More and more patent applications for air taxis come from Germany

Start-ups like Lilium and Volocopter are leading the way: Urban air mobility is becoming increasingly important in Germany. This is also shown by a special evaluation of the German Patent and Trademark Office.

Urban air mobility is becoming an increasingly important business field for German companies: From 2015 to 2020, 319 of a total of 1939 patent applications for air taxis came from Germany. This corresponds to a share of 16.5 percent of all applications for the German market at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) and the European Patent Office. The figures originate from a special evaluation of the DPMA, on which the Handelsblatt reported.

Currently, US companies still hold the most patents for inventions related to air transport with effect for Germany, with a share of 42.2 percent. Last year, however, American patent applications fell by 1.3 percent. In Germany, on the other hand, the sector boomed between 2019 and 2020, with the patent office recording a 102.4 percent increase and a total of 121 applications received. China ranked third with a total of 43 applications effective for the German market last year.

The most inventions are in energy supply systems for urban aircraft and additional wings. "We estimate that there will be up to 160,000 commercial air taxis in the air by 2050," Roland Berger partner Manfred Hader told Handelsblatt.