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Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/ammonia-storage-transport-and-safety-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-07-31 · downloaded from the live page
Patent Landscape · Ammonia Storage, Transport & SafetyAmmonia storage and transport patents: mapping who holds the steel and containment claims
- Concentrated at the top. The top 5 of 17 ranked assignees hold 70.6% of all 34 records in scope, with the leader alone filing 7.
- Steel metallurgy dominates over process engineering. C22C alloys and C21D heat treatment together sit on nearly a quarter of records each, ahead of pressure-vessel filings under F17C.
- Filing is recent and Japan-centred. 18 of the tracked filings route through Japan's receiving office, and the peak filing year so far is 2024 at 8 records.
34
Published Records
71%
Top-5 Share of All Records
JP
Leading Jurisdiction
17
Active Filers Ranked
Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 34 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
Published byPatsnap Research··7 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Overview
What this landscape covers
This dataset tracks patent families addressing ammonia storage tanks, ammonia transport and leak detection, filtered against refrigerated storage, boil-off handling, stress corrosion cracking, dispersion modelling, bunkering procedures and material compatibility. It captures 34 published records between 2015 and 2026, spanning steel metallurgy for ammonia service, pressure-vessel design and electrolytic production routes that feed ammonia handling infrastructure.
Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the most recent filing years in this dataset understate actual activity. The 2024 peak of 8 records is the clearest read available on where the field stood before that lag sets in; 2025 and 2026 figures should be read as provisional floors, not final counts.
Filing activity and technology composition, 2015-2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Ammonia Storage Transport and Safety covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
The data
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 34 records: how filing activity has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim density.
Filing trend
Filings sit at zero in 2017 and build unevenly toward a peak of 8 records in 2024, the most recent complete year before publication lag takes effect. With fewer than four complete years of usable data once lag is accounted for, no growth rate can be responsibly stated here.
IPC composition
C01C (ammonia and nitrogen compounds) and C22C (alloys) each cover 26.5% of the 34 records, with C21D heat treatment close behind at 23.5%. F17C pressure-vessel and gas-storage claims sit at 20.6%, and C25B electrolytic production reaches 17.6% — since records can carry multiple classes, these shares add up to more than 100% of the record total.
Shares are the percentage of the 34 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Ammonia Storage Transport and Safety covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
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Representative filing and most-cited records
Representative record
Steel material for liquid ammonia transport and storage, and manufacturing method for steel material for liquid ammonia transport and storage
JFE STEEL CORPORATION
The filing addresses steel for structural members used in liquid ammonia environments — plants and tanks — that must combine manufacturability with ammonia stress-corrosion-cracking (SCC) resistance. It specifies a component composition constrained by a defined degree of (Cu+Sb) segregation, kept below a set threshold via a formula tying segregation to elemental concentration ratios.Filed by JFE Steel Corporation, published 2021-05-27.
Most-cited records in this landscape
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20140356738A1 | Ammonia based system to prepare and utilize hydrogen to produce electricity | 68 |
| 2 | JP1992017613A | Manufacture of high tension steel having superior resistance to stress corrosion cracking | 16 |
| 3 | CN201138105Y | 一种用于冷冻冷藏的高效氨水吸收制冷机 | 8 |
| 4 | WO2021100336A1 | Steel material for liquid ammonia transport and storage, and manufacturing method for steel material for liqu… | 6 |
| 5 | JP1980109945A | Accelerated test method for liquid ammonia crack of steel material | 6 |
| 6 | JP1982139493A | Manufacture of liquid ammonia storage tank which is excelient in stress corrosion cracking resisting property | 5 |
| 7 | JP1981047584A | Prevention of liquid ammonia storage tank from stress corrosion cracking | 3 |
| 8 | JP2024166605A | Steel for liquid ammonia transport or storage | 2 |
| 9 | JP1987021000A | Method of preventing stress corrosion cracking of storage tank | 1 |
| 10 | JP1977030911A | Preventive process for stressed corrosion crack in storeetank of nonnc orrosive fluid substance | 1 |
Citation counts reflect influence within 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.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Citation counts and representative records. Derived from a Patsnap search on Ammonia Storage Transport and Safety covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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What the numbers mean for strategy
Four read-outs from the dataset that matter more for filing and freedom-to-operate decisions than the raw counts alone.
Concentration
70.6% of 34 records
held by top 5 of 17 ranked assignees
A short list controls most of the claim space
With the leader filing 7 records and the fifth-ranked assignee at 3, the field is not evenly spread. A newcomer's freedom-to-operate search should start with this small group before scanning the rest of the ranking.
Based on the assignee ranking of 17 companies.
Metallurgy vs. process
26.5% C22C, 26.5% C01C
share of 34 records each
Steel chemistry claims match ammonia-process claims in density
Alloy composition (C22C) and ammonia/nitrogen compound chemistry (C01C) are claimed at equal rates, each on about a quarter of records. Heat treatment (C21D) at 23.5% suggests SCC-resistant steel processing is as contested as the storage vessels themselves.
Multiple IPC classes per record; shares exceed 100% combined.
Geography
18 of 34 via Japan
receiving-office filings
Filing activity is anchored in Japan
Japan accounts for more receiving-office filings than the PCT route (8), the US (3), the UAE (2), China (1) and the EPO (1) combined. Any competitive-intelligence workflow on this topic should treat Japanese-language prior art as a first-pass filter, not an afterthought.
