Intellectual Property: IPR threatens China’s new energy sector

Stimulated by governments’ supporting policies, a large number of Chinese firms have turned to new energy and related industries. Over 10 large scale new energy bases have been established. However, experts say that China’s emerging new energy sector may face a lack of core technology crisis.

In the wind power sector, 2.0 to 3.0 MW wind turbines are the mainstream in developed countries. Major global wind turbine producers declined to transfer technology of wind turbines with capacity higher than 2.5 MW to China. None of those wind power giants set up joint ventures in China. Domestic wind turbine producers have no choice but to appeal to 1.0 to 1.5 MW wind turbines through product patent licensing.

China’s photovoltaic industry is facing problems in monocrystalline silicon and Polysilicon manufacturing. Chinese firms have to rely on German and Japanese companies in this field. According to cooperation agreements signed by Chinese photovoltaic companies and their German and Japan counterparts, they shall contribute fees for technology transfer to German and Japanese companies. Even patents acquired by Chinese firms would belong to German and Japanese companies. From each single watt-hour power generated by photovoltaic batteries in China, foreign companies get 0.1 yuan (a little over 1 cent of US dollar).

The current situation of China’s new energy industry is the result of the governments’ overemphasis in application fields and enterprises’ weak theoretical research strength, say experts.