Al-Li Alloy Additive Manufacturing Patent Snapshot
The Al-Li additive manufacturing patent space is nascent and China-dominated, with 15 patent families on record and the top five filers accounting for 53% of the hundred largest filers’ combined output. The field is in a growth stage on a multi-year basis, though annual volume has eased from its 2023 peak, and academic institutions lead ahead of commercial players.
Jiangsu University leads a fragmented, academically driven field
Jiangsu University holds the top position with 3 patent families, followed by Beijing Sodehon Intelligent Technology with 2 — together they represent the only applicants with more than one family. The remaining ten ranked applicants each hold a single family, signalling that no single player has yet established a commanding portfolio.
The top five filers account for 53% of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total, a concentration level that is moderate for a field of this size, reflecting an early-stage evidence snapshot where a small academic cluster has moved first but barriers to entry remain low for new entrants.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jiangsu University | 3 | |
| 2 | Beijing Sodehon Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 3 | Xian Bright Additive Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 4 | Nanjing Tech University | 1 | |
| 5 | NANJING UNIV OF AERONAUTICS & ASTRONAUTICS | 1 | |
| 6 | Beijing Yuding Additive Manufacturing Research Institute Co., Ltd. | 1 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Henan Sweat Welding Materials Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 8 | Beijing Institute of Technology | 1 | |
| 9 | HUAZHONG UNIV OF SCI & TECH | 1 | |
| 10 | HENAN UNIV OF SCI & TECH | 1 | |
| 11 | Shanghai Aerospace Equipments Manufacturer Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 12 | Zhejiang Hengda Aluminum Co., Ltd. | 1 |
The leadership of two universities — Jiangsu University and, further down the ranking, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Beijing Institute of Technology — suggests that foundational process and alloy-composition IP is still being established in academic labs rather than consolidated in industrial R&D centres.
Filing counts for the most recent 18–24 months are understated due to standard patent-publication lag; the true activity level in 2024–2025 is likely higher than current records reflect. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Three-year growth is strong; powder-bed and alloy composition dominate the technology mix
The filing trend and technology composition charts together reveal a field that moved from zero activity before 2020 to a 200% three-year growth rate, concentrated almost entirely in additive manufacturing process classes and their upstream alloy and powder metallurgy disciplines.
Annual filing trend
Filings were absent through 2019, rose to a peak of 5 families in 2023, and then show 2 in 2024 and 3 in 2025 — both figures are likely understated by publication lag and should not be read as a decline. The 200% growth rate over the most recent three-year window versus the prior three years confirms the field is still expanding on a multi-year basis, even though annual volume has eased from the 2023 peak.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B33Y (additive manufacturing) is the visible class, followed closely by B22F (powder metallurgy) and C22C (alloys), reflecting a research focus on feedstock preparation and process parameters. Lower-volume classes — B23K (welding/arc processes), B23P (general metalworking), and C23C (coatings) — represent adjacent branches with sparser coverage.
↗ 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.
High-pressure and multi-atmosphere assisted SLM gr…
The present disclosure provides a high-pressure and multi-atmosphere assisted SLM gradient material preparation method and an aluminum-lithium alloy coating. The high-pressure and multi-atmosphere assisted SLM gradient material preparation method includes the following steps: injecting a first gas mixture into a working box, and enabling, by laser… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一种电弧增材制造铝锂合金缺陷和组织控制的方法 | 8 |
| 2 | 一种增材制造用微量元素改性铝锂合金粉末及其制备方法 | 7 |
| 3 | 铝锂合金大型构件的激光-电弧复合增材制造方法 | 6 |
| 4 | 一种高熵合金增强铝锂合金丝材及其制备方法 | 5 |
| 5 | 一种增材制造铝锂合金实时逐级调控系统及方法 | 5 |
| 6 | High-pressure and multi-atmosphere assisted SLM gr… | 1 |
| 7 | 一种铝锂合金及其制备方法 | 1 |
| 8 | 一种高性能合金制备方法及系统 | 1 |
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.
Assignee snapshot from the current evidence set
The applicants below are visible in this query result. Because the evidence set is relatively small, read this section as a directional snapshot rather than a full competitive ranking.
Jiangsu University
Jiangsu University holds 3 patent families — the largest portfolio in the corpus — with a technology focus spanning powder metallurgy (B22F) and additive manufacturing process and product classes (B33Y). Momentum is classified as a new entrant, meaning all activity falls within the recent tracking window, indicating rapid initial portfolio build-out rather than a long-standing programme.
families: 3Beijing Sodehon Intelligent Technology
Beijing Sodehon Intelligent Technology holds 2 patent families and shares Jiangsu University’s emphasis on powder metallurgy (B22F) and additive manufacturing process classes (B33Y), suggesting a powder-bed or laser powder-fed process orientation. Also a new entrant by momentum classification, the company represents the leading commercial — rather than academic — filer in this corpus.
families: 2Frequently asked questions
The current corpus contains 15 patent families. Given that the most recent 18–24 months of filings are typically understated by publication lag, the true count as of mid-2026 is likely somewhat higher.
Jiangsu University leads with 3 patent families, followed by Beijing Sodehon Intelligent Technology with 2. All remaining ranked applicants hold a single family each.
Yes. The field is classified as Growth, with a 200% increase in three-year filing volume versus the prior three-year window. Annual volume peaked in 2023 at 5 families and has eased since, but publication lag means recent years are understated — the multi-year growth trajectory remains positive.
China is the visible jurisdiction with 13 patent records; the United States has 2. No other jurisdictions appear in the current corpus, suggesting limited international filing activity to date.
The most-cited work addresses arc additive manufacturing defect and microstructure control for Al-Li alloys (8 citations), followed by a patent on trace-element modified Al-Li alloy powder for additive manufacturing (7 citations) and a laser-arc hybrid additive manufacturing method for large Al-Li structural components (6 citations).
The most notable under-served branches are B23K (arc/WAAM process control, 3 records), C21D (post-process heat treatment, 1 record), C23C (coating and surface deposition, 2 records), and B22D (metal casting, 1 record). These branches have low filing density relative to the visible B33Y and B22F classes.
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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.
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