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The Green Transformation Technologies Inventory (GXTI)

(figure)Leaflet on the GXTI
Leaflet on the GXTI（PDF：17,757KB）

The Green Transformation Technologies Inventory (GXTI) is a technologies inventory which gives a bird’s-eye view of technologies related to Green Transformation (GX) published by the JPO in June 2022. Each item in the GXTI includes the patent search formulae to search patent documents.

Nowadays, we are expected to shift economic, social and industrial structures, which have depended upon fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution, into structures driven by clean energy, and also to carry out GX in the form of an overall transformation of economic and social systems.

In order to increase their economic and social value, companies advance efforts to disclose how the value of their products and services can contribute toward solving climate change issues. Furthermore, under the June 2021 revision of Corporate Governance Code and the guidance by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), companies are required to disclose their measures for issues related climate change.

Patent information analysis is considered to be one of the most effective methods with which to figure out GX trends, as well as to objectively illustrate a company’s GX-related efforts and the impact on climate change.

We hope that GXTI, as a common asset useful for patent information analysis of GX related technologies, will contribute to the improvement of the social and economic values of enterprises and thereby promote innovations which solve various environmental issues.

Updates

Overview of the Results of Patent Information Analysis Based on GXTI [Last updated: 30 May 2023]

GXTI（GX Technologies Inventory）

The GXTI provides patent search formulae specific to searches via Logical Expression Input on J-PlatPat (External link), which is a free patent search database provided by INPIT.

The patent search formulae are not only valid for J-PlatPat but also in other patent search databases.

For GXTI modifications, please refer to the sheet titled “contents of modification” in the Excel file that you can download from the above.

Background to the Creation of the GXTI

The technologies inventory was developed after two rounds of discussions (6 January 2022 and 6 April 2022), in which key technologies were selected for their potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, by a panel comprised of six external experts with in-depth knowledge of GX technology.

In addition, the comprehensive patent search formulae linked to each technology category were prepared by patent examiners in each field.

Members of the Expert Panel (in alphabetical order, titles omitted)

Keigo AKIMOTO	Group Leader/Chief Researcher, Systems Analysis Group, Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth
Koji OYAMA	Fellow, Center for Research and Development Strategy, Japan Science and Technology Agency
Michihisa KOYAMA	Professor, Research Initiative for Supra-Materials, Shinshu University
Kenji TANAKA	Associate Professor, Department of Technology Management for Innovation, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
Hideyuki DOHI	Executive Officer, General Manager of Energy Technology Research Dept., ENEOS Research Institute, Ltd. （Formerly, Director General, Environment and Green Chemistry Unit, Technology Strategy Center, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization）
Takao NAKAGAKI	Professor, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University

Observers of the Expert Panel

Energy and Environment Innovation Strategy Office, Industrial Science and Technology Policy and Environment Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
Office of Global Environment and Decarbonizing Innovation Research, Global Environment Bureau, Ministry of the Environment

Three features of the GXTI

The GXTI has the following three features:

A bird's-eye view of GX technologies through five large technology categories and four transversal perspectives

The first feature is that the GXTI illustrates how to categorize GX technologies.

The GXTI consists of three levels of hierarchy as follows:

Large categories (comprises 6 large categories)

Medium categories (comprises 32 medium categories)

Small categories (comprises 86 small categories)

The symbol for each category starts with “gx”.

Large Category

The large category consists of five perspectives: (1) energy supply(gxA), (2) energy demand(gxB), (3) energy storage(gxC), (4) CO2 reduction in non-energy sectors(gxD) and (5) capture, storage, utilization and removal of greenhouse gas(gxE).

A separate set of four transversal perspectives(gxY) is also provided in the large category. The four perspectives are “control-related technology”, “measurement-related technology”, “business-related technology” and “ICT-related technology”. GxY is the cross tabulation of these four perspectives and five GX technology categories, gxA to gxE. In other words, the number of patent documents in gxY is an inner number of the number of patent documents in gxA-gxE. GxY can be used to identify trends in GX technologies which include each of the transversal perspectives. ("Energy Supply X Control and Coordination", for example)

Medium Category and Small Category

In the medium category and the small category, important individual technologies in each large category are listed.

In the GXTI, the small category illustrates what specific technologies are involved in the medium category, and analyses of patent application trends are expected to be conducted by the unit in the medium category. It is also possible, of course, to make analyses by the units in the small category.

In some cases, a patent document might involve multiple technologies listed in the medium category and/or the small category. Since the small category was created with the principal aim of linking each category with a patent search formula, the technical granularity differs by the category. Some small categories in the same small category are conceptually overlapped.

Patent search formulae are published in order to enable uniform analyses of GX patent trends

The second feature is that the patent formulae are published, meaning that anyone can search patent documents in the same way, and can obtain the same objective results using the published patent formulae that correspond to each small category.

As above, the GXTI consists of three hierarchical structures of categories (large, medium, and small categories), and the patent formulae corresponding to each small category. It is possible to search for patents corresponding to each category of technology in the small category and the number of the patents.

In case of searching for all relevant patents in the medium category, large category or the whole GXTI, all the patent formulae in the small category under that category must be added up (By taking the union set).

The patent search formulae based on IPCs can be used for worldwide patent document searches

The third feature comprises patent formulae that do not use specific search indexes from a limited number of countries and regions, but use International Patent Classifications (IPC) or a combination of IPCs and keywords.

※As of 2022, IPC is used for over 100 countries and regions, including members of the Strasbourg Agreement.

Utilization of the GXTI

The GXTI presents an example of how patent documents can be searched for a particular GX technology.

With the GXTI, a company can objectively quantify their strengths in GX technology by quoting the number of their patent applications in each technology category by searching patent documents with applicant names from the company for each relevant technology category, for instance. Also, if you search patent documents with applicant names from other company, you can compare the strengths of your company in terms of GXTI technology category with other companies. In this way, the GXTI can be a useful aid for planning your business and patent strategy.

Results of patent information analysis based on GXTI

In FY2022, the JPO conducted a survey using GXTI to outline the trends in patent applications in each country by GXTI technology category, and the final result was published in May 2023. We hope that the result of this survey will be useful for everyone to understand the trends in patent applications related to GX technologies and for those who to analyze patent information using GXTI in the future.

(References)

Overview of the Results of Patent Information Analysis Based on GXTI [Released: 30 May 2023]
Report on the Results of Patent Information Analysis Based on GXTI (Abstract) [Released: 30 May 2023, Revised: 08 June 2023 PDF：8,783KB]
The interim results of the survey using GXTI（Released：30 January 2023　PDF：153KB）
【Appendix】The interim results of survey using GXTI（Released：30 January 2023　Excel：44KB）

Further Plans by the JPO

International Development

The JPO intends to take international initiatives and to hold discussions with intellectual property offices of the United States, Europe, China, and Korea, as well as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) regarding the effective use and the improvement of the GXTI. The GXTI will be reviewed and updated as necessary.

Call for Examples of Utilization of the GXTI

The JPO is calling for examples of patent information analysis or climate change related information disclosures utilizing the GXTI.

We will report the case studies as soon as we have received and reviewed them. We will also be happy to post links to cases that have already been published on the Internet.

Please contact us at the contact below if you wish to be listed.

Your opinion on the GXTI

When we update the GXTI, we would like to refer to users’ opinions. Please contact us using the contact information below should you have any opinions to share.