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Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/bioenergy-and-low-carbon-fuels-patent-landscape-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-07-31 · downloaded from the live page
Patent Landscape · Bioenergy & Low-Carbon FuelsBioenergy and low-carbon fuel patents: who holds the enzyme and conversion claims, and where the field is still open
- One filer stands well above the rest. the leading assignee alone accounts for 953 records, and the top five combined hold 26.9% of all 7,381 records in scope.
- Fermentation and microorganism claims dominate the classification map. C12P and C12N together touch roughly 40% and 31% of records respectively, far ahead of fuels (C10L) or refining (C10G) classes.
- Filing has cooled from its 2017 peak but not collapsed. output ran at 336 in 2017 and eased to 219 by 2024, a -16% shift over 2021-2024, the last span the data can support without the publication-lag caveat.
7,381
Published Records
27%
Top-5 Share of All Records
-16%
Filing Growth 2021→2024
US
Leading Jurisdiction
Filing growth compares 2021 (261 records) with 2024 (219) — 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 7,381 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 landscape maps 7,381 published patent records filed against a search combining bioenergy, low-carbon fuel and renewable fuel terms with specific process branches: solid biomass, biogas production, biodiesel production, sustainable aviation fuels, thermochemical biomass conversion, biorefineries, waste-to-fuels and synthetic low-carbon fuels. The scope spans 2015 through the mid-2026 data cut-off, so it captures both the enzyme-and-microorganism wave that drove early filing and the more recent tilt toward refining and catalytic conversion routes.
Records are drawn from receiving offices led by the United States, followed closely by the EPO and WIPO's PCT route, with meaningful volume from India, Canada and Australia — evidence that this is a globally contested filing space rather than a single-jurisdiction niche.
Filing activity and technology composition, 2015-2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bioenergy & Low-Carbon Fuels Patent Landscape 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 7,381-record dataset: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim density today.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Filings peaked at 336 in 2017 and have since eased to 219 by 2024, a -16% move over 2021-2024 — the last period the record count can support as a real trend, since 2025 and 2026 are still filling in under the roughly 18-month publication lag.
IPC subclass composition
Fermentation and enzymatic synthesis (C12P) and microorganism/genetic-engineering claims (C12N) lead the classification map at 39.5% and 30.7% of the 7,381 records respectively, well ahead of fuels formulation (C10L, 21.4%) and hydrocarbon refining (C10G, 12.9%). Separation and catalysis classes (B01D, B01J) sit lower, at roughly 7% each, suggesting downstream processing steps are comparatively less claimed than the upstream biological conversion itself.
Shares are the percentage of the 7,381 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 Bioenergy & Low-Carbon Fuels Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
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The most-cited records in this space
Representative filing
Process of producing bioenergy with low carbon dioxide emissions and zero-waste of biomass (US20150064761A1)
INDUSTRY ACADEMIC COOPERATION FOUNDATION, DAEGU UNIVERSITY
Discloses a bioenergy production system combining biosaccharification and alcohol fermentation of biomass — herbaceous and woody plants, fruit pulp, algae, grains, sludge, saccharides and carbohydrates — with a separate process for producing methane biogas with reduced carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide via an algae cultivation step designed to purify the biogas stream.Filed by Industry Academic Cooperation Foundation, Daegu University, 2015-03-05.
Highest-cited records in scope
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WO2011041397A1 | Polypeptides having cellulolytic enhancing activity and polynucleotides encoding same | 534 |
| 2 | WO2010138754A1 | Methods for enhancing the degradation or conversion of cellulosic material | 518 |
| 3 | WO2011057140A1 | Compositions for saccharification of cellulosic material | 488 |
| 4 | WO2010065830A1 | Polypeptides having cellulolytic enhancing activity and polynucleotides encoding same | 409 |
| 5 | WO2011005867A1 | Polypeptides having cellulolytic enhancing activity activity and polynucleotides encoding same | 398 |
| 6 | WO2011035027A2 | Polypeptides having cellulolytic enhancing activity and polynucleotides encoding same | 396 |
| 7 | WO2008151149A2 | Production of oil in microorganisms | 392 |
| 8 | WO2011039319A1 | Polypeptides having cellulolytic enhancing activity and polynucleotides encoding same | 386 |
| 9 | WO2011041504A1 | Polypeptides derived from thermoascus crustaceus having cellulolytic enhancing activity and polynucleotides e… | 380 |
| 10 | WO2010126772A1 | Polypeptides having xylanase activity and polynucleotides encoding same | 369 |
Citation counts reward older filings that have had more time to accumulate references — treat them as a signal of influence on the field rather than a measure of current commercial relevance.
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 Bioenergy & Low-Carbon Fuels Patent Landscape 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 a filing decision
Three findings that shape where a new filing has room to breathe and where it will land on top of existing claims.
Concentration
26.9% of 7,381
top-5 share of all records
The top of the field is genuinely concentrated
The leading assignee holds 953 records on its own, and the top five combined account for 26.9% of all 7,381 records in scope. That is a meaningful concentration for a field this broad, and it is driven heavily by enzyme and microorganism claims rather than fuel formulation.
Top 10 combined reach 34.7% of all records.
Technology mix
39.5% vs 12.9%
C12P share vs C10G share
Biological conversion is claimed far more densely than refining
Fermentation and enzymatic synthesis (C12P) touches 39.5% of records, more than three times the share sitting in hydrocarbon oils and refining (C10G) at 12.9%. A new entrant working on thermochemical or catalytic refining routes is filing into comparatively less occupied claim space than one working on enzyme cocktails.
Class shares overlap because records can carry multiple IPC codes.
