UNIVERSITY OF CAMPINAS
BRAZIL
2012
ICABR Conference
Ravello
Innovation Networks: Emerging Technological
Trajectories on Ethanol Fermentation
Processes.
Dal-Poz, Ester
Silveira, Jose Maria
Masago, Fabio
Objectives
•
Analysis of the dynamics of global R&D efforts
on biofuels
•
This article: innovation markets foresight on
alcoholic fermentation of second generation
ethanol.
•
Understand the technological evolution and
the relative position of potentially competitive
technologies.
Objectives
Three methodological approaches – throught patents
1. Innovation networks - by citation of patents (Hall
et al., 2001) - are used to chart the technological
trajectories
2. Patent lexicographical environments, to
understand technological areas linked to second
generation ethanol processes
3. The most important fields and enterprises
patenting efforts, in each of the same
technological areas.
Four “innovative” industrial processes
•
•
•
•
Simultaneous Saccharification and
Fermentation (SSF)
Consolidated Bioprocessing (CBP)
Direct Microbial Conversion (DMC)
Separate Hydrolysis and Fermentation
(SHF)
Current vision about patent use to understand innovation
• Patents are formally documents guaranteeing
the monopoly of technological knowledge
applied to industrial processes, and does not
reach the analytical level of the phenomenon of
innovation.
• Does not??? It is not true: when you have
market agents looking for surveys of patents
(citing each other), you may extract some
tendencies… or trajectories, and market value of
technologies.
Networks of citations and market agents –
which invest in R&D – are proxies of
innovation
• Networks of patent citations can be considered networks
of innovation: extensive empirical evidence
demonstrating that a high degree of citation for a patent
is correlated with market presence, which allows us to
consider highly cited patents as examples of innovation
(Trajtenberg,1990; Hall et al. 2001; Jaffe, and
Trajtenberg, 2002).
• Idea that the network (to the degree that it is promptly
acquired) characterizes momentum in the development
of a complex and adaptable economic system (Foster,
2004).
Networks deal with the cumulative results of efforts and
investment in R&D during a certain period.
• How market agents – which have R&D
efforts too – are looking for tech
scenarios?
• Highly cited patents are the “créme-de-lacréme” of these efforts – recognized by
other patenting agents.
• Strong economic valuation (intangible
assets) approach – highly cited patents
makes enterprises more valued.
Advantages of networks of
innovation
• Emerging technologies may be detected: highly
cited AND highly connected patents designs a
technological trajectory
• Expired patents are an important aspect of the
many efforts making up the relations in the
network that define the strategy of R&D of patent
pool holders.
• The potential blocking forces of many of the
identified patent pools can be identified through
the proceedings of the network (Chu 2009),
considering the effects of patent blocking in
Example: transgenic plants tech
trajectory is very consolitaded
Na economic evolutionary
approach
• Economic development is characterized
by qualitative change, since the new
entities emerging during its course are not
comparable to previously existing ones.
• The variety/diversity of the economic
system rises during the course of
economic development.
(Saviotti, 2009)
Characteristics of networks of
innovation
• Scale-free - very resistant to random
attack: almost 80% of the links can be cut
before a scale-free network is destroyed,
while the corresponding percentage for an
exponential network is less than 20%.
• Good approach to understand innovation.
Networks
• Structure of knowledge networks is described by
nodes (patents in this case) and connections
between them (forward citations).
• Breschi & Lissoni (2004) - a certain company
(A) may have fewer patents than (B), but it may
be cited by other companies which may also be
highly cited.
• A non-linear view on a company´s innovative
capabilities and its technological potential.
Networks algebric indicators*
•
•
•
•
density
geodesic distance
centrality
And using k-cores for citing indicators
* According to OTTE & ROUSSEAU, 2002, based on
graph theory literature
Search queries
USPTO -1976-2012 (01-01)
Lexical Terms
Patent Fields
1. “Simultaneous Saccharification”
AND
“Fermentation”
All fields
2. “Bioprocessing”
AND
“Fermentation”
All fields
3. “Direct Microbial Conversion”
AND
“Fermentation”
All fields
4. “Separate Hydrolysis”
AND
“Fermentation”
All fields
Claims
Claims
Claims
Claims
Network SSF - k-core 32 -1
Density 0,81701%.
Centrality (indegree): 0,0119191
Network SSF – K-core 32-20 and Geodesic Distance = 1,0
Density 1,19191%.
Not tipical of innovation net. This is the same net of the last slide. Density does not changes, despite GD =
1,0.
Low relationships variance.
Rede SSF – DG 1,0; k-core 32- 20
4840903
20/06/89
(15)
5198074
30/03/93
(16)
4220721
02/09/80
(12)
4326036
20/04/82
(11)
5571703
05/11/9
6
(10)
5874263
26/02/99
(10)
5464760
07/11/95
(15)
4952504
28/08/90
(11)
6509180
21/01/03
(29)
5407817
08/04/95
(14)
5932456
03/08/99
(15)
5231017
27/07/93
(32)
6927048
09/08/05
(18)
5677154
14/11/97
(11)
5258293
02/11/93
(15)
5837506
17/11/98
(11)
5487989
30/01/96
(27)
4321328
03/03/82
(23)
5628830
13/05/97
(20)
5779164
14/07/98
(10)
4490469
25/12/84
(15)
5597714
28/01/97
(19)
6333181
25/12/01
(13)
5554520
10/09/96
(21)
5620877
15/04/97
(17)
5135861
04/03/92
(11)
4503079
05/03/85
(11)
6090595
18/07/00
(19)
No tech trajectory defined.
