Battery Recycling Patents: Leaders, Trends & White Space 2026
- Filing peaked in 2023 at 12 families, then slowed through the 2022 midpoint of 4 — a flat-to-declining curve once the lagging 2026 count is set aside.
- H01M and C22B account for 28 and 18 records respectively, while crushing/grinding (B02C) and wastewater treatment (C02F) each carry just one — the thinnest-claimed steps in the recovery chain.
- One family, US20230050044A1, carries 44 citations, more than triple the next most-cited record, marking the comprehensive LFP recycling method as the field's reference point.
Filing growth compares 2021 (3 records) with 2024 (4) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 32 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
Battery recycling and material recovery patents cover the processes used to reclaim usable metals and compounds from spent lithium-ion and lithium iron phosphate cells — hydrometallurgical recovery, direct cathode regeneration, discharge pretreatment and the impurity-control steps that sit between them. The dataset behind this page spans 32 patent families filed between 2015 and 2026, classified primarily under H01M (battery and cell technology) and C22B (metal extraction and refining).
Most of the filing activity concentrates in process claims for breaking down or regenerating cathode material, with metallurgical extraction as the second-largest classification block. The mechanical and wastewater-handling steps that surround these core processes are comparatively unclaimed, which matters for anyone assessing where a new filing is most likely to clear prior art.
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Filing trends and technology composition
The filing curve and the IPC breakdown together show where recovery-process claims are being staked out, and where the classification map is still thin.
Filing activity, 2017–2026
Filings rose from zero in 2017 to a peak of 12 families in 2023, with the 2022 midpoint at 4 — a flat-to-declining pattern once the partial, still-lagging 2026 count is set aside. Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the most recent year understates real activity.
IPC subclass distribution
H01M (batteries, cells & fuel cells) and C22B (metal extraction & refining) dominate at 28 and 18 records respectively, confirming this is fundamentally a battery-plus-metallurgy field. Supporting subclasses — C01B, B09B, C01D, C01G — sit in single digits, and B02C (crushing/grinding) and C02F (wastewater) each carry only one record, marking the thinnest-claimed process steps in the pipeline.
Shares are the percentage of the 32 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Battery Recycling and Material Recovery with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about battery recycling and material recovery and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe claims setting the boundaries
Direct Cathode Regeneration Method for Lithium-ion Battery Recycling
A method for direct cathode regeneration from spent lithium-ion batteries. The method includes treating black mass with organic acids to leach the valuable metal elements, and the residual impurities removal by filtration and further treatment of the material with different leaching solutions to achieve the desired ratio of components which are subsequently precipitated as the hydroxide intermediate, followed by a two-step annealing process to obtain a regenerated cathode material.Filed 2026-06-04 by Chen, Zhongwei — illustrates the direct-regeneration route as distinct from full hydrometallurgical breakdown.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20230050044A1 | Comprehensive recycling method for waste lithium iron phosphate battery | 44 |
| 2 | WO2018187731A1 | Lithium-ion battery recycling processes and systems | 13 |
| 3 | US20210091426A1 | Lithium-ion battery recycling processes and systems | 5 |
| 4 | US20240047775A1 | Lithium ion battery recycling process utilizing magnetic separation of electrode materials | 4 |
| 5 | KR1020240088601A | Pre-treatment method for lithium secondary battery recycling process | 3 |
| 6 | WO2024123811A1 | Lithium-ion battery recycling and upcycling via purification and regeneration integrated materials engineerin… | 3 |
| 7 | US20230411724A1 | Battery recycling | 3 |
| 8 | WO2024118655A2 | Lithium-ion battery recycling via customizable systems and methods | 2 |
| 9 | WO2024082063A1 | Direct cathode regeneration method for lithium-ion battery recycling | 1 |
| 10 | WO2016039859A1 | Systems and methods for selectively separating and separately processing portions of lead-acid batteries | 1 |
Ranked by citation count within the searched corpus; older filings are structurally favoured, so treat this as a map of influence rather than current relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for a filing decision
Three figures from this dataset matter more than the raw counts: where citations concentrate, which IPC subclasses are thin, and how flat the recent filing curve actually is.
One family anchors the hydrometallurgical route
US20230050044A1's comprehensive LFP recycling method draws more than triple the citations of the next-ranked record, WO2018187731A1 at 13. That gap indicates later filers are building around, not just near, this claim set.
