Defining innovative areas and prospects to develop the patenting of technological advances in the automotive power plant industry

The object of this study is the field of patenting of technological advances registered in the world in the field of automotive power plants. The subject of the study is the dynamics of patenting in the automotive power plant industry, associated with the need to harmonize the trajectories of technological development with global trends in energy efficiency and manufacturability, in order to ensure sustainable economic growth. Patenting in the industry is considered in the following areas: gasoline engines, diesel engines, hybrid cars, electric cars, hydrogen cars. The relevance of this study is determined by the general desire of society to innovate through the latest tools and the introduction of systemic measures to comprehensively address the problem of increasing energy efficiency and reducing air pollution caused by road transport. The paper analyzes the statistics of patents registered in the world, examines patent activity and trends in the patenting of technological advances in the automotive industry from 2010 to 2022. In the industry of gasoline and diesel engines, hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles and hydrogen vehicles, the current work investigates through systematization and analysis of important aspects of patenting statistics and innovation dynamics. For the period of 2017–2022, the average increase in the number of registered patents per year compared to the previous period was found to be 1.37 times higher for the area of "hybrid vehicles", 1.3 times higher for the area of "electric vehicles", and 26 times higher for the area of "hydrogen vehicles". A comparative analysis of the number of registered patents by areas was carried out, further patenting rates were predicted, and priority areas of research and innovation were identified