The oil and gas industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by the need for more sustainable development and reductions in carbon emissions, and growing importance of technologies such as post-combustion capture, oxy-fuel combustion capture, pre-combustion capture, direct air capture, and amine-based carbon capture. In the last three years alone, there have been over 327,000 patents filed and granted in the oil and gas industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Hydrogen in oil & gas: carbon capture MOFs. Buy the report here.

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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 201,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the oil & gas industry, there are 65+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

Carbon capture MOFs is a key innovation area in hydrogen

A new category of advanced materials known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are now offering opportunities for carbon capture through their engineerable structure and physicochemical characteristics.

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 75+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established oil & gas companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of carbon capture MOFs.

Key players in carbon capture MOFs – a disruptive innovation in the oil and gas 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 capture MOFs

ExxonMobil is the top patent filer for MOFs material, followed by Air Liquide and BASF.

In 2021, Exxon Mobil in partnership with the University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory discovered a new material that could capture more than 90% of the produced CO2 from power industries. However, research is still in its early stages.

In December 2022, the company announced plans to invest up to $17bn through 2027 to lower greenhouse gas emissions with an emphasis on large-scale carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, and biofuels.

BASF, in collaboration with other companies and academic institutions, is developing a novel MOF material that can effectively capture CO₂.

In terms of application diversity, ExxonMobil leads the pack, while Air Liquid and Kuraray stood in the second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Casale held the top position, followed by ExxonMobil and Nippon Soda.

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the oil & gas industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Hydrogen in Oil and Gas.

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.