Mechanical pretreatment and effluent steps are barely claimed
Against 28 H01M and 18 C22B records, crushing/grinding and wastewater treatment each show a single filing. Both are steps every commercial recycling line needs, yet neither has an established claim thicket.
Growth has plateaued, not accelerated
The trend climbed from zero in 2017 to 12 filings in 2023, but the 2022 midpoint of 4 and the following years show a flat-to-declining pattern rather than sustained growth. Recent years are also understated by the roughly 18-month publication lag.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to battery recycling and material recovery, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and how concentrated is the field
Recent-year momentum figures show most tracked assignees, from corporate filers to university programmes, recording zero filings in the latest year — a pattern that reflects publication lag as much as any real slowdown.
Ascend Elements
A named commercial filer in this dataset with no recorded filings in the most recent tracked year, consistent with the broader flat momentum seen across nearly every assignee once the publication lag is accounted for.
University of Akron cluster
The University of Akron appears in two of the four co-assignee pairs in this dataset, both paired with individual inventors (Frisone, Farhad), suggesting an active research group building a connected set of claims rather than isolated filings.
Samsung SDI
Samsung SDI shows a year-over-year decline to zero filings in the latest tracked year. Given the overall flat-to-declining trend across the dataset, this is consistent with the field's broader plateau rather than a company-specific pullback.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| ASCEND ELEMENTS INC | 0 | — |
| Hunan Jinyuan New Materials Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| The Regents of the University of California | 0 | -100% |
| Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. | 0 | -100% |
| University of Akron | 0 | — |
| Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc. | 0 | — |
| YANG TINGZHOU | 0 | — |
| FRISONE DOMINIC | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis next
This page surfaces the pattern; a full workspace lets you test a specific claim or company against the complete family set.
Check freedom-to-operate against the most-cited families
Run a claim-by-claim comparison against US20230050044A1 and the WO2018187731A1 lineage before drafting in the hydrometallurgical space.
Open claim comparison in EurekaTrack the under-claimed process branches
Set alerts on B02C and C02F filings to catch new entrants into pre-leach mechanical and effluent-handling claim space early.
Set up monitoring in EurekaWatch assignee momentum as 2025–2026 data fills in
Recent-year figures are understated by publication lag; revisit assignee momentum once later filings clear.
Explore assignee tracking in EurekaFrequently asked questions
The most-cited single family in this dataset is US20230050044A1, a comprehensive recycling method for waste lithium iron phosphate batteries with 44 citations, well ahead of the next-most-cited record. A second cluster centres on WO2018187731A1 and its US continuation US20210091426A1, both covering lithium-ion battery recycling processes and systems. Recent-year momentum data shows several assignees, including Ascend Elements and academic filers, with zero filings in the latest tracked year, which given the publication lag is not yet a reliable signal of who has stopped filing versus who simply hasn't published yet.
Hydrometallurgical recovery dissolves battery material down to individual metal salts using acid leaching, then reprecipitates and purifies each metal separately — it is the more heavily filed and cited route in this dataset. Direct cathode regeneration, illustrated by the 2026 representative filing in this set, instead treats black mass with organic acids, removes impurities, and rebuilds the existing cathode structure through hydroxide precipitation and annealing rather than breaking it fully apart. Direct regeneration claims fewer processing steps and potentially lower cost, but it has far fewer supporting families behind it so far.
In this dataset, the United States leads with 10 records, followed by Europe (EPO) and WIPO/PCT filings at 8 each, then India with 4. Canada and South Korea each show a single record. The concentration in the US and at the EPO and PCT level suggests filers are prioritising broad, multi-jurisdiction protection rather than single-country filings, consistent with a technology aimed at commercial-scale deployment across several markets.
The IPC composition shows crushing and grinding (B02C) and wastewater treatment (C02F) each with only one record against 28 in the core H01M battery subclass, despite both being necessary steps in any commercial recycling line. Alkali-metal and other-metal compound claims (C01D, C01G) are also comparatively light at four records each. These under-claimed process steps — mechanical pretreatment and effluent handling in particular — are the areas where a narrowly drafted first claim is least likely to run into dense prior art.
Filings rose from zero in 2017 to a peak of 12 families in 2023, then the pace through the 2022 midpoint of 4 families suggests a flat-to-declining trajectory rather than sustained acceleration. Because publication typically lags actual filing by around 18 months, the most recent years in any such dataset will always look weaker than they eventually turn out to be once later filings publish. Treat the 2023 peak as the most reliable recent data point, and the 2024–2026 figures as still filling in.
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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.