Receiving-office counts from the full 34-record set.
Collaboration
4 co-assignee pairs
identified in the dataset
Joint filing is limited but repeatable
The same three organisations recur across the strongest co-assignee pairs, each pairing appearing twice. That points to a narrow but stable collaboration cluster around steel-for-ammonia-service work rather than broad cross-industry partnering.
Strongest pairs each co-filed on 2 records.
Eureka AI Agent
Looking for what nobody has claimed yet?
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to ammonia storage transport and safety, with the prior art for and against each one.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on Ammonia Storage Transport and Safety covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Players
Who is filing, and where the gate sits
The ranking covers 17 companies with disclosed filings in this dataset — not a top-50 or top-100 cut, but the complete set the data endpoint returns for this search.
Leader
7 records
held by the top-ranked assignee
One steelmaker sets the pace
The leading assignee's filing count is more than double the fifth-place entrant's 3 records, concentrating early activity around ammonia-service steel rather than tank design or dispersion modelling.
Rank 1 of 17 in the assignee ranking.
Mid-tier
3 records
at fifth place
A tight cluster behind the leader
Positions two through five sit close together, each contributing to the 70.6% top-5 share. This is a field where a handful of additional filings could reorder the middle of the ranking.
Top 5 combined: 24 of 34 records.
Long tail
1 record
at tenth place
Single-filing entrants make up the rest
Beyond the top 10, which already accounts for 94.1% of all 34 records, remaining assignees hold isolated filings — evidence of specific problem-solving rather than sustained ammonia-safety patent programmes.
Top 10 combined: 32 of 34 records.
Recent-year filing momentum
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| JFE Steel Corporation | 0 | -100% |
| ACWA POWER CO | 0 | — |
| Asahi Kasei Corporation | 0 | — |
| Kawasaki Steel Corporation | 0 | — |
| L'Air Liquide, Société Anonyme pour l'Étude et l'Exploitation des Procédés Georges Claude | 0 | — |
| Tetsugen Corporation | 0 | — |
| Nippon Kokan K.K. | 0 | — |
| Babcock-Hitachi K.K. | 0 | — |
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee-level momentum. Derived from a Patsnap search on Ammonia Storage Transport and Safety covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
What's next
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, R&D targeting or partnership scouting.
Run a freedom-to-operate check against the top 5
Given that 70.6% of the 34 records sit with five assignees, a targeted claim review against that group will surface most of the relevant prior art before a broader search is needed.
Explore assignee claims in EurekaTrack the C21D and C22C overlap
Heat treatment and alloy composition classes overlap heavily in this dataset; understanding which claims combine both will clarify where SCC-resistant steel is genuinely differentiated.
Compare IPC clusters in EurekaWatch the co-filing cluster
The repeated co-assignee pairs suggest an active collaboration network around ammonia-service steel; monitoring their joint filings early can flag new SCC or segregation-control approaches before they publish broadly.
Monitor assignee networks in EurekaSource: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Ammonia Storage Transport and Safety covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
FAQ
Common questions on ammonia storage and transport patents
In this 34-record dataset, filing is concentrated: the top-ranked assignee alone holds 7 records, and the top 5 of 17 ranked assignees together account for 70.6% of all records in scope. The leading filers are steelmakers focused on stress-corrosion-cracking-resistant materials for liquid ammonia service, rather than tank-design or logistics specialists. Anyone assessing competitive position in this space should start with that top-5 group before looking at the longer tail of single-filing entrants.
Alloy composition (IPC class C22C) and ammonia/nitrogen chemistry (C01C) are the two most claimed areas, each covering 26.5% of the 34 records in scope. Heat treatment of metals (C21D) follows at 23.5%, and pressure-vessel and gas-storage design (F17C) sits at 20.6%. Because a single record can carry multiple IPC classes, these percentages add up to more than 100% of the record total — they describe claim density, not a mutually exclusive breakdown.
This dataset covers 34 published records dated 2015 through 2026, with a filing peak so far of 8 records in 2024. Because publication typically lags filing by about 18 months, the 2025 and 2026 figures are understated and should not be read as a slowdown. There are fewer than four complete filing years once that lag is accounted for, so no reliable growth rate can be stated from this data.
Japan is the dominant receiving office in this dataset with 18 of 34 filings, well ahead of the PCT international route at 8, the United States at 3, the UAE at 2, and single filings via China and the European Patent Office. This pattern reflects the concentration of ammonia-service steel development among Japanese steelmakers and equipment manufacturers. A prior-art search limited to English-language or US/EP filings alone would miss most of the activity in this field.
WO2021100336A1, filed by JFE Steel Corporation, claims a steel material for liquid ammonia transport and storage defined by a specific component composition and a degree of (Cu+Sb) segregation kept below a defined threshold, calculated via a stated formula. It targets structural members such as plant and tank components operating in liquid ammonia environments where ammonia stress-corrosion cracking is the primary failure mode. Formulations that fall outside the claimed segregation threshold or use a materially different compositional approach would sit outside its claim scope, but any steel grade close to that segregation control point warrants a detailed claim-by-claim comparison.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Ammonia Storage Transport and Safety covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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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.