Solid Electrolyte Interphase Patent Landscape 2026
Solid Electrolyte Interphase Patent Landscape in 2026
The solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) field is highly concentrated, with LG Energy Solution holding a commanding lead and the top five filers collectively accounting for 37% of the hundred largest filers’ combined output. Activity reached its peak in 2022 and has since eased on an annual basis, though the multi-year window still reflects substantial expansion.
LG Energy Solution leads a concentrated but multi-tier field
LG Energy Solution Ltd is the clear frontrunner, with a patent family count that dwarfs all rivals and a recent-period filing momentum of +39%. Samsung SDI, Toyota, and CATL occupy a second tier, each with substantially smaller but still material portfolios.
The top five filers account for 37% of the combined output of the hundred largest filers, signaling meaningful concentration at the apex while leaving ample room for challengers and new entrants in the mid-tier.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LG Energy Solution Ltd | 3,344 | |
| 2 | Samsung SDI Co Ltd | 706 | |
| 3 | Toyota Motor Corporation | 661 | |
| 4 | Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) | 621 | |
| 5 | Contemporary Amperex Technology (Hong Kong) Limited | 598 | |
| 6 | Enevate Corp | 554 | |
| 7 | LG Chem Ltd | 536 | |
| 8 | Nexeon Ltd | 526 | |
| 9 | GM Global Technology Operations LLC | 350 | |
| 10 | Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd (ATL) | 317 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Samsung Electronics Co Ltd | 263 | |
| 12 | Sila Nanotechnologies Inc | 261 | |
| 13 | SK On Co Ltd | 259 | |
| 14 | The Regents of the University of California | 247 | |
| 15 | Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co Ltd | 224 | |
| 16 | 24M Technologies Inc | 204 | |
| 17 | Toyota Industries Corporation | 188 | |
| 18 | Semicon Energy Lab Co Ltd | 180 | |
| 19 | Honeycomb Battery Co | 172 | |
| 20 | Robert Bosch GmbH | 165 |
LG Energy Solution’s scale advantage, reinforced by co-filing partnerships with KAIST and the University of California, creates a formidable prior-art landscape that any new entrant must navigate carefully before committing to core SEI engineering routes.
Patent records filed in the most recent 18–24 months are systematically under-counted due to publication lag; figures for 2024–2026 should be treated as lower bounds. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Peak activity in 2022 followed by moderation; battery cell work dominates the mix
The annual filing trend reveals a field that expanded strongly from 2017 through 2022 and has since eased from that peak. The technology composition chart shows that H01M (batteries, cells, and fuel cells) is the overwhelmingly dominant class, with a long tail of adjacent branches.
Annual filing trend
Filings grew steadily from 2017 to a peak in 2022, then moderated in 2023. Values for 2024–2026 are depressed by publication lag and should not be read as a real decline; the multi-year window still reflects a 17% growth rate over the recent period.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01M dominates the IPC mix by a wide margin. Non-metallic inorganic compounds (C01B), capacitors (H01G), compounds of other metals (C01G), and measurement methods (G01R) form a secondary ring, each at low single-digit shares, pointing to several adjacent technical areas that remain relatively sparse relative to the core.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
Solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) application on …
The present disclosure is directed to fluoride (F) ion batteries and F shuttle batteries comprising an anode with a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer, a cathode comprising a core shell structure, and a liquid fluoride battery electrolyte. According to some aspects, the components therein enable discharge and recharge at room-temperature. (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nano graphene reinforced nanocomposite particles f… | 502 |
| 2 | Nano graphene platelet-based composite anode compo… | 438 |
| 3 | Graphene-enhanced anode particulates for lithium i… | 417 |
| 4 | Process for producing nano graphene reinforced com… | 399 |
| 5 | Materials for solid state electrolytes and protect… | 398 |
| 6 | Graphene foam-protected anode active materials for… | 360 |
| 7 | Nanostructured Materials for Battery Applications | 317 |
| 8 | Electrode Including Nanostructures for Rechargeabl… | 309 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents. Some patent titles may be shown in their original, non-English language where an accurate translation could not be guaranteed.
