07/01/2025
Whilst many readers will likely be familiar with Formula 1 (F1) racing, Formula E (FE) may not be as well known. Conceived in 2011 as the world’s first all-electric international single-seater championship, FE has quickly grown in popularity. It’s 344 million viewers in 2023 means it already has the fourth-biggest motorsport fanbase in the world, larger even than well established brands such as NASCAR.
The enormous growth in such a short period of time is likely down to a myriad of factors. Although FE and F1 organisations are unrelated entities, the two motorsports share a similar race style and format, allowing FE to access a ready-made fan base. Additionally, as consumers around the world become increasingly environmentally conscious, a motorsport which strives to be sustainable can’t help but attract attention (FE is the first and only global sport to be certified with a net zero carbon footprint from inception).
However, perhaps the most important reason of all is the impressive amount of technological innovation that goes in to the FE race cars themselves. The 2022 FE season saw the introduction of GEN3 cars, some of the most technologically advanced vehicles on the planet.
| GEN1 (introduced 2014) | GEN3 (introduced 2022) | |
| Maximum Power | 200kW (270bhp) | 350kW (470bhp) |
| Maximum regeneration | 150kW | 600kW |
| Energy Recovery | Approx 15% | Over 40% |
| Top Speeds | 225kmh (140mph) | 320kmh (200mph) |
| Powertrain | Rear only | Rear and Front |
Not only are the GEN3 cars highly entertaining to watch, but they may also provide a look at where road vehicle EV technologies are heading. Whilst the GEN1 cars were groundbreakingly fast for their time, many modern electric vehicles are able to match these kinds of speeds. It therefore might not be too long until the technology found in GEN3 cars starts to trickle their way into road vehicle technologies.
Case Study – Regenerative Braking/Brake by Wire
One of the most interesting areas where Formula E technology has started to find its way into road vehicles is in the advances made in regenerative braking.
As a brief recap, in a “conventional” braking system, pushing the brake pedal in your car causes a brake pad to move and push against a brake disc connected to a wheel. The brake pad drags against the spinning brake disc, and it is this friction that causes the wheel to slow down and the vehicle to stop.
Whilst this system works well to achieve the aim of slowing or stopping your vehicle, one of the key downsides to this process is the enormous waste of energy. The kinetic energy of the spinning wheel is “dumped” into the brake pad and brake disc as heat, which is then lost to the environment.
Regenerative braking systems aim to solve this problem by using the cars own electric motor to slow the wheels. In simple terms, when the electric motor is run in the same direction as the cars wheels, the wheels speed up; when the electric motor is run in the opposite direction to the cars wheels, the wheels slow down, causing the car to break and recapturing some of the kinetic energy of the wheels.
Formula E vehicles are some of the most efficient vehicles on the planet when it comes to using regenerative braking, with over 40% of the energy expended being recaptured throughout the race. In fact, in the most recent GEN3 vehicles, the regenerative braking has gotten so good that conventional braking systems have been removed altogether.
Patent Filing Statistics
Patent filing statistics can often be a way to analyse changes in the amount of investment being given to a certain area of technology – the more patent applications being filed, typically the more investment in a given area.
To look at the patent filings relating to regenerative braking, we can look at European patent filings using IPC code B60L 7/10 – “Dynamic electric regenerative braking” – in terms of the total number of patent applications published using this IPC code, and the percentage of all patent applications published using this code.
Over the past decade, the number and percentage of patent publications using this code have more then doubled, indicating that this is a particularly hot area of research and investment as motor vehicle companies prepare themselves for the increasingly dominant role electric vehicles will take in this market. Recent patent infringement actions between Cap-XX (a Sydney-based company which makes supercapacitors useful in regenerative braking systems) and Maxwell Technologies Inc. (a Tesla subsidiary company) have shown that companies are willing to fight it out in order to protect these valuable technologies.
Conclusion
Traditionally, F1 teams have relied on trade secrets, rather than patents and designs, to protect their intellectual property. This process grew out of F1’s desire to avoid teams monopolising advantageous technologies, but may have also been partly due to a inability to commercialise many of the technologies appearing in F1 cars in road vehicles. In recent years, however, some F1 teams have begun to depart from this philosophy. One example of this is a US patent application for a “Sports Car Cockpit” (US 2019/0375464) which appears to have been inspired by the protective Halo design found in modern F1 and FE cars. Will we see growth in the number of electric vehicle related patent applications filed by FE teams in coming years to capitalise on the value of their R&D?
With the UK government aiming to completely phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel powered cars and vans by 2035, and other governments around the world set to follow suit, it is clear that electric vehicles are set to become a cornerstone of modern road vehicles.
We can expect that road vehicle companies will continue to invest heavily in electric vehicle related technologies to prepare their intellectual property portfolios for this transition. So the next time you switch on a Formula E race, pay close attention; your next car might already be on the track.
This article is for general information only. Its content is not a statement of the law on any subject and does not constitute advice. Please contact Reddie & Grose LLP for advice before taking any action in reliance on it.
