed a new agreement with Intel to develop microelectronic components.

• Large scale and miniaturized fuel cells, scale Li-ion batteries and new batteries technologies, such as Na-ion battery, all organic battery, Li-Air battery or Li-Sbattery, printed electronic, photovoltaic devices … are also developed in CEA in LITEN, CEA’s institute specialized in energy storage and collecting devices.

Source: CEA Source: CEA Source: CEA Source: CEA

2008: Wafer 150mm50 batteries / wafer

2010: Wafer 200mm500 batteries / wafer

2011: Wafer 200mm5200 batteries / wafer

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission)Patent Portfolio Summary

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission)Key Patents

Page 28: Microbattery Patent Landscape Analysis 2016 report published by Yole Developpement

© 2016 All rights reserved | www.knowmade.com

PATENT SEGMENTATION

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

PATENT SEGMENTATIONMapping of Key Players for Battery Technologies and Designs

Knowmade © 2016

Page 30: Microbattery Patent Landscape Analysis 2016 report published by Yole Developpement

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

PATENT SEGMENTATIONMapping of Key Players for Battery Components

Knowmade © 2016

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

PATENT SEGMENTATIONMatrix Main Patent Assignees v.s. Technical Segments

For each segment, the numbers represent the numbers of patent familiesRanking

Page 32: Microbattery Patent Landscape Analysis 2016 report published by Yole Developpement

© 2016 All rights reserved | www.knowmade.com

Battery Technologies

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

BATTERY TECHNOLOGIESPrinciple of a Lithium Battery

• Lithium battery is operating thanks to the electrochemical couple Li+/Li.Anode material is either in Lithium metal or materials which can reversibly intercalate or form an alloy with Lithium.Cathode material can reversibly liberate Lithium ion.

• During the charge, cathode material is oxidized and liberates Lithium ions which move to the anode through the electrolyte and electrochemicallyreact with the anode material via a reduction reaction. Depending on the anode material, Lithium ions are intercalated into the anode material orform an alloy with it.

• During the discharge, the opposite process occurs. Anode material, which contains Lithium, is oxidized. Lithium ions are liberated, move throughthe electrolyte and electrochemically react with the cathode material via a reduction reaction.

• Examples of reduction and oxidation reactions associated to the charge and discharge of a Lithium battery are presented below.

Example for Li/LiCoO2

ChargeAnode: Li+ + e- -> LiCathode: LiCoO2 -> CoO2 + Li+ + e-

DischargeAnode: Li -> Li+ + e-

Cathode: CoO2 + Li+ + e- -> LiCoO2

Li (metal) ElectrolyteInsertion compound

Example for M/LiCoO2M is a material which can insert or form an alloy with Li

ChargeAnode: Li+ + e- -> <LiM>Cathode: LiCoO2 -> CoO2 + Li+ + e-

DischargeAnode: <LiM> -> Li+ + e- + <M>Cathode: CoO2 + Li+ + e- -> LiCoO2

ElectrolyteInsertion compound

Insertion compound

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

BATTERY TECHNOLOGIESPatents Split by Type of Technology

Lithium Non-Lithium

No of patent families by type of battery technologies

Secondary battery

Primary and secondary battery

Primary battery

Spe

cifi

cP

ow

er

De

nsi

ty, W

/kg

Specific Energy Density, W/kg

Zn/MnO2

Source: Saft

• This Ragone plot represents the specific energy and power for several batteriestechnologies. It stands for all battery sizes. The specific energy is linked to themaximal duration of the discharge (.e. the autonomy) and the specific power to theamount of energy which can be delivered in a short time.

• It can be noticed that Lithium batteries covers the larger range of Specific Energy andPower density. For power density higher than 10W/kg, Lithium batteries have higherenergy density than other battery technologies, i.e. the best theoretical autonomy. Itexplains why Lithium Batteries are the main battery technology patented inmicrobattery field.

• The segment «Primary and Secondary Battery» stands for patent familiesreferring to both primary and secondary batteries.

• In the segment «Non-Lithium Battery», there are XX patent families withunspecified battery technology (XX patent families for secondary battery, XXpatent families for secondary and primary batteries and XX patent families forprimary batteries).

