Alkaline Fuel Cell for Desalination Plants Patent Landscape
Alkaline Fuel Cell for Desalination Plants Patent Landscape in 2026
Cornell University dominates a small, highly concentrated field of 27 patent families, holding the top position among a mix of academic institutions, chemical producers, and industrial equipment firms. Annual filing activity has eased from its 2019 peak, signalling a field in decline that nonetheless retains under-served adjacent branches in water treatment chemistry and ion-exchange membrane science.
Cornell University leads a tightly held, specialist field
Cornell University sits at the top of the applicant ranking, followed by VITO (Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek), Akzo Nobel Chemicals International, Technion Research & Development Foundation, and Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction. The top five filers together account for 59% of the combined patent records of the hundred largest filers, confirming that a small cluster of institutions controls the bulk of documented inventive activity.
The tier gap between the leader and the rest is pronounced: Cornell’s record count is more than double that of the second-ranked applicant, and the fifth-ranked applicant holds less than one-third of Cornell’s count. Below the top five,
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornell University | 21 | |
| 2 | VITO (Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek) | 19 | |
| 3 | Akzo Nobel Chemicals International BV | 10 | |
| 4 | TECHNION RES & DEV FOUND LTD | 9 | |
| 5 | DOOSAN HEAVY IND & CONSTR CO LTD | 6 | |
| 6 | Akermin Inc. | 3 | |
| 7 | VITO (Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek) | 3 | |
| 8 | Ohio University | 2 | |
| 9 | GELLETT WAYNE L | 2 | |
| 10 | Triad National Security LLC | 2 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | COATES GEOFFREY W | 2 | |
| 12 | KOSTALIK HENRY A IV | 2 | |
| 13 | BUCHOLZ TRACY L | 2 | |
| 14 | BUSEKRUS DOUGLAS A | 2 | |
| 15 | Colorado School of Mines | 2 | |
| 16 | Kolon Industries Inc. | 2 | |
| 17 | LE DAVID BAO | 2 | |
| 18 | ROBERTSON NICHOLAS J | 2 | |
| 19 | CLARK TIMOTHY J | 2 | |
| 20 | WILLIAMS RICHARD KENT | 2 |
Cornell’s position, built primarily on fuel-cell electrochemistry and anion-exchange membrane work, means that any new entrant must either licence foundational IP or pursue differentiated routes in membrane chemistry or system integration to avoid overlapping with the leader’s core claims.
The most recent filing years (approximately 2024–2025) are subject to publication lag and are likely under-counted; the apparent absence of filings in those years should not be read as a confirmed cessation of activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Activity peaked in 2019–2021; membrane and separation science dominate the technology mix
The filing trend and technology composition charts together reveal a field that expanded sharply around 2019 and has since contracted, while the underlying technical work spans fuel-cell electrochemistry, separation science, and polymer chemistry in roughly descending order of concentration.
Annual filing trend
Filings were negligible in 2017–2018, surged to six records in 2019, held in a 4–6 record band through 2021, then stepped down to two records in 2023 and 2024. The 2025 and 2026 bars are near-zero due to publication lag and should not be interpreted as confirmed inactivity. The overall recent-window growth figure of –44% reflects the contraction from the 2019 peak.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01M (batteries, cells and fuel cells) is the dominant IPC class, reflecting the core fuel-cell focus. B01D (separation processes including filtration and membranes) and C25B (electrolytic production of compounds) are the next largest branches, indicating that membrane and chlor-alkali chemistry are structurally important to the field. C02F (water and wastewater treatment) and polymer-chemistry classes (C08J, C08F) occupy smaller but meaningful shares, pointing to where adjacent work sits.
↗ 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.
