Exploring the Green-Oriented Transition Process of Ship Power Systems: A Patent-Based Overview on Innovation Trends and Patterns

The shipping industry has accelerated the transformation of its carbon emission reduction and decarbonization, and relevant patents are rapidly increasing, but the industry still lacks consensus on the low-carbon development route of ship propulsion technology. We used the Derwent Innovation Index to collect the global patent information on ship power systems between 1965 and 2022 and proposed a new patent information mining framework. It is used for the dynamic tracking and analysis of global technology correlation characteristics, hot technology topics, and competitive situations. The findings indicate that: (1) the innovation of ship power systems is more radical and concentrated in the fuel field represented by LNG technology, whereas technical innovation in the field of pure electric propulsion is more scattered. Small tonnage ships, underwater operations, and recreation technology are among its innovation hotspots. (2) Pure electric propulsion technology is dominated by combined innovation with other propulsion methods (hybrid propulsion technology) and Chinese universities have recently begun to lead this technology. (3) Fuel cells and remote control have become innovation hotspots. Fuel cell technology, which combines electric, fuel, and hybrid power technology, is now on the cutting edge of innovation and has the potential for disruptive innovation.