• Primary non-Lithium batteries are mainly XX batteries. Primary and Secondarynon-Lithium batteries are mainly XX batteries. Secondary non-Lithium batteriesare mainly XX Batteries

Ragone plot for several battery technologies

Knowmade © 2016

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Battery Designs

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

BATTERY DESIGNSSearch Equations

Battery designs:• Micro-batteries: Batteries have a micro-scale size. The term “micro-battery” or “microbattery” is clearly mentioned in the title, abstract or claims of the patent.• Flexible Batteries: Batteries are flexible. The term “Flexible” is clearly mentioned in the title, abstract or claims.• Thin film Batteries: Batteries electrodes and solid electrolyte layer are thin films. The term “Thin Film” is clearly mentioned in the title, abstract or claims.• 3D-Batteries: Batteries are built in three dimensions: Batteries stacked in the same package, multi-layers battery and battery built with 3D electrodes or substrates. Examples of 3D-

batteries are shown on the next page. Terms associated to “three dimensions” are clearly mentioned in the title, abstract or claims.• Other battery designs: It gathers patent families which don’t mention the battery design and those which are not in the segments « micro-batteries », « flexible batteries », « thin

film batteries » and « 3D-batteries ».

Note that a patent family can belong to several categories.

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

BATTERY DESIGNSExamples for 3D-batteries Sub-segments

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

BATTERY DESIGNSEvolution of the Design for 3D–Electrodes/Substrates (2/3)

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

Excel Databasewith all patents analyzed in the report with technology segmentation

This database allows multi-criteria searches and includes patent publication number, hyperlinks to theoriginal documents, priority date, title, abstract, patent assignees, technological segments and legalstatus for each member of the patent family.

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Microbattery - Patent Landscape Analysis | September 2016

CONTACT

o Consulting and Specific Analysis

– North America: Steve LaFerriere, Director of Northern America Business Development, Yole Inc.Email: [email protected]

– Europe: Lizzie Levenez, Europe Middle East and Africa Business Development Manager, Yole DéveloppementEmail: [email protected]

– Japan: Takashi Onozawa, General Manager, Yole Japan & President, Yole K.K.Email: [email protected]

– RoW: Jean-Christophe Eloy, President & CEO, Yole DéveloppementEmail: [email protected]

o Report business

– North America: Steve LaFerriere, Director of Northern America Business Development, Yole Inc.Email: [email protected]

– Europe: Fayçal El Khamassi, Headquarter Sales Coordination & Customer Service Email: [email protected]

– Japan & Asia: Takashi Onozawa, Sales Asia & General Manager, Yole K.K.Email: [email protected]

o Financial services

– Jean-Christophe Eloy, CEO & PresidentEmail: [email protected]

o General: Email: [email protected]

Page 41: Microbattery Patent Landscape Analysis 2016 report published by Yole Developpement

Patent Landscape Analysis – September 2016

MICROBATTERYPatent Landscape Analysis

A starting market attracting many players from various industries ; Who owns the key patents?

REPORT OUTLINE• Microbattery• Patent Landscape Analysis• September 2016• PDF (200+ slides)• Excel file (3,000+ patents)• €5,990 (Multi-user license)

KEY FEATURES OF THE REPORT• IP trends including time evolutions

and countries of patent filings• Current legal status of patents• Ranking of main patent applicants• Joint developments and IP

collaboration network of mainpatent applicants

• Key patents and granted patentsnear expiration

• Relative strength of maincompanies’ IP portfolios

• Matrix showing patent applicantsand their patented technologies

• Segmentation of patents by- Technology (primary and secondary

batteries w/o lithium)- Design (microbatteries, solid thin

film, flexible, 3D …)- Components/materials (anode,

cathode, electrolyte, barrier layer,

packaging …)- Manufacturing method (CVD, ALD,

PVD, sputtering, electrodeposition,

electrophoresis, sol-gel, print, spray …)- Claimed invention (method,

product, apparatus)• Microbattery IP profiles of 10 major

companies, with key patents,technological issues, partnerships, IPstrength, IP strategy and latestmarket news

• Excel database with all patentsanalyzed in the report (3000+patents), including technologysegmentation

Find all our reports on www.knowmade.comwww.i-micronews.com

MICROBATTERIES IP DYNAMICS HERALDS A FUTURE RAMP-UP OF THE MARKET

We have investigated the patent landscape of microbatteries (micro-sized, solid thin film,flexible, 3D). More than 900 patented inventions related to microbatteries have beenpublished worldwide up to May 2016 by more than 300 patent applicants.The development in microbattery field is intimately linked to batteries, microelectronics andnanomaterials fields. New battery technologies, electrodes and electrolytes materialsdeveloped for batteries in general could be adapted to microbatteries. The first solid thin filmbattery was a lead battery patented in 1965 by Melpar (USA). Since 1980’s, patentedmicrobatteries have been mainly lithium batteries. In early 1980’s, Hitachi/Hitachi-Maxellpatented the first Lithium solid thin film batteries. They leaned on their knowledges andprocesses on batteries and thin film deposition. In 1992, Bates and his team at Oak RidgeNational Laboratory (ORNL) patented the sputter-based, all solid state battery utilizing theelectrolyte LiPON (US 5,338,625). The patenting activity on microbatteries really took off overthe 1998-2002 period with the creation of pure play microbattery companies (Cymbet,Polyplus Batteries, Infinite Power Solutions, Johnson Battery Technology, Front EdgeTechnology) and the IP involvement of Panasonic and CEA (French Research Laboratory).