Momentum
-16% (2021-2024)
three-year filing change
Activity has cooled from its 2017 peak, not stalled
Filing ran at 336 in 2017 and eased to 219 by 2024, a -16% change over that window. This is a moderation from an early peak rather than a collapse, and the most recent published years understate real filing activity because of the roughly 18-month lag between filing and publication.
2025-2026 figures are still filling in and are excluded from this comparison.
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Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to bioenergy & low-carbon fuels patent landscape, with the prior art for and against each one.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bioenergy & Low-Carbon Fuels Patent Landscape 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
Who's filing
The assignee landscape
The ranking covers 100 companies tracked by the data endpoint, counted in records — not a top-50 or top-100 cut of the whole field, but the full ranked set the endpoint returns. Filing sits at both ends: one dominant enzyme specialist, and a long tail of single- and few-filing entrants working narrower process niches.
Leader
953 records
leading assignee
One enzyme specialist sets the pace
The top-ranked assignee's 953 records dwarf the rest of the field, concentrated in the fermentation and microorganism classes that dominate the overall composition. Its filing has since slowed sharply in the most recent tracked year, consistent with a mature core portfolio rather than fresh expansion.
Recent-year momentum for the top filer sits near zero.
Mid-tier
97 records
tenth-ranked assignee
A sharp drop-off after the top five
Fifth place holds 145 records and tenth place already falls to 97 — a steep gradient that flattens quickly outside the leading names. Co-assignee patterns show the leader's strongest partnership pair at 313 shared records, far above the next strongest pairings.
Nine other co-assignee pairs sit well below the top pairing.
Long tail
7,381 total records
records across the field
Most named organisations file rarely
Outside the ranked leaders, activity thins into universities, national research bodies and single-patent entrants — a pattern typical of a field where the underlying biology and process chemistry are still being explored in academic and applied-research settings alongside a handful of scaled commercial filers.
Momentum data shows several once-active assignees now filing zero in the latest tracked year.
Recent-year filing momentum by assignee
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Nuseed Global Innovation Ltd | 2 | 0% |
| Novozymes A/S | 0 | — |
| Novozymes Inc | 0 | -100% |
| KiOR Inc | 0 | — |
| GranBio Intellectual Property Holdings LLC | 0 | — |
| Corbion Biotech Inc (formerly Solazyme) | 0 | — |
| Ensyn Renewables Inc | 0 | — |
| IOGEN CORPORATION | 0 | -100% |
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee-level momentum. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bioenergy & Low-Carbon Fuels Patent Landscape 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 next
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, portfolio benchmarking or identifying a filing opening.
Check freedom-to-operate against the enzyme cluster
Anything touching cellulase or hemicellulase-style enhancing activity sits close to the most-cited records in this dataset. A claim chart against those specific families is worth running before committing engineering resources to a biosaccharification process.
Run a claim comparison in EurekaMap the refining and catalysis white space in detail
C10G and B01J classes carry noticeably lower filing density than the fermentation classes. That gap is worth exploring further if the technical approach leans toward thermochemical or catalytic conversion rather than biological routes.
Explore the technology tree in EurekaTrack the long tail for acquisition or licensing targets
Universities and research foundations with small but specific filings — like the representative Daegu University record — can be efficient licensing partners for a narrow process step rather than a broad platform.
Search assignees in EurekaSource: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bioenergy & Low-Carbon Fuels Patent Landscape 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 about this landscape
Filing in this space is concentrated at the top: the leading assignee holds 953 of the 7,381 records in scope, and the top five combined account for 26.9% of all records. That leader's portfolio is weighted heavily toward enzyme and microorganism claims (IPC classes C12P and C12N), which also dominate the field's overall classification mix. Outside that concentrated top tier, the ranking thins quickly into universities, national research institutes and smaller commercial filers with far fewer records each.
Filing peaked in 2017 at 336 records and has since eased, falling to 219 by 2024, a -16% change over the 2021-2024 window. That is a moderation from an early peak rather than a collapse. Figures for 2025 and 2026 are still incomplete because publication typically lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the most recent years in any chart will always look lower than they eventually turn out to be.
Fermentation and enzymatic synthesis (C12P) is the most heavily claimed subclass, touching 39.5% of the 7,381 records, followed by microorganism and genetic-engineering claims (C12N) at 30.7%. Fuels and firelighters (C10L) and hydrocarbon oil refining (C10G) follow at 21.4% and 12.9% respectively. Because a single record can carry multiple IPC codes, these shares add up to more than 100% and should be read as relative claim density, not as slices of a whole.
Relative to the dense fermentation and microorganism classes, catalytic and thermochemical conversion routes — hydrocarbon refining (C10G) and catalysis (B01J) — show noticeably lower filing density, each sitting under 13% of records. Sub-areas such as catalytic upgrading of pyrolysis oils, waste-gas-to-fuel synthesis and sustainable aviation fuel blending chemistry look comparatively under-claimed against the core biology claims. That does not guarantee an open field, but it does mean a claim chart against the leading enzyme portfolios is less likely to be the first obstacle in those branches.
Start with the most-cited records in this dataset, several of which cover cellulolytic enhancing polypeptides and related saccharification compositions — these are the filings other applicants have most frequently cited and are the most likely prior art to encounter. From there, check the leading assignee's co-filing partnerships, since its strongest partnership pair shares 313 records and signals where portfolio consolidation has already happened. A full freedom-to-operate review should still be run against the specific claim language rather than citation counts alone, since citation volume favours older filings and does not by itself indicate current enforceability.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bioenergy & Low-Carbon Fuels Patent Landscape 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.