Catalyst Stability & Poisoning Resistance Patent Landscape
Johnson Matthey dominates a moderately concentrated field, holding more than three times the patent records of the nearest challenger among the top hundred filers. The field peaked around 2018 and annual volume has since eased, placing it in a declining phase, though recent-year counts remain above single-digit levels and publication lag means 2024–2025 data is still incomplete.
Johnson Matthey leads a field where the top five account for nearly a third of the hundred largest filers’ combined output
Johnson Matthey PLC sits firmly at the top of the applicant ranking with 66 patent records, more than double the count of second-placed Engelhard Corp at 26. The top five — Johnson Matthey PLC, Engelhard Corp, Johnson Matthey. Japan, BASF Mobile Emissions Catalysts LLC, and SDC Materials Inc — together represent 32 percent of the hundred largest filers’ combined total.
The tier gap between Johnson Matthey (66 patent records) and the mid-pack players clustered between 5 and 11 records is substantial, indicating a two-tier structure: one dominant incumbent, a small cohort of established challengers, and a long tail of specialist and academic filers.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnson Matthey PLC | 66 | |
| 2 | Engelhard Corporation | 26 | |
| 3 | Johnson Matthey Japan | 18 | |
| 4 | BASF Mobile Emissions Catalysts LLC | 17 | |
| 5 | SDC Materials Inc | 14 | |
| 6 | Accentus PLC | 11 | |
| 7 | The Dow Chemical Company | 11 | |
| 8 | Xiangtan University | 9 | |
| 9 | Lummus Technology Inc | 8 | |
| 10 | Furukawa Electric Co Ltd | 8 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Sud-Chemie Prototech | 7 | |
| 12 | ONGC Energy Centre Trust | 7 | |
| 13 | Institute of Chemical Technology | 7 | |
| 14 | COUNCIL OF SCI & IND RES | 7 | |
| 15 | Gastec NV | 6 | |
| 16 | UK Atomic Energy Authority | 6 | |
| 17 | Airflow Catalyst Systems Inc | 6 | |
| 18 | UMICORE AG & CO KG | 6 | |
| 19 | HYDROCARBON TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION LLC | 6 | |
| 20 | Millennium Chemicals Thann | 5 |
Johnson Matthey’s scale across B01J catalysis and B01D separation process classes, mirrored by its. Japan affiliate, signals deep platform coverage rather than niche specialisation. This breadth makes targeted entry around specific poisoning mechanisms — sulphur tolerance, thermal ageing, or coking resistance — more viable than broad frontal competition.
Counts for 2024 and 2025 are subject to publication lag and will rise as applications publish; the apparent trough in those years should not be read as a further structural decline. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Peak activity in 2018, dominant B01J core, and sparse adjacencies in inorganic synthesis and refining
Annual filing trends reveal a field that crested in 2018 and has moderated since; the technology composition shows a dense core in heterogeneous catalysis with several lower-density branches that represent potential entry points.
Annual filing trend
Filings peaked at 39 records in 2018 and have since retreated to the 17–21 range in 2021–2025. The 2022 trough of 8 records is notable but followed by recovery, suggesting the dip was partly an artefact. The 2025 and 2026 figures are still accruing through publication lag and should not be treated as final.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B01J (chemical and physical processes, catalysis) is by far the dominant IPC class, reflecting the field’s core identity. B01D (separation processes) and F01N (exhaust treatment) form a secondary cluster tied to emissions control applications. Classes such as C10G (hydrocarbon refining), C04B (ceramics and refractories), B82Y (nanotechnology), and H01M (fuel cells) each hold a small share, pointing to adjacent application domains where catalyst stability work remains sparse.
↗ 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.
Method for the production of butanol using a titan…
The present invention relates to a method for the production of butanol using a titanium-based bimetallic heterogeneous catalyst comprising a support of titanium dioxide doped with cobalt cations and transition metal nanoparticles impregnated in the support. The method describes the production of butanol as a single product, it is environmentally… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Catalyst composition containing segregated platinu… | 343 |
| 2 | Method for depositing a fluorocarbonsulfonic acid … | 178 |
| 3 | Catalyst composition containing platinum and rhodi… | 176 |
| 4 | Catalyst composition containing segregated platinu… | 124 |
| 5 | High performance thermally stable catalyst | 113 |
| 6 | Polymer hydrogenation catalysts | 95 |
| 7 | Palladium containing ceria-supported platinum cata… | 95 |
| 8 | Method for making pellet type catalyst | 94 |
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 patent structure means for R&D strategy
The combination of a declining filing pace, a dominant incumbent, sparse adjacencies, and a US-heavy jurisdiction profile shapes where new R&D investment is most and least exposed to existing IP.
