Catalysis Simulation (DFT/Kinetics) Patent Landscape 2026
Catalysis simulation combining DFT and kinetic modeling is a growth-stage field, with a three-year filing window well above the prior comparable period, though annual volume has eased from its 2018 peak. Dow Global Technologies leads a moderately concentrated corpus of 118 patent families, with chemical/physical catalysis processes dominating the technology mix and China the primary filing jurisdiction.
Dow leads a moderately concentrated field with a clear tier gap below the top applicant
Dow Global Technologies LLC holds the top position in this corpus, followed by THRUNNEL LTD OY and a cluster of university research foundations including the University of Central Florida Research Foundation and Velocys Inc. The top five filers collectively account for 23% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, indicating moderate concentration with room for challengers.
A notable tier gap separates the leader from the second-ranked applicant, and the field beyond the top five is populated predominantly by academic and public-sector organizations rather than commercial incumbents, suggesting that industrial IP consolidation remains incomplete.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dow Global Technologies LLC | 17 | |
| 2 | THRUNNEL LTD OY | 9 | |
| 3 | University of Central Florida Research Foundation | 7 | |
| 4 | Velocys Inc | 7 | |
| 5 | ExxonMobil Chemical Patents Inc | 6 | |
| 6 | The Dow Chemical Company | 6 | |
| 7 | EAST CHINA UNIV OF SCI & TECH | 5 | |
| 8 | ABO-HASHEMA KHALED A H | 5 | |
| 9 | South China University of Technology | 4 | |
| 10 | ENEOS Holdings Inc | 4 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Rajalakshmi Engineering College | 4 | |
| 12 | DR KHALED A H ABO-HASHEMA | 4 | |
| 13 | William Marsh Rice University | 4 | |
| 14 | MARSHALL KENRIC A | 3 | |
| 15 | CLARKE WILLIAM D | 3 | |
| 16 | China University of Petroleum (Beijing) | 3 | |
| 17 | OLKEN MICHAEL M | 3 | |
| 18 | HICKMAN DANIEL A | 3 | |
| 19 | Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation | 3 | |
| 20 | WALKO LEE E | 3 |
The Dow Chemical Co, signals a deliberate effort to protect simulation-informed catalyst design across multiple IPC branches within B01J. The presence of Velocys and ExxonMobil Chemical Patents among the top five indicates that specialty reactor and refining-oriented companies are also staking claims in the space.
Filing counts for the most recent 18–24 months are likely understated due to standard publication lag and should not be read as a slowdown. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Multi-year growth is real, but technology mix shows DFT simulation still lags catalysis process patents
Two views of the corpus — annual filing trend and IPC branch composition — together reveal a field that has expanded significantly on a multi-year basis while remaining anchored in experimental catalysis patent classes rather than pure computational methods.
Annual filing trend
Filings show a broad growth trajectory across the review window, with the recent three-year window running well above the prior comparable period. A spike in 2018 marked the prior high; annual volume since has modulated but the 2024–2025 data points show renewed activity. The most recent periods (2025–2026) are subject to publication lag and likely undercount true activity.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B01J (chemical/physical processes and catalysis) is the dominant branch by a wide margin, reflecting the applied catalysis focus of most applicants. G16C (computational chemistry) ranks third, confirming that computational simulation is a meaningful but secondary layer; G06F (electric digital data processing) and G06N (AI-based computing) together show early-stage convergence between simulation software and machine-learning methods. Acyclic compound synthesis (C07C) and electrolytic production (C25B) suggest that simulation results are being patented alongside their synthetic applications.
↗ 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.
Energy prediction device for catalytic reaction, r…
The energy prediction device for a catalytic reaction according to the present invention comprises: a regression model generation unit that generates a regression model for predicting the energy of a three-dimensional structure on the basis of the three-dimensional structure of an intermediate body and a transition state of the reactant generated in a… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conducting polymer films containing nanodispersed … | 129 |
| 2 | Molded catalyst for reactions carried out under he… | 83 |
| 3 | Direct selective synthesis of para-xylene by react… | 61 |
| 4 | Catalytic reaction process using microchannel tech… | 56 |
| 5 | Molding catalyst for heterogenous system catalyst … | 50 |
| 6 | Direct selective synthesis of para-xylene | 43 |
| 7 | Oxidation catalyst and its use for catalyzing liqu… | 27 |
| 8 | Reactor for carrying out an autothermal gas-phase … | 24 |
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
The corpus structure provides four actionable signals for engineers and strategists considering entry or expansion in DFT- and kinetics-based catalysis simulation IP.
Growth stage — expanding multi-year, annual volume off the 2018 peak
The lifecycle evidence places the field firmly in Growth: the recent three-year filing window is 144% above the prior three-year window on a multi-year basis. Annual volume peaked in 2018 and has since modulated rather than sustained that high, but renewed upticks in 2024 and 2025 suggest the field has not plateaued. New entrants, notably East China University of Science and Technology, are appearing alongside established players.
Growth stageModerate concentration — top five hold 23% of the largest-filer pool
The top five filers account for 23% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, a level that signals moderate concentration. Beneath the Dow cluster, the field is populated largely by universities and smaller specialty firms, leaving the commercial middle tier relatively open. A focused filing program targeting under-claimed application areas could establish a credible position without directly confronting the Dow estate.
Moderate concentrationLimited co-filing activity — one documented partnership identified
The evidence identifies one co-applicant relationship: East China University of Science and Technology and Shanghai Jiao Tong University filed jointly. The scarcity of co-filing activity across a corpus of 118 families suggests that formal R&D partnerships are not yet a defining feature of this landscape, though the emerging presence of Chinese academic institutions may seed future consortia. Monitoring joint-filing trends in China is warranted.
