A new study from the European Patent Office (EPO) reveals the United Kingdom as a leading European country in additive manufacturing (AM) innovation, also known as 3D printing. The United Kingdom accounts for 5% of AM patent applications at the European Patent Office (EPO), putting it in second place behind Germany with 19%. European patent applications for AM increased at an average annual rate of 36% from 2015 to 2018. This is more than ten times greater than the average yearly growth of all applications at the Office combined in the same period (3.5%). The report, entitled “Patents and additive manufacturing – Trends in 3D printing technologies”, further demonstrates that Europe is a global leader in AM, with European inventors and businesses accounting for almost half of AM patent applications filed with the EPO in the period from 2010 to 2018.

“The surge in additive manufacturing is part of the broader, rapid rise of digital technologies overall, confirming that the digital transformation of the economy is fully reflected in patent applications reaching the EPO,” said EPO President António Campinos. “Europe has become a global hub for innovation in fast-growing digital fields, including additive manufacturing technologies. This strength is clearly reflected in the list of top AM applicants, with European inventors and businesses submitting almost half of the patent applications in the past decade.”

Europe at the forefront with UK as highly specialised player

The report shows that European countries account for 47% (or 7 863) of all AM inventions for which patent applications were filed at the EPO in the period from 2010 to 2018. Europe’s leading position is largely attributable to Germany’s performance, with the country generating 19% (or 3 155) of all patent applications in AM, followed by the United Kingdom with 5% (833 patent applications), which exceeds its share in patenting in all technologies at the EPO. At numbers three to five, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland exhibit similar contributions of around 4%. The United Kingdom shows a high degree of specialisation in AM patenting with an RTA (revealed technological advantage) index of 1.2, which is one of the highest of all European countries, particularly in the digital aspects of AM and in AM application domains. The data also shows that Derby is at number seven in a ranking of 15 major European AM innovation centres and by far the most important British region.

Biggest sectors for AM patent applications are health, energy and transportation

The study’s data further indicate that the impact of AM technologies spans a large variety of industries. Since 2010 the use of AM in the health sector has generated the greatest demand for patents (4 018 applications), followed by energy and transportation, both filing significant patent application volumes (2 001 and 961 applications respectively). Rapid growth was also observed in areas such as industrial tooling, electronics, construction and consumer goods, and the food sector.