What the patent structure means for SEI R&D investment decisions
The combination of a maturing filing cycle, steep concentration at the top, active cross-sector collaboration, and a strong US/European jurisdictional footprint defines where competitive barriers are highest and where differentiated entry remains feasible.
Field is at maturity, with annual volume easing from its 2022 peak
The lifecycle stage is Maturity: annual filings plateaued near their peak and have eased since 2022, even as the multi-year growth rate remains positive at 17%. New entrants face a dense prior-art landscape in core H01M routes. Differentiation increasingly depends on process, materials chemistry, or measurement sub-classes rather than broad cell-level claims.
Mature fieldSteep top-tier gap creates high barrier at the core, modest room in the mid-tier
LG Energy Solution’s portfolio is roughly five times the size of second-ranked Samsung SDI’s. This asymmetry means freedom-to-operate analysis is mandatory before entering mainstream lithium-ion SEI engineering. The mid-tier — Enevate, LG Chem, Nexeon, and others — is more contested and may offer collaboration or acquisition targets for parties seeking faster market access.
High concentrationSamsung SDI–Samsung Electronics is the most active co-filing pair; LG leads academic ties
The most prolific co-filing relationship is Samsung SDI with Samsung Electronics (137 joint families), reflecting tight vertical integration within the Samsung group. LG Energy Solution co-files actively with KAIST (41 families) and the University of California (40 families), indicating an academic-industrial model for exploratory SEI research. Toyota and Prime Planet Energy & Solutions (21 families) and LG Chem with KAIST (18 families) are additional active pairs, showing that cross-sector collaboration is a structural feature of this field.
Active co-filingUnited States is the primary filing jurisdiction; Europe and PCT follow
The United States leads filing activity, followed by Europe (EPO) and WIPO (PCT), with Japan and China forming a secondary tier. This distribution reflects both the home markets of leading Korean and Japanese filers and the importance of the US market for battery technology commercialization. India and Canada also appear with notable patent record counts, suggesting growing commercial interest beyond the traditional battery manufacturing hubs.
US-led, globally spreadGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung SDI Co Ltd | Samsung Electronics Co Ltd | 137 |
| LG Energy Solution Ltd | Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) | 41 |
| LG Energy Solution Ltd | The Regents of the University of California | 40 |
| Toyota Motor Corporation | Prime Planet Energy & Solutions Inc | 21 |
| LG Chem Ltd | Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) | 18 |
| Toyota Motor Corporation | Panasonic EV Energy Co Ltd | 18 |
| Sila Nanotechnologies Inc | Georgia Tech Research Corporation | 16 |
| Toyota Motor Corporation | Toyota Motor Europe NV/SA | 13 |
| Nexeon Ltd | Wacker Chemie AG | 12 |
| LG Energy Solution Ltd | LG Chem Ltd | 10 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
LG Energy Solution dominates; CATL accelerating fastest among challengers
Two distinct tiers define competitive dynamics: LG Energy Solution at a scale no other single applicant approaches, and a cluster of Korean, Japanese, and Chinese challengers with diverging momentum trajectories. All top players concentrate their filings within the H01M battery and cell class.
LG Energy Solution Ltd
LG Energy Solution holds 3,344 patent families, roughly five times the nearest competitor. Its technology emphasis is tightly focused on H01M 10 (secondary batteries and their manufacture) and H01M 4 (electrodes), supplemented by H01M 50 (cell hardware). Recent-period momentum is +39%, indicating the portfolio is still actively growing rather than stagnating. Academic co-filing partnerships with KAIST and the University of California reinforce its exploratory pipeline.
families: 3,344Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd
CATL ranks fourth with 621 patent families but posts the strongest recent-period momentum among tracked challengers at +111%, suggesting an aggressive ramp-up in SEI-related filings from a previously smaller base. Its technology emphasis mirrors the field’s dominant H01M 10 and H01M 4 axes. Together with its affiliated entity Contemporary Amperex Technology (Hong Kong) Limited (598 families), CATL’s combined footprint is approaching Samsung SDI’s scale and warrants close monitoring.