Today, micro-sized batteries are only commercialized by few companies (PowerPaper,Cymbet, Infinite Power Solutions and ST Microelectronics) while Johnson Battery Technology,Front Edge Technology and I-TEN are evaluating their microbattery prototypes and plan tocommercialize them within two years.Currently, microbattery market is small but it should grow up within the next years, from $7min 2015 to more than $400m in 2026 according to several published market studies. Newpatent applicants from various industries are looking to this starting market(STMicroelectronics, Infineon, Applied Material, Ulvac). The recent mergers and acquisitions(Apple/Infinite Power Solutions, Dyson/SAKTI3) reflect a thriving sector in transformation.Today, the number of enforceable patents has reached a critical level worldwide, severalcompanies stand out by their strong IP position, and the first patent litigations have recentlyappeared. In this emerging market, a strong intellectual property (IP) position is essential forcompanies to grow their microbatteries business. It is crucial to understand the global patentlandscape through in depth analyses, in order to anticipate changes, harvest businessopportunities, mitigate risks and make strategic decisions to strengthen one’s market positionand maximize return on one’s IP portfolio.

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Microbattery IP dynamics

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Page 42: Microbattery Patent Landscape Analysis 2016 report published by Yole Developpement

KNOW THE IP POSITION OF KEY PLAYERS

PATENTED TECHNOLOGY AND IP STRATEGY

The 900+ patented inventions selected for this studyhave been categorized by technology segments:battery technologies (primary/secondary batteries,batteries w/o lithium…), battery designs(microbatteries, solid thin film batteries, flexiblebatteries, 3D batteries…), battery components(electrodes, electrolytes, packaging, barrier layers…)and used materials, and manufacturingmethods/apparatus (CVD, ALD, PVD, sputtering,electrodeposition, electrophoresis, sol-gel, print,spray). A focus has been done on electrodes andelectrolytes materials, manufacturing methods and3D-batteries. For each segment, the report includesthe IP dynamics of patent applications and a rankingof the main patent assignees. We describe therecent patented technologies in microbattery field,and we reveal the IP strategy and the technicalchoices of the main patent assignees.

USEFUL PATENT DATABASE (3,000+ patents)

Our report also includes an Excel database containing the 3,000+ patents analyzed in the study. This useful patent database allows formulti-criteria searches and includes patent publication number, hyperlinks to the original documents, priority date, title, abstract,patent assignees, technological segments and legal status for each member of the patent family.

More than 300 patent applicants are involved inmicrobattery IP landscape. CEA is the mainpatent holder around the world and is still veryactive in this field. But according to our analysis,Cymbet, Polyplus Battery, Infinite PowerSolutions (acquired by Apple in 2013) andPanasonic have the strongest patent portfolioswith a real IP blocking potential.The report provides a ranking and analysis of therelative strength of the top patent holdersderived from their portfolio size, patent citationnetworks, countries of patent filings and currentlegal status of patents. We reveal the IP strengthof key microbattery players and depict theircompetitive positioning.

A second wave of patent publications started in 2007, mainly originating from semiconductor manufacturers (Semiconductor EnergyLaboratory, Sumitomo) and equipment suppliers (Applied Materials, Ulvac). Currently, more than 800 patents are granted, mainly inUSA and Japan, and more than 750 patent applications are pending, mainly in Europe and USA. Overall, patent filings peaked in 2013,and seem to have been slowing down since then. Meanwhile, granted patents worldwide should increase after successful processingof the numerous pending patent applications. We believe the significant ratio of patents in force and the large number of patentapplications still in the pipeline worldwide is an indication of the technology maturity heralding a future ramp-up of the microbatterymarket.

In our analysis, we have identified 10 key players: Cymbet, PolyPlus Battery, Panasonic, Infinite Power Solutions, CEA, Johnson BatteryTechnology, Front Edge Technology, Applied Materials, I-TEN and ST Microelectronics. For each one, we provide a microbattery IPprofile including dynamics and main countries of filing of their patent applications, key features of their patent portfolio, IP strength,collaboration network and key patents.

