Aluminum-Ion Battery Patent Landscape 2026
Aluminum-Ion Battery Patent Landscape in 2026
Aluminum-ion battery IP is a maturing, moderately concentrated field led by Industrial Technology Research Institute and American Lithium Energy Corp, with the United States as the dominant filing jurisdiction. Annual volume has eased from its 2019 peak, signaling a field past its initial growth surge where differentiated electrode and electrolyte chemistry work remains the core competitive battleground.
Industrial Technology Research Institute leads a field with a clear top tier but no single dominant monopolist
Industrial Technology Research Institute holds the top position with 61 patent families, followed closely by American Lithium Energy Corp at 57 and Honeycomb Battery Co at 47, establishing a competitive top three that collectively exerts significant influence over core cell and electrode technology.
The top five filers account for 27% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, indicating moderate concentration — a meaningful lead group exists, but the remaining field is sufficiently active to sustain competitive pressure and prevent any single actor from controlling the technology.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) | 61 | |
| 2 | American Lithium Energy Corp | 57 | |
| 3 | Honeycomb Battery Co | 47 | |
| 4 | Contemporary Amperex Technology (Hong Kong) Limited | 30 | |
| 5 | UT-Battelle LLC | 30 | |
| 6 | Alsym Energy Inc | 29 | |
| 7 | Joby Aero Inc | 24 | |
| 8 | Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University | 23 | |
| 9 | Huawei Technologies Co Ltd | 23 | |
| 10 | GRST Singapore Pte Ltd | 22 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) | 21 | |
| 12 | Beijing Institute of Technology | 20 | |
| 13 | UNIV OF SCI & TECH BEIJING | 17 | |
| 14 | Nanotek Instruments Inc | 17 | |
| 15 | Nanjing Zhongchu New Energy | 17 | |
| 16 | Alcan International Ltd | 15 | |
| 17 | Ionic Materials Inc | 11 | |
| 18 | Caterpillar Inc | 11 | |
| 19 | Hangzhou Gaoxi Technology Co Ltd | 10 | |
| 20 | Shenzhen Boleida New Energy Technology Co Ltd | 10 |
The spread between rank one and rank five (Industrial Technology Research Institute at 61, UT Battelle at 30) shows a two-to-one gap at the top, suggesting that the leader has built a durable position but challengers are close enough to close the gap with focused filing programs.
Filing data for the most recent 18–24 months is subject to publication lag and is likely under-counted; year-level figures for 2024–2026 should be treated as provisional. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filing volume has eased from a 2019 peak; cell chemistry dominates the technology mix
Two charts together reveal a field that peaked in 2019 and has since contracted, while remaining almost entirely anchored in core battery cell and materials classes with modest activity in adjacent power and vehicle domains.
Annual filing trend
Filings peaked at 114 families in 2019, retreated to the 91–96 range in 2020–2021, then dropped sharply to 51 in 2022 before recovering partially to 77 in 2023 and 73 in 2024. The 2025–2026 figures are almost certainly under-counted due to publication lag and should not be read as a continued decline.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01M (batteries, cells and fuel cells) accounts for the overwhelming majority of classified records, underscoring that competition is concentrated in core electrochemical cell design. Secondary classes — C01B inorganic compounds, H02J power supply, H01G capacitors, and B60L electric vehicle propulsion — each represent a small share, pointing to limited diversification into application-layer or materials-processing IP.
↗ 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.
Preparation method of graphene film anode material…
The present invention discloses a method for preparing a graphene film anode material, which includes coating a graphene oxide solution on a substrate, drying, removing the substrate, performing reduction and obtaining a graphene film with ultra-high conductivity. The present invention also provides an application of the graphene film in an aluminum ion… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Battery thermal management system and method | 149 |
| 2 | Chemical-Free Production of Graphene-Encapsulated … | 148 |
| 3 | Ultra-fast rechargeable metal-ion battery | 89 |
| 4 | Battery thermal management system and method | 70 |
| 5 | Aluminium battery with electrolyte circulation means | 68 |
| 6 | High energy density aluminum battery | 62 |
| 7 | Enhanced carbon based electrode for use in energy … | 60 |
| 8 | Rechargeable Aluminum Ion Battery | 55 |
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 IP structure means for R&D strategy
The combination of a past-peak filing curve, moderate top-tier concentration, and a heavily H01M-weighted technology mix creates a specific set of entry and differentiation signals for engineering teams.
Post-peak field with core cell IP largely staked out
The lifecycle evidence places aluminum-ion battery IP in a decline stage, with annual filings easing back from the 2019 peak of 114 families. The core H01M cell and electrode space is crowded; new entrants face a dense prior-art landscape in fundamental electrochemistry. Differentiation now favors system-level, materials, or application-specific claims rather than broad cell architecture.
Past-peak · 2019 peakModerate concentration with an accessible challenger tier
The top five filers hold 27% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total — concentrated enough that the leaders set technical benchmarks, but open enough that ranks six through twenty (Alsym Energy at 29, Joby Aero at 24, Stanford Board of Trustees at 23, Huawei at 23) represent a reachable challenger tier. A focused 18–24 month filing program in an under-served sub-class could meaningfully shift relative position.
Top-5 share: 27%Limited co-filing; Industrial Technology Research Institute and Stanford are the most active partners
Industrial Technology Research Institute and the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University have co-filed 7 patent families — the most active collaboration pair in the corpus. Contemporary Amperex Technology and Zhejiang University, and GRST International with GRST Singapore, each account for one co-filed family. The overall collaboration footprint is narrow, suggesting that most actors are protecting IP independently rather than through joint programs.