Anion binder for solid alkaline fuel cell, method …
The present invention concerns the preparation of an anion binder for a solid alkaline fuel cell which enhances durability to electrochemical reactions and makes the production of electrode slurry easy. A method of preparing an anion binder for a solid alkaline fuel cell includes: (A) mixing an electrolytic monomer of quaternary ammonium salts having a… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hybrid fuel cell/desalination systems and method f… | 73 |
| 2 | Anion exchange polymer electrolytes | 34 |
| 3 | Novel separator, an electrochemical cell therewith… | 32 |
| 4 | Direct alcohol anion fuel cell with biocathode | 25 |
| 5 | 一种多能互补的船舶用全天候淡-热-电联供系统 | 17 |
| 6 | Process To Prepare Chlorine-Containing Compounds | 14 |
| 7 | Advanced ion exchange membranes and applications t… | 11 |
| 8 | Imidazoles and imidazolium cations with exceptiona… | 10 |
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 competitive structure means for R&D investment decisions
A declining but concentrated field with identifiable adjacent branches presents distinct choices: defend or license existing positions, pivot to under-served sub-classes, or enter through system-integration angles not yet heavily patented.
Field in decline from 2019 peak
The lifecycle stage is classified as Decline, with annual filing volume easing back from the 2019 peak of six records. The multi-year corpus remains small at 27 patent families. New entrants should assess whether the reduction in filing pace reflects solved technical problems, commercial stagnation, or a shift of activity to adjacent domains such as green hydrogen or standalone desalination.
Lifecycle: DeclineTop five filers hold 59% of the largest-filer pool
The top five applicants — Cornell University, VITO, Akzo Nobel Chemicals International, Technion R&D Foundation, and Doosan Heavy Industries — together account for 59% of the combined patent records of the hundred largest filers. This level of concentration in a 27-family corpus means that a handful of institutions effectively set the prior-art baseline. Challengers need Freedom-to-Operate analysis focused primarily on these five portfolios before committing to product development.
High concentrationCornell co-inventorship cluster is the only documented collaboration pattern
The collaboration evidence shows three individual inventors — Nicholas J. Robertson, Geoffrey W. Coates, and Timothy J. Clark — each co-filing with Cornell University on two records apiece. This pattern is consistent with a university research group filing jointly with faculty members listed as named inventors, rather than cross-institutional or industry-academia partnerships. No inter-corporate co-filing is evident in the data.
Academic co-inventionUS-centric filing with selective PCT and European validation
The United States leads with 26 patent records, followed by EPO filings at 19 and PCT filings at 15, suggesting applicants seek broad international coverage selectively. Germany, China, India, and Norway each show 3–5 records, reflecting interest from industrial water-treatment and chlor-alkali markets. The geographic spread is wider than the applicant count would suggest, indicating that key families are being validated in multiple jurisdictions.
US-led, PCT/EPO reachGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| ROBERTSON NICHOLAS J | Cornell University | 2 |
| COATES GEOFFREY W | Cornell University | 2 |
| CLARK TIMOTHY J | Cornell University | 2 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Cornell University leads on membrane electrochemistry; VITO emphasises electrolytic process integration
Two institutions define the technical frontier: Cornell through anion-exchange membrane polymer science, and VITO through electrolytic production and separation-process integration. Both appear in the recent applicant momentum data as new entrants in the current window, suggesting their recent-period activity comes from a low prior base.
Cornell University
Cornell holds 21 patent records, more than double the next-ranked applicant. Its technology focus concentrates on H01M 8 (fuel cells), B01D 71 (membrane separation processes), and C08F 26 (addition polymers), reflecting a research programme centred on anion-exchange membrane materials for alkaline electrochemical systems. The most-cited work in the corpus — on anion exchange polymer electrolytes and imidazolium cation chemistry — traces to Cornell-affiliated inventors. Momentum data indicates a new-entrant trend in the recent window, consistent with a small prior-period base before the main publication cluster.
patent records: 21VITO (Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek)
VITO holds 19 patent records and emphasises a different technical route: H01M 8 (fuel cells), C25B 13, and C25B 1 (electrolytic production of compounds), indicating focus on chlor-alkali and electrolytic process integration alongside fuel-cell systems. This positions VITO as the primary industrial-process counterpart to Cornell’s membrane-materials programme. Momentum data also shows a new-entrant trend in the recent window.
patent records: 19| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Cornell University | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Technion Research & Development Foundation | 3 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches in water treatment chemistry and alkali-metal compounds
Several IPC classes appear in the corpus at low record counts relative to the dominant H01M and B01D branches, suggesting that specific sub-problems — particularly brine-treatment chemistry and membrane-forming polymer routes — have received comparatively limited dedicated patent coverage.
