Korea falls behind in global power semiconductor patent race: Analysis

[Graphics by Song Ji-yoon]

South Korean companies are lagging in intellectual property (IP) competitiveness in the emerging field of power semiconductors, according to a recent analysis.

Maeil Business Newspaper and global patent research firm LexisNexis conducted a joint study and released a list of the world’s top 20 companies in the power semiconductor IP sector on Sunday.

The list was dominated by U.S., Chinese, and Japanese companies but not a single Korean company was included.

The assessment was based on the Patent Asset Index (PAI), calculated from power semiconductor-related patents filed as of April this year.

Unlike system chips, which process and store data or signals, power semiconductors convert, store, distribute, and control the power entering electronic devices, enhancing power efficiency of those devices.

The increased use of mobile devices and the expansion of electric vehicles are driving high demand for power semiconductors.

According to market research firm Yano Research Institute, the global power semiconductor market is projected to grow to $37 billion in 2030 from $23.9 billion in 2022.

Japanese companies led the global top 20 list with 13 entries, including Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Fuji Electric Co., and Denso Corp.

Mitsubishi Electric, which holds the world‘s second-largest number of power semiconductor patents, made a significant investment last year in Coherent Corp., a U.S. supplier of materials for automotive industry chips, alongside Denso.

Fuji Electric has advanced patent technology related to power control systems for solar power systems and power converters for wind power systems.

There were three U.S. companies, including Alpha & Omega Semiconductor Ltd. and ON Semiconductor Corp. U.S. companies received the highest evaluations in terms of patent quality.

“When looking at patent quality, U.S. companies had the highest average,” said LexisNexis Senior Consultant Dirk Caspary.

He noted that Wolfspeed Inc. holds the most outstanding patents globally.

China had only one company in the top 20 but showed a strong growth trend overall.

In 2008, China’s IP competitiveness was similar to Korea‘s, but it began to surge in 2010, surpassing Germany in 2013 and the U.S. in 2022.

“Japan, which has the most robust patent portfolio, has seen slower growth in recent years, while China is rapidly catching up,” said LexisNexis Senior Consultant Kim Dong-hyun.

China’s patent portfolio is 1.5 times larger than Japan‘s, three times larger than the U.S.’s, and seven times larger than Korea‘s.

No Korean companies made it to the top 20 list.

“The absence of Korea in the global top 20 indicates a lack of outstanding performance in innovation,” said Caspary.

Korea’s share in the global patent portfolio has been declining from 7.2 percent in 2010 to 6.9 percent in 2015 and 5.7 percent in 2023.

Korean companies, in the meantime, are showing potential for growth.

In another list of the top 20 Korean power semiconductor companies with growth potential, Amogreentech Co. was rated as having the highest patent quality among Korean companies.

RFHIC Corp. and JMJ Korea Inc. also showed strengths in patent quality compared to other Korean companies.