Commercialization

DTU files more patents than any other university in Europe

113 patent applications in 2025 have propelled DTU to the very top of a new top 20 list published by the European Patent Office.

Most Danish patent applications are in the field of biotechnology, where DTU is among the world’s leading research institutions. Photo: Kasper Løjtved

Tuesday 24 March 2026

Simon Koefoed Toft

When a researcher cracks the code for a completely new technology and wishes to develop it commercially, it is important that others cannot simply copy the idea. That is why DTU often helps protect the university’s innovations through patenting.

In 2025, this happened 113 times, more than at any other university in Europe, and ranks second globally among universities filing applications with the EPO, after the University of California. This is shown by a new report from the European Patent Office, EPO.

“DTU has been working systematically and intensively on innovation for more than a decade. And we continue to do so, because the future of Denmark and Europe depends on the will and ability to create new knowledge and bring it out into society, where it can be of benefit,” says DTU’s President, Anders Bjarklev.

Facts

See the full top 20 list here

The list shows the European universities that submitted the most patent applications to the European Patent Office (EPO) in 2025.

  1. DTU - 113
  2. EPFL – École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne - 103
  3. KU Leuven - 103
  4. ETH Zurich - 81
  5. TUM - Technische Universität München - 67
  6. Ghent University - 55
  7. Oxford University - 52
  8. University of Copenhagen - 48
  9. Aarhus University - 43
  10. University of Zurich - 41
  11. University of Cambridge - 38
  12. University of Antwerp - 36
  13. Trinity College London - 32
  14. University of Heidelberg - 32
  15. Imperial College - 29
  16. Paris Sciences et Lettres - 28
  17. University College London - 28
  18. Dresden University of Technology - 27
  19. Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg - 26
  20. Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin – 25

In addition to comparing European universities, the European Patent Office has also published a list of the most patent-active Danish companies. Here, DTU ranks fourth, surpassed only by Novonesis (178 patents), Vestas (132) and Topsoe (114).

Read more about the statistics on applications at the European Patent Office.

Contact

Anders Overgaard Bjarklev

Anders Overgaard Bjarklev President Rektoratet Mobile: +45 20761512