C02F · Water & wastewater treatment
C02F accounts for 19 patent records in the corpus — the fourth-largest branch — yet it is notably under-represented relative to B01D and C25B given that desalination is the stated application domain. This gap may reflect that most applicants treat water treatment as an application rather than a core inventive concept, leaving room for integrated system claims that address brine disposal, pre-treatment, or concentrate management in combination with alkaline fuel-cell operation. Technion R&D Foundation, which focuses partly on C02F 1, is the only top-five applicant with significant coverage here.
Search this in Eureka →C01D · Alkali-metal compounds
C01D (alkali-metal compounds, including sodium hydroxide and chloride products) appears in only 9 patent records and is concentrated in Akzo Nobel’s chlor-alkali portfolio. Given that alkaline fuel cells inherently produce or consume hydroxide species, and that desalination brine is rich in sodium chloride, the chemistry of alkali-metal compound recovery and valorisation is a plausible but sparse area. An entry path exists through process-intensification claims that couple alkaline fuel-cell electrolysis with sodium hydroxide co-production, a sub-problem not extensively claimed by the current field leaders.
Search this in Eureka →How leading applicants differ across technology routes
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | H01M 8 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | C25B 1 · Electrolytic production of compounds | B01D 61 · Separation processes (filtration etc.) | C02F 1 · Water & wastewater treatment | C25B 13 · Electrolytic production of compounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VITO (Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek) | Strong · 16 | Strong · 12 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 15 |
| Technion Research & Development Foundation | Strong · 9 | Absent | Strong · 9 | Strong · 9 | Absent |
| Cornell University | Strong · 19 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., Ltd. | Strong · 6 | Absent | Strong · 6 | Strong · 4 | Absent |
| Akzo Nobel Chemicals International BV | Absent | Strong · 6 | Strong · 4 | Absent | Absent |
| VITO (Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek) | Strong · 3 | Strong · 3 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 3 |
| Akzo Nobel N.V. | Absent | Strong · 4 | Strong · 3 | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus in scope contains 27 patent families. This is a specialist niche rather than a broad technology domain, and the small corpus size means that individual patents and applicants carry disproportionate weight in any freedom-to-operate or landscaping analysis.
Cornell University leads with 21 patent records, more than double the 19 held by the second-ranked applicant, VITO. Cornell’s work centres on anion-exchange membrane polymer science, which underlies the electrochemical performance of alkaline fuel cells.
The lifecycle stage is classified as Decline. Annual filings peaked at six records in 2019, held in a 4–6 record band through 2021, then dropped to two records in 2023 and 2024. The recent-window growth figure is –44% versus the prior comparable period. The 2025 and 2026 data are subject to publication lag and should not be treated as confirmed zero activity.
The United States leads with 26 patent records, followed by EPO filings at 19 and PCT filings at 15. Germany, China, India, and Norway each show 3–5 records. The US dominance reflects the location of the leading academic filer, Cornell, while PCT and EPO filings indicate that key families are being validated internationally.
The most-cited work in the corpus is titled ‘Hybrid fuel cell/desalination systems and method’ with 73 citations, followed by ‘Anion exchange polymer electrolytes’ at 34 citations and ‘Novel separator, an electrochemical cell therewith’ at 32 citations. These three documents together set the foundational prior art against which new claims in this field are likely to be examined.
The most under-served branches relative to the core focus are C02F (water and wastewater treatment, 19 records), C08J (polymer processing, 17 records), C08F (addition polymers, 15 records), C01B (non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds, 11 records), and C01D (alkali-metal compounds, 9 records). These branches are sparsely covered relative to the dominant H01M and B01D classes, and each has plausible technical relevance to integrated alkaline fuel-cell desalination systems.
Ready to map your own alkaline fuel cell landscape?
Join 18,000+ innovators using PatSnap Eureka to map any technology landscape: search 2B+ patents and papers, surface key assignees, and generate a report like this in minutes.
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.