Patent differentiation of key playersin microbattery domain

Note: All segment details and IP players are given in the report

Knowmade © 2016

IP blocking potential of patent assigneesin microbattery technology

Note: All IP player positions are given in the report

Knowmade © 2016

Microbattery Patent Landscape Analysis – September 2016

Page 43: Microbattery Patent Landscape Analysis 2016 report published by Yole Developpement

TABLE OF CONTENT

ABOUT KNOWMADEKnowmade is a Technology Intelligence and IP Strategy consulting company specialized in analysis of patents and scientific information.The company supports R&D organizations, industrial companies and investors in their business development by helping them tounderstand their IP environment and follow technology trends. Knowmade is involved in Microelectronics & Optoelectronics, CompoundSemiconductors, IC Manufacturing & Advanced Packaging, Power & RF Devices, MEMS & Sensors, Photonics, Micro & Nanotechnology,Biotech/Pharma, MedTech & Medical Devices. Knowmade provides Prior art search, Patent Landscape Analysis, Patent Valuation,Freedom-to-Operate Analysis, Litigation/Licensing support, Scientific Literature Landscape, Technology Scouting and TechnologyTracking. Knowmade combines information search services, technology expertise, powerful analytics tools and proprietarymethodologies for analyzing patents and scientific information. Knowmade’s analysts have an in-depth knowledge of scientific & patentdatabases and Intellectual Property.We Know Technology, We Know Patents

Dr Fleur Thissandier works for Knowmade inthe field of Microelectronics and Chemistry.She holds a PhD in Chemistry of Materials andElectrochemistry from CEA/INAC, Grenoble,France. She also holds a ChemistryEngineering Degree from the SuperiorNational School of Chemistry (ENSCM),Montpellier, [email protected]

Dr Nicolas Baron is CEO and co-founder ofKnowmade. He leads the Physics Department.He holds a PhD in Physics from the Universityof Nice Sophia-Antipolis, plus a UniversityDiploma in Intellectual Property Strategy andInnovation from the European Institute forEnterprise and Intellectual Property (IEEPIStrasbourg), [email protected]

AUTHORS

COMPANIES CITED IN THE REPORT (NON-EXHAUSTIVE)A123Systems, Applied Materials, CEA, Cymbet, Fraunhofer, Front Edge Technology, Fujitsu, Geomatec, GS Energy, GS Nanotech,Hitachi-Maxell, Hongfujin precision industry, Illika Technologies, Infineon Technologies, Infinite Power Solutions, I-TEN, Johnson BatteryTechnology, Johnson & Johnson, KIST, MIT, NXP, Panasonic, Philips, PolyPlus Battery, PowerPaper, Robert Bosch, SAKTI3, Sony,Semiconductor Energy Laboratory, ST Microelectronics, Sumitomo, Tel Aviv University, Toshiba, Toyota, Ulvac, Varta …

INTRODUCTION 4Scope of the reportKey features of the reportObjectives of the reports

METHODOLOGY 10Patent search, selection and analysisSearch equationsPatent segmentationTerminologies for patent analysis

NOTEWORTHY NEWS 18

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 20

PATENT LANDSCAPE OVERVIEW 33Time evolution of patent publicationsMain patent assigneesTime evolution of patent assigneesLegal status of patentsIP collaboration networkMapping of patenting activityTime evolution of patent applications by countryCountries of patent filings for main patent assigneesMapping of main current patent holdersMapping of main current patent applicantsKey patent assigneesSummary of patent portfolios of main assigneesIP competitors dependency by citationsMost cited patentsGranted patents near expiration date

IP specialization degree of key playersIP leadership of key playersPrior art strength index of key playersIP blocking potential of key players

PATENT LITIGATION 58

IP PROFILE OF KEY PLAYERS 60CymbetPolyPlus BatteryPanasonicInfinite Power SolutionsFront Edge TechnologyCEAJohnson Battery TechnologiesI-TENApplied MaterialsST Microelectronics

For each player: Company presentationSummary of the patent portfolioKey patents

PATENT SEGMENTATION 101Mapping of Key Players for Battery Technologies and DesignsMapping of Key Players for Battery ComponentsMapping of Key Players for Types of claims and Process methodsMatrix Main Patent Assignees v.s. Technical Segments

Focus on key segments: Type of claimed invention Battery technologiesBattery designsBattery components (electrodes, electrolytes, barrier layers, packaging, non-active parts)Process methods (sputtering, evaporation, CVD, PVD, ALD, spraying, printing, electrodeposition, sol-gel, electrophoretic deposition) Apparatus

For each segment:Main patent assigneesTime evolution of patent applicationsTechnology evolutionMost cited patents

CONCLUSION 197

KNOWMADE PRESENTATION 209

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