In the last quarter significant developments have taken place related to the promotion of electric vehicles by the Government of Spain, as well as by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO).

On February 9, 2010, the Spanish Presidency of the EU proposed to the Ministers of Industry of the member countries, the desirability that electric vehicles be a matter of European interest and the need to approve a common strategy, from the European Union point of view, for promoting this type of vehicle.

Subsequently, on April 6, 2010, the Government of Spain presented the Comprehensive Strategy for Promoting Electric Vehicles planned for 2014, along with a set of measures to be implemented through an Action Plan Action for the next two years to reach objectives set out in this Strategy.

Also, in the meantime, on March 9, 2010, the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Trade, Miguel Sebastián, presented the Strategic Plan for the Promotion of Industrial Property, Plan PI. The Plan is part of the Strategy for a Sustainable Economy aimed at making Industrial Property a factor of innovation, competitiveness and growth for the future of the Spanish economy.

Quarterly bulletins for technological follow-up
The Plan PI, whose temporary timeframe is three years, comprises five central themes, one which promotes technologies that respect the environment. Consistent with the importance reached by our country in the area of technologies related to the protection of the environment and renewable energies, Plan PI calls for a specific action in this sector, Green PI, so that Spanish companies use Industrial Property instruments to increase their competitiveness. In this respect, the minister announced the publication of quarterly bulletins for technological follow-up, which include electric cars.

The newsletter includes the most recent publications of international patent applications (PCT applications) published in the previous quarter. The scope of this bulletin has been limited to PCT applications because, as they're considered to be requests with which companies intend to protect their inventions in various countries, they correspond to inventions involving a certain level of technological relevance.

Initially, a pilot newsletter was put together on storage and infrastructure technologies, having identified these two issues as key elements in the future development of electric vehicles, while discarding developments related to fuel cells. Among storage technologies, batteries are the most relevant, although references also include those related to supercapacitors and energy recovery systems, such as regenerative braking.

Once the first issue was circulated among companies and institutions in the sector, contributions made by them were presented in the following issue. Therefore, a new section on power electronics has been added.

For more information, click here

[Return]