The aerospace and defense industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by the pressing need for modernization, and the growing importance of technologies such as artificial intelligence and unmanned systems. In the last three years alone, there have been over 84,000 patents filed and granted in the aerospace and defense industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Advanced materials in defense: carbon fiber laminates. Buy the report here.
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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 260,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the aerospace and defense industry, there are 110 innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Carbon fiber laminates is a key innovation area in advanced materials
Carbon fiber laminate is a critical component in the manufacture of high-performance materials such as carbon fibre reinforced composites. Carbon fiber laminate is a uniquely resilient material composed of a matrix of interwoven carbon fibre layers bonded together by a reinforcement material, typically a hardened plastic such as epoxy resin. Carbon-fiber-reinforced composite plates, also called carbon-fibre laminates, have numerous applications within the aerospace and defense industry, acting as a primary component for airframes, personal protective equipment, and various other products.
GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 140+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established aerospace and defense companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of carbon fiber laminates.
Key players in carbon fiber laminates – a disruptive innovation in the aerospace and defense industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of applications identified for each patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of countries each patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to carbon fiber laminates
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
The leading company in terms of global patent filings is Boeing, as the company has been at the forefront of researching and developing new applications and manufacturing solutions for carbon fiber laminates. Boeing has filed a number of patent applications on the combination of polysilazane laminate and carbon fiber reinforced polymers to produce a more resilient high-performance composite. Toray Industries has also filed several patents over the last few years regarding new methods of producing prepreg materials for use in carbon fiber laminate manufacturing. Some other key patent filers in the aerospace and defense industry include Hexcel, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Airbus, and Mitsubishi Chemical Group.
Toray Industries is the global leader with regards to patent application diversity, while Hexcel and Boeing followed closely in second and third place, respectively. By geographic reach, Toshiba leads, followed by Albany International and Barrday.
As the outbreak of high intensity warfare in Europe causes nations around the globe to re-assess their military capabilities, concerns regarding the survivability of human servicemembers against the weapons of peer-level adversaries is a key factor driving investment and innovation in the development of advanced composites such as carbon fiber laminates. There is a sufficient level of overlap in the applications of advanced composite materials such as carbon fiber laminates that several companies are active in both the aircraft manufacturing and soldier personal protective equipment markets due to their broad expertise in this domain.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the aerospace and defense industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Advanced Materials (AdMs) In Defense.
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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
