A skyrocketing growth in quantum technologies and AI, increasingly present Asian innovators in the European market, and traditional sectors (health and transportation), still significant in volume but carrying less momentum. This is the technological landscape outlined by the annual barometer of the European Patent Office (EPO), the EPO Technology Dashboard 2025 (formerly Patent Index), published on Tuesday, March 23, 2026. “An interesting indicator, as it provides a ‘fresh’ view of innovation,” argues Yorick Lostetter, Chief Business Analyst at the EPO, as patents offer a “fresh” perspective on innovation, with applications being published before technologies hit the market.
The organization recorded 201,974 applications in 2025, a 1.4% increase compared to 2024. A rebound compared to recent years that had shown stagnation. Unsurprisingly, the majority of applications are driven by digital technologies and clean energy, as pointed out by the EPO.
Similar to the previous year, computer technologies remained the primary field of innovation in 2025 (+6.1% compared to 2024), fueled by an increase in patent applications related to artificial intelligence (+9.5%) and quantum technologies. “It is still a modest domain, representing only 451 patent applications, but the number of applications has more than doubled in five years and increased by 38% in one year,” specified Yorick Lostetter.
