ABB ranked second top Swiss company for patent applications

European Patent Office’s annual index of top patent applicants places ABB second in Switzerland and 36th globally

With 540 patent applications, ABB has secured second place among Swiss companies in the European Patent Office’s (EPO) Patent Index 2024, jumping from fourth place in 2023. The annual list of patent applications is published by the EPO in Munich, Germany, and highlights the companies and countries with the highest number of patents across the globe.

ABB was the only company in the top 5 in Switzerland to record a year-on-year increase (+10.7%), moving up nine places from 45th to 36th place in the EPO's global top 50 ranking.

“At ABB, research and development is driven by the company’s 19 divisions and focuses on developing and commercializing technologies that are strategically important for future growth”, said Morten Wierod, ABB CEO. “ABB’s position on the European Patent Office ranking demonstrates our commitment to sustained innovation and developing world-class technologies that transform industries to reach new levels of performance and sustainability.”

The ranking is testament to the efforts of ABB's inventors and the wider intellectual property and innovation community. ABB employs 7,800 people in R&D centers across ~30 countries on six continents, with over half dedicated to digital and software development. More than 250 projects are running related to Artificial Intelligence (AI), covering innovations across ABB’s advanced software and digital offering.

Building on 140 years of engineering know-how, ABB invests an increasing share of revenues in both R&D and technology ventures to support the development of cutting-edge technology. In 2024, ABB made 9 new venture investments, and 8 follow on investments for a total investment of approximately $50 million across its four business areas. In 2024, ABB increased R&D and related spending by approximately 40 percent since 2020 and set an ambition to increase R&D as a percentage of revenues to between 4.5% to 5%. In 2024, ABB invested $1,469 million, or approximately 4.5 percent of consolidated revenues, in R&D activities, marking a 12 percent increase year-on-year.

ABB Annual Reporting Suite

(Source: Press Release ABB Group)