7 joint families · ITRI–StanfordUS–China duopoly with European and PCT protection layers
The United States leads jurisdictional coverage, followed by China and Europe (EPO). WIPO PCT filings indicate that leading applicants are pursuing broad international protection. India and Germany represent meaningful secondary markets. The Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan presence is comparatively modest, which may reflect strategic focus or gaps in protection worth evaluating for market-entry planning.
US · China · EPO leadGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) | Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University | 7 |
| Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) | Zhejiang University | 1 |
| GRST International Ltd | GRST Singapore Pte Ltd | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Industrial Technology Research Institute and American Lithium Energy Corp anchor a competitive top tier with distinct technology emphasis
The two largest filers approach aluminum-ion battery IP from complementary angles: Industrial Technology Research Institute covers the full cell stack while American Lithium Energy Corp concentrates heavily on cell assembly and pack-level technology.
Industrial Technology Research Institute
With 61 patent families, Industrial Technology Research Institute holds the top position. Its technology emphasis spans electrode materials (H01M 4, 53 records), cell assembly and chemistry (H01M 10, 51 records), and cell components (H01M 50, 13 records), indicating broad coverage across the cell stack. It is also the most active collaborative filer, co-publishing with Stanford. Momentum data for this entity is not separately broken out in recent-trend evidence, but its accumulated portfolio anchors the field.
families: 61American Lithium Energy Corp
American Lithium Energy Corp ranks second with 57 patent families and is classified as a new entrant in recent filing momentum, with 5 families in the most recent period — a signal of a still-active program despite the overall market slowdown. Its technology focus is concentrated in H01M 10 cell chemistry (57 records) and H01M 50 cell components (44 records), with electrode materials (H01M 4, 37 records) rounding out a portfolio oriented toward complete cell and module design.
families: 57| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| American Lithium Energy Corp | 5 | ▲ new entrant |
| Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) | 5 | ▼ -83% |
| UT-Battelle LLC | 3 | ▲ new entrant |
| Joby Aero Inc | 4 | ▼ -79% |
| Huawei Technologies Co Ltd | 3 | ▼ -80% |
| GRST International Ltd | 1 | ▼ -95% |
Under-served adjacent branches worth monitoring
While H01M dominates the corpus, several adjacent IPC classes show sparse but technically meaningful coverage; these represent observations of relative under-representation rather than confirmed commercial opportunities.
H02J · Power supply and grid integration
With 55 records against the much larger H01M base, grid-integration and power-management IP for aluminum-ion systems is relatively sparse. Given aluminum-ion’s proposed advantages in cycle life and safety, stationary storage grid applications are a plausible technical fit. Only Everon24 shows notable H02J sub-class activity (H02J 7, 17 records), suggesting most filers are not yet protecting system-level charging and grid-interfacing IP. An engineering team with BMS or grid-interface expertise could find meaningful whitespace here.
Search this in Eureka →B60L · Electric vehicle propulsion
B60L records number 42, with meaningful activity concentrated at Joby Aero — whose portfolio spans both B60L 58 and B60L 50 sub-classes — suggesting EV and aviation propulsion applications are addressed by few players. The intersection of aluminum-ion chemistry with light electric vehicle and urban air mobility platforms is technically plausible given weight and safety considerations. The sparse filing count indicates limited competitive depth, though market readiness for aluminum-ion in EV drivetrains remains an open technical question.
Search this in Eureka →How leading filers differ by technology sub-class emphasis
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 | H01M 2 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | H01M 6 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Lithium Energy Corp | Strong · 57 | Strong · 37 | Strong · 44 | Moderate · 28 | Absent |
| Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) | Strong · 51 | Strong · 53 | Moderate · 13 | Emerging · 9 | Emerging · 3 |
| Nanotek Instruments Inc | Strong · 46 | Strong · 43 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) | Strong · 43 | Absent | Strong · 26 | Emerging · 8 | Absent |
| Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University | Strong · 23 | Strong · 21 | Moderate · 8 | Moderate · 5 | Emerging · 3 |
| Everon24 Inc | Strong · 22 | Strong · 17 | Absent | Moderate · 6 | Moderate · 5 |
| UT-Battelle LLC | Strong · 23 | Strong · 19 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus analyzed contains 773 patent families covering aluminum-ion battery technology across global jurisdictions.
Industrial Technology Research Institute leads with 61 patent families, followed by American Lithium Energy Corp at 57 and Honeycomb Battery Co at 47.
The United States leads with 334 patent records, followed by China at 293 and Europe (EPO) at 131. WIPO PCT filings number 70, indicating broad international protection strategies among leading applicants.
Filing activity peaked in 2019 at 114 families and has eased since. The lifecycle evidence characterizes the field as in a decline stage relative to that peak. The most recent 18–24 months of data are subject to publication lag and may be under-counted.
H01M (batteries, cells and fuel cells) accounts for the dominant share of classified records, reflecting competition concentrated in core cell design, electrode materials, and cell assembly. Secondary classes include C01B inorganic compounds, H02J power supply systems, H01G capacitors, and B60L electric vehicle propulsion.
The most-cited work in the corpus includes ‘Battery thermal management system and method’ (149 citations), ‘Chemical-Free Production of Graphene-Encapsulated’ materials (148 citations), and ‘Ultra-fast rechargeable metal-ion battery’ (89 citations), pointing to thermal management and carbon electrode materials as technically influential areas.
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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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