Alkaline Electrolyzer Membrane Patent Landscape 2026
- 37 families total, and the field is not accelerating. the midpoint year sits at 4 filings and the peak so far is 13 in 2025 — this is still a shallow, thinly-populated claim space, not a crowded one.
- China leads the receiving offices with 13 filings, more than EPO and WIPO combined at 7 each, putting most of the near-term prosecution and prior-art risk inside Chinese examination practice.
- Recent-year momentum is flat across the named assignees, several show 0 filings in the latest year and a -100% year-on-year drop, consistent with the 18-month publication lag rather than a real pullback.
What this landscape covers
This dataset tracks patent families at the intersection of alkaline water electrolysis and the separator layer that makes it work — diaphragm separators, Zirfon-type composites, and anion exchange membranes claimed under membrane development language. The search deliberately excludes general electrolyzer hardware claims that do not touch the membrane or diaphragm itself, so the 37 families here are a narrow, functionally-defined slice rather than the whole AWE patent space.
Coverage runs from 2015 through the 2026 data cut-off. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the last one to two years of the trend will read lower than actual filing activity and should be treated as a floor, not a ceiling.
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Filing trend and technology mix
Two views of the same 37 families: how filing volume moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses the claims actually sit in.
A flat trend with one recent spike
Filings sat at zero in 2017, held near the midpoint of 4 by 2022, and only reached a peak of 13 in 2025 — the most recent year on record. That single-year spike, combined with the known publication lag, means 2025's true filing volume is probably still under-counted, and 2026 numbers are not yet meaningful.
Claims concentrate in electrolytic production, not just polymer chemistry
C25B (electrolytic production of compounds) covers 34 of the 37 records, confirming this corpus is anchored in the electrolyzer application rather than generic membrane science. C08J (polymer processing) at 9 and C08L (polymer compositions) at 7 show meaningful but secondary polymer-chemistry claiming, while H01M (batteries and fuel cells) appearing in 8 records signals cross-over claims written for both electrolysis and fuel-cell membrane use. B01D (separation processes) and C02F (water treatment) are minor, single-digit categories — filers are not yet claiming heavily on the general separation or water-treatment angle of this membrane.
Shares are the percentage of the 37 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Alkaline Electrolyzer Membrane with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about alkaline electrolyzer membrane and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe documents setting the reference points
EP3460100A1 — Alkaline water electrolysis device and driving method
Disclosed are an alkaline water electrolysis device and a driving method thereof. The alkaline water electrolysis device includes a water electrolytic stack, a voltage application unit, a voltage removing unit, and a controller. The water electrolytic stack includes a plurality of membrane-electrode assemblies (MEAs) and electrolyzes an aqueous alkaline solution to generate hydrogen and oxygen. The voltage applying unit outputs a voltage required for electrolysis to the water electrolytic stack. When the water electrolytic stack is in a no-load state, the voltage removing unit is electrically connected with the water electrolytic stack to consume and remove a residual voltage of the water electrolytic stack.Filed by Doosan Corporation, published 2019-03-27.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EP3575439A1 | Electrolytic bath, electrolysis device, electrolysis method, and method for producing hydrogen | 13 |
| 2 | CN116948153A | 聚合物、阴离子交换膜及其制备方法与应用 | 8 |
| 3 | CN115786950A | 一种水电解用膜电极及其制备方法与水电解池 | 5 |
| 4 | KR1020210158034A | Anion exchange membrane for alkaline water electrolysis and preparation method thereof | 4 |
| 5 | CN116606438A | 一种主链螺环铵化的聚苯并咪唑及其阴离子交换膜、离聚物溶液的制备方法及应用 | 3 |
| 6 | CN120919856A | 一种用于碱性电解水制氢的双离子通道协同强化传导阴离子交换膜及其制备方法 | 2 |
| 7 | JP2023078533A | Alkaline-water electrolysis membrane, production method thereof, and membrane electrode assembly | 2 |
| 8 | EP3460100A1 | Alkaline water electrolysis device and operation method thereof | 2 |
| 9 | CN120738705A | 一种高温碱性环境稳定的钴锰氧化物催化剂-无孔阴离子交换膜复合体系 | 1 |
| 10 | CN121700458A | 一种阴离子交换膜及其制备方法和应用 | 1 |
Citation counts reflect influence inside this searched corpus and favour older filings; they are not a measure of current commercial importance.
Patent titles are shown in the language they were filed in, not translated, so that each record stays verifiable against the original filing — a translated title will not match in Eureka or in any national register. Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers say about this field
Three angles on the same 37-family dataset: where the most-cited prior art sits, how the technology mix breaks down, and where filing offices signal near-term risk.
One European filing anchors the citation graph
EP3575439A1, on electrolysis bath and hydrogen production method, leads the most-cited table with 13 citations — more than double the next entry. That gap suggests it functions as a foundational reference point for later membrane-electrode and cell-design claims in this space, rather than one filing among equals.