Legenda
Patentes fundadoras do tema SSF
No pattern of highly cited and highly connected nodes.
Única vinculação entre patentes altamente citadas e com
conexão DG1
Innovation is a star war for SSF.
Patentes desconectadas da rede.
More cited patents and enterprises
a) Solvay Enzymes, Inc. (Elkhart, IN), July 27,
1993
Process for producing ethanol
b) ZeaChem Inc. (Golden, CO), January 21, 2003
Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation
Network – SSF
SSF clusters by technological themes
Patent documents topology
General landscape: enzymes and their encoding
genes for second generation ethanol
Adapted transgenic plants for cellulose
fermentation
Fermentation enzymes genetic engineering
Plant raw material linked to microorganisms
fermentation enzymes
Biomass industrial pre-treatment
Biomass saccharification processes
Thermophilic and mesophilic microorganisms
fermentation enzymes
Trichoderma sp. hydrolytic enzymes
Humicola grisea novel enzymes for sugar cane
bagasse fermentation
Lignocellulose solvents
SSF – Patent Top Assignees by year
Source: Thomson Innovation
Bioprocessing network – no k-core filter
Density= 0,0101807; centrality = Zero tendency (network is weakly connected)
Bioprocessing - Technological themes - Patent documents topology
Legend
Number of patents
Bioprocessing
Top Assignees by year
Source - Thomson Innovation
Direct Microbial Conversion – No K-Core Filter
Density = 0, 0735632
Centrality = 0,01091 – zero tendency
DMC – Patent documents topology
Legend
Source: Thomson Innovation
Separated Hidrolysis and Fermentation - Patent documents
topology
Separated Hidrolysis and Fermentation
Legend
Number of patents
SHF – Top Assignees by year
Source – Thomson Innovation
Network Indicators
Fermentation
Process
Network
Density
Betweenness
Centrality
Bioprocessing
0,0101807
0
Direct Microbial
Conversion
0, 0735632
0,01091
0, 0226591
0,00126
Closeness
Centrality (all)
Zero tendency
(network is weakly
connected)
Zero tendency
(network is weakly
connected)
Zero tendency
(network is weakly
connected)
0, 0119191
0,00356
0,35716
Separate Hydrolysis
and Fermentation
Simultaneous
Saccharification
and Fermentation
Networks intersection
Ten most important technologies for second
generation ethanol fermentation
US
Patent Assignee/Country
Number
1. 7,226,776
University
of
Florida
Research Foundation, Inc.
(USA)
2. 5,045,463
Cetus Corporation (USA)
3. 8,075,694
Danisco US Inc. (USA)
4. 7,732,173
5. 7,985,847
6. 7,649,086
7. 8,058,041
8. 5,100,791
9. 7,785,848
10. 7,582,458
Core technology
Recombinant hosts suitable for simultaneous
saccharification and fermentation
DNA expression vector
Acid fungal protease in fermentation of insoluble
starch substrates
Membrane Technology and Ethanol recovery process using membranes - a
Research, Inc. (USA)
combination of steps including fermentation
BioJoule Ltd. (New Zealand) Extraction of ethanol-soluble lignin from the plant
material and retention of sugars
BioJoule Ltd. (New Zealand) Integrated processing of plant biomass
Inventor: Alex Berlin. Head
Protein Chemistry Dept.,
Novozymes Inc.
The
United
States
of
America as represented by
the United States (USA)
ACTIVA BioGreen, Inc. (USA)
Process for simultaneous saccharification and
fermentation of biomass
Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation
using cellobiose fermenting yeast Brettanomyces
custersii
Improvement od biomass conversion and
fermentation process by promoting the growth of
microbes.
Novozymes North America, Improved
fermentation
processes
applying
Inc. (USA)
oxidizing enzymes and growth stimulators for the
fermenting microorganisms
Conclusions
• Second generation ethanol, concerning its most
important industrial R&D frontier, is a STAR WAR in
course.
• There is a “scale free” pattern of the nets, but no strong
relationship among nodes – what means no trajectory is
defined till now.
• Although SSF has the most “complex” network, there is
no technological trajectory defined (considering the
double indicator of highly cited/ high k-core indicators)
Conclusions
• Lexicographical patent analysis demonstrates that
innovation solution for the industrial demands for using
all biomass raw material is not a clear technological
ensemble: a high level of uncertainty about the benefits
that each type of fermentation technological adoption
may represent to the industry is still non-defined.
• 10 technologies, linked to their assignees enterprises,
have been selected as potential solution to set up
second generation ethanol industry.
• Expectations about second generation ethanol may be
seen as a muddy ground, concerning innovation
generation and adoption.
Contacts
• Ester – ester.dalpoz@fca.unicamp.br
• Jose Maria – jmsilv52@gmail.com