families: 621| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| LG Energy Solution Ltd | 1,067 | ▲ +39% |
| LG Chem Ltd | 79 | ▼ -71% |
| Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) | 467 | ▲ +111% |
| Samsung SDI Co Ltd | 105 | ▬ +1% |
| Enevate Corp | 136 | ▼ -61% |
| Nexeon Ltd | 143 | ▲ +21% |
| Toyota Motor Corporation | 140 | ▲ 9.3× vs prior 3-yr |
| GM Global Technology Operations LLC | 85 | ▼ -27% |
Under-served branches adjacent to the SEI core
Several IPC classes appear at low share relative to the dominant H01M core. These are observations of relative sparsity; two branches combine sparsity with plausible technical value and a realistic entry path and are flagged below as potentially worth watching.
C01B · Non-metallic elements & inorganic compounds
This branch — covering silicon, sulfur, and related inorganic precursors central to next-generation anode and electrolyte chemistries — sits at a low share of the overall corpus despite its direct relevance to SEI formation on silicon anodes and solid-state cells. The top-cited patents in the corpus are heavily graphene- and nanocomposite-focused, suggesting that inorganic precursor synthesis routes remain comparatively open. Entrants with materials chemistry depth could differentiate by targeting specific precursor-to-SEI formation pathways.
Search this in Eureka →G01R · Electric & magnetic measurement
In-situ and operando characterization methods for SEI growth — electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, in-situ NMR, and related measurement techniques — fall under G01R and remain at a low share of the corpus. As the field matures and bulk cell-level patents crowd out, proprietary measurement and diagnostic methods for SEI monitoring (particularly for fast-charging and solid-state formats) represent a relatively open sub-space. Academic groups and instrument makers may find freedom to operate here that is harder to find in core H01M claims.
Search this in Eureka →How top applicants differ in their SEI technology routes
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | H01M 10 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | H01M 4 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | H01M 50 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | H01G 11 · Capacitors | H01M 2 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LG Energy Solution Ltd | Strong · 1,982 | Strong · 1,550 | Emerging · 228 | Absent | Absent |
| LG Chem Ltd | Strong · 1,096 | Strong · 981 | Emerging · 99 | Emerging · 18 | Emerging · 104 |
| Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) | Strong · 612 | Strong · 580 | Emerging · 85 | Absent | Absent |
| Samsung SDI Co Ltd | Strong · 565 | Strong · 468 | Emerging · 33 | Absent | Emerging · 24 |
| Enevate Corp | Strong · 403 | Strong · 506 | Absent | Emerging · 44 | Absent |
| Toyota Motor Corporation | Strong · 370 | Strong · 369 | Emerging · 36 | Absent | Emerging · 13 |
| Nexeon Ltd | Strong · 261 | Strong · 479 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 15,178 patent families in scope. The United States is the leading filing jurisdiction, followed by Europe (EPO) and WIPO (PCT).
LG Energy Solution Ltd leads with 3,344 patent families, a portfolio roughly five times the size of second-ranked Samsung SDI (706 patent families). Its recent-period filing momentum is +39%, indicating continued active investment.
The field is at a Maturity stage. Annual filings peaked in 2022 and have eased since then, though the multi-year recent-period growth rate remains positive at 17%. Data for 2024–2026 is under-counted due to publication lag and should not be interpreted as a sustained decline.
Samsung SDI and Samsung Electronics are the most active co-filing pair with 137 joint families. LG Energy Solution co-files with KAIST (41 families) and the University of California (40 families). Toyota co-files with Prime Planet Energy & Solutions (21 families), and LG Chem co-files with KAIST (18 families).
Among tracked applicants, CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd) shows the strongest recent-period momentum at +111%, followed by Toyota Motor Corporation at 9.3 times its prior three-year volume, and LG Energy Solution at +39%. Note that very large multipliers can reflect a small prior-period base.
The most notable adjacent branches with relatively low filing share compared to the dominant H01M core include C01B (non-metallic inorganic compounds, relevant to silicon-anode and solid-state SEI precursor chemistry) and G01R (electric and magnetic measurement, covering in-situ and operando SEI characterization methods). These are observations of relative sparsity, not guaranteed commercial opportunities.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from PatSnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. PatSnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.