Almost every family is anchored in the electrolyzer, not the polymer
34 of the 37 records carry a C25B classification for electrolytic production of compounds, meaning even the polymer-heavy filings (C08J, C08L, C08G) are written as electrolyzer applications first. A filer entering purely from membrane-material chemistry, without an electrolyzer-application claim, is filing into a smaller, less-populated corner of this space.
China is the single largest receiving office
With 13 filings, China accounts for more than a third of this corpus and outpaces EPO and WIPO PCT filings (7 each) individually. Anyone clearing freedom-to-operate for a China launch is working against a denser, more China-specific prior-art base than a European or US launch would face.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to alkaline electrolyzer membrane, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who holds the claims, and where they have stopped filing
Named assignees in this corpus show little recent-year movement — several report zero filings in the latest year, and at least two show a -100% year-on-year drop. Read that against the publication lag: it is at least partly an artefact of recent filings not yet surfacing, not necessarily assignees exiting the space.
Flat recent-year activity across the tracked assignees
Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) (KIST), Doosan Corporation (Doosan), Agfa-Gevaert N.V. (Agfa-Gevaert), and Asahi Kasei Corporation (Asahi Kasei) all show zero filings in the most recent tracked year. None of this is unusual this close to the data cut-off — it is the expected shape of the publication lag rather than a competitive signal on its own.
Two assignees show the steepest year-on-year fall
Evonik Operations GmbH (Evonik Operations) and Beijing Yineng Hydrogen Source Technology Co., Ltd. (Beijing Yineng Hydrogen Source Technology) both show a -100% year-on-year change alongside zero filings in the latest year. For a specialty-materials player like Evonik this likely reflects filing timing rather than a strategic exit from membrane chemistry.
Prosecution risk concentrates in one jurisdiction
With China taking 13 of the tracked filings against 7 each for EPO and WIPO PCT routes, competitive clearance work should weight Chinese examination outcomes and local-language prior art more heavily than a simple three-way split across regions would suggest.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) | 0 | — |
| Evonik Operations GmbH | 0 | -100% |
| Doosan Corporation | 0 | — |
| Beijing Yineng Hydrogen Source Technology Co., Ltd. | 0 | -100% |
| Agfa-Gevaert N.V. | 0 | — |
| Asahi Kasei Corporation | 0 | — |
| VOLTA ENERGY | 0 | -100% |
| Qingdao Green Development Institute Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The filing counts and citation table describe what has already been claimed. The open questions are what to do about the gaps and about the assignees who have gone quiet.
Map the white space before filing
The IPC composition shows most claims anchored in C25B electrolyzer application rather than membrane material chemistry alone — a materials-first filing strategy may face less prior art.
Explore white space in Eureka →Watch the flat-momentum assignees
Several major names show zero filings in the latest tracked year. Track whether that reverses once the 18-month publication lag clears, rather than assuming an exit.
Set up assignee tracking in Eureka →Stress-test EP3460100A1 against your design
As the representative filing anchoring this space, its claim scope is worth checking against any new stack-and-controller design before committing to an architecture.
Run a claim comparison in Eureka →Common questions about this landscape
This dataset identifies 37 patent families published between 2015 and the 2026 data cut-off that combine alkaline water electrolysis with diaphragm separator, Zirfon-type, or anion exchange membrane claims. That is a narrow, functionally-defined count, not a count of every patent that touches AWE hardware generally. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the true number of already-filed but not-yet-published families is almost certainly higher than 37.
The trend is flat-to-uneven rather than clearly growing. Filings were at zero in 2017, sat at a midpoint of 4 by 2022, and only reached a peak of 13 in 2025 — the most recent year with meaningful data. Given the publication lag, 2025 and 2026 figures should be read as provisional floors rather than final totals, so it is too early to call this a declining field.
China is the largest single receiving office in this corpus with 13 filings, ahead of the European Patent Office and the WIPO PCT route, which each show 7. India, the United States, and South Korea each show single-digit counts. For freedom-to-operate work, this means Chinese-language prior art and examination practice deserve proportionally more attention than a simple regional split would suggest.
EP3575439A1, titled around an electrolytic bath, electrolysis device, electrolysis method and method for producing hydrogen, is the most-cited record in this corpus with 13 citations. Its citation count is more than double the next most-cited filing, suggesting later membrane-electrode and cell-design claims frequently reference it as prior art. Citation weight favours older filings within a searched corpus, so treat this as a marker of documented influence rather than a statement that it remains the strongest active claim today.
Based on the IPC composition, catalytic layer-membrane interface treatment, membrane-electrode assembly bonding methods, and zirconia-reinforced diaphragm composites all sit well behind the core C25B electrolyzer-application claims in filing volume. Wastewater-grade separator recycling and ion-selective anion exchange backbone chemistry are similarly thin. These are not guarantees of patentability, but they are areas where a first, well-drafted claim has fewer existing filings to design around.
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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.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.