Sparse collaborationChina leads filing volume; PCT and EPO routes signal global ambition
China accounts for the largest share of filing records, with the United States second and WIPO PCT filings third. Europe (EPO) and India also appear in the top five jurisdictions, indicating that at least a subset of applicants are pursuing broad international protection. The strong Chinese filing base, combined with multiple Chinese university applicants, points to growing domestic R&D capacity that may not yet be fully reflected in global IP portfolios.
China-led, global 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 |
|---|---|---|
| East China University of Science and Technology | Shanghai Jiao Tong University | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Dow dominates commercial filings; THRUNNEL and academic players form a fragmented challenger tier
Two commercial applicants — Dow Global Technologies LLC and THRUNNEL LTD OY — stand clearly above the field in filing volume, while university applicants occupy the next tier. Their technology emphases differ meaningfully.
Dow Global Technologies LLC
Dow Global Technologies leads the corpus with 17 patent records and concentrates its filings in B01J 23 (supported metal catalysts), B01J 27 (catalysts containing phosphorus, arsenic or antimony), and B01J 35 (catalysts characterised by form), reflecting a broad applied-catalysis mandate. The related entity The Dow Chemical Co contributes an additional 6 records in the same B01J sub-branches, reinforcing the group’s dominant position. No momentum data is available for the primary entity, but the combined Dow footprint is the deepest in the field.
patent records: 17THRUNNEL LTD OY
THRUNNEL LTD OY ranks second with 9 patent records, focused across B01J 29 (zeolite and molecular sieve catalysts), B01J 35 (catalyst form), and B01J 37 (catalyst preparation methods) — a concentration on structured and zeolitic catalyst systems that differs from Dow’s broader metal-catalyst emphasis. No specific momentum trend is recorded in the evidence for THRUNNEL, making trajectory assessment pending further data.
patent records: 9| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| East China University of Science and Technology | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served adjacent branches: electrolytic simulation and digital data processing for catalysis
Several IPC branches sit at the intersection of computational catalysis and application domains that are currently sparsely populated relative to the dominant B01J core. Two branches stand out as technically adjacent with plausible entry paths.
C25B · Electrolytic production of compounds
With 22 patent records and a 5% share among the top branches, C25B covers electrolytic compound production — a domain where DFT-guided electrocatalyst design is increasingly central, particularly for green hydrogen and CO2 reduction. The relative sparsity against the depth of academic research suggests patent protection has not kept pace with laboratory output. Teams with DFT expertise in surface adsorption energetics could establish IP in electrocatalyst design workflows that bridge simulation claims into applied electrochemical processes.
Search this in Eureka →G06F · Electric digital data processing
G06F carries 18 patent records (4% share) in this corpus, indicating that software-layer IP — covering the algorithms, data structures, and computational workflows that implement DFT or microkinetic simulations — remains lightly claimed relative to the chemical-process patents that rely on simulation outputs. As simulation platforms become industrially embedded, method and software patents in G06F offer a differentiated protection layer. Entry paths include patenting novel descriptor-calculation algorithms, kinetic Monte Carlo solvers, or catalyst-screening pipeline architectures.
Search this in Eureka →How leading applicants differ by technology sub-branch emphasis
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | B01J 35 · Chemical/physical processes & catalysis | B01J 37 · Chemical/physical processes & catalysis | B01J 23 · Chemical/physical processes & catalysis | B01J 27 · Chemical/physical processes & catalysis | G16C 20 · Computational chemistry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Dow Chemical Company | Strong · 14 | Strong · 14 | Strong · 14 | Strong · 14 | Absent |
| Dow Global Technologies LLC | Strong · 9 | Strong · 9 | Strong · 9 | Strong · 9 | Absent |
| THRUNNEL LTD OY | Strong · 16 | Strong · 16 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| University of Central Florida Research Foundation | Strong · 7 | Strong · 5 | Absent | Strong · 7 | Absent |
| ExxonMobil Chemical Patents Inc | Strong · 6 | Strong · 6 | Strong · 6 | Absent | Absent |
| William Marsh Rice University | Absent | Strong · 4 | Strong · 4 | Strong · 4 | Absent |
| CLARKE WILLIAM D | Absent | Strong · 3 | Strong · 3 | Strong · 3 | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The evidence scope contains 118 patent families. This represents the current searchable corpus; filings from the most recent 18–24 months are likely understated due to publication lag.
Dow Global Technologies LLC leads with 17 patent records, followed by THRUNNEL LTD OY with 9. The related entity The Dow Chemical Co contributes an additional 6 records, reinforcing Dow’s group-level dominance.
The field is in a Growth lifecycle stage. The recent three-year filing window is 144% above the prior three-year window on a multi-year basis. Annual volume peaked in 2018 and has since modulated, with renewed activity visible in 2024 and 2025; the most recent data points are further understated by publication lag.
China is the leading filing jurisdiction, followed by the United States, WIPO (PCT), Europe (EPO), and India. The strong Chinese presence reflects both domestic industrial applicants and an active academic filing base.
B01J (chemical/physical processes and catalysis) dominates by patent-record count, reflecting applied catalysis emphasis. G16C (computational chemistry) ranks third, confirming a meaningful but secondary computational layer. G06F (digital data processing) and G06N (AI-based computing) represent an early-stage convergence toward software and machine-learning methods.
Two under-served branches stand out: C25B (electrolytic production of compounds), where DFT-guided electrocatalyst design for green hydrogen and CO2 reduction is sparsely claimed, and G06F (electric digital data processing), where software-layer IP covering DFT workflow algorithms and microkinetic solvers remains lightly protected relative to the chemical-process patents that depend on them.
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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.
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