Post-peak, moderately declining
The lifecycle stage is Decline, with annual filings easing back from the 2018 peak of 39 records. On a multi-year basis the corpus still covers active technology, but new filings have not recovered to peak levels. Entrants should expect to navigate an established prior-art landscape rather than an open frontier.
Lifecycle: DeclineOne dominant leader, a thin second tier
Johnson Matthey PLC holds 66 patent records versus Engelhard Corp’s 26, with the remainder of the top 20 clustered between 5 and 18 records. This two-tier structure means broad platform coverage is already claimed, but specialist positions — particularly in emerging substrate chemistries or biological catalyst stabilisation — appear less contested. The top five filers account for 32 percent of the hundred largest filers’ combined output.
High concentrationMinimal co-filing; one observed partnership
The evidence shows a single recorded co-filing collaboration: BASF (mapped from the Chinese entity name) and Georgia Tech Research Corporation, with one joint record. The overall ecosystem appears to operate independently rather than through cross-institutional consortia, which leaves open the possibility of forming novel partnerships in under-served technical areas such as nanotechnology-enabled catalyst supports or bio-catalysis.
Low collaborationUS primary, China and EPO materially present
The United States is the leading jurisdiction by patent records, followed by China and the EPO. WIPO PCT filings and India are also significant, indicating applicants seek broad protection. The United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia form a secondary tier. Korea and Germany have minimal coverage, a potential filing gap for applicants targeting those manufacturing markets.
US-led, multi-regionalGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| BASF SE | Georgia Tech Research Corporation | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Johnson Matthey dominates; Lummus Technology and Xiangtan University are recent entrants building momentum
The top two players by patent records are both rooted in precious-metal emissions catalysis, while recent entrants signal growing academic and process-industry interest in poisoning resistance.
Johnson Matthey PLC
Johnson Matthey PLC leads with 66 patent records, concentrated across B01J heterogeneous catalysis, B01D separation processes, and B01J catalyst morphology — covering both catalyst composition and physical form. Its Japan affiliate, Johnson Matthey Japan, adds 18 further records with a nearly identical technology focus, suggesting coordinated global portfolio management. Momentum data flags the UK parent as a new entrant in the recent window, likely reflecting portfolio restructuring rather than a standing start.
66 patent recordsLummus Technology Inc
Lummus Technology Inc holds 8 patent records with a focus split across B01J catalyst supports, B01J metal catalysts, and C07C acyclic hydrocarbon chemistry — reflecting its process-engineering heritage in refining and petrochemicals. Its momentum trend is flagged as a new entrant in the recent period, with 5 recent records, suggesting active and growing engagement in poisoning-resistance solutions relevant to hydrocarbon processing.
8 patent records| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson Matthey PLC | 3 | ▲ new entrant |
| Xiangtan University | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Lummus Technology Inc | 5 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches in nanotechnology, refining, and ceramic supports
Several IPC classes appear at low share within the corpus, each with a plausible technical connection to catalyst stability. These are observations of relative sparsity against the dominant B01J core; they may or may not represent viable entry points depending on specific R&D goals.
B82Y · Nanotechnology applications
B82Y accounts for only 9 patent records and roughly 1 percent of the IPC distribution in this corpus, making it one of the sparsest adjacent branches. Nanotechnology-enabled catalyst supports — including nanostructured metal oxides, core-shell architectures, and carbon nanotube scaffolds — have documented potential to improve thermal stability and resist sintering. An entrant with nanomaterials capability could file here with limited incumbent overlap, though commercial scale-up and cost barriers would need to be assessed.
Search this in Eureka →C10G · Hydrocarbon oils & refining
C10G holds 15 patent records at roughly 1 percent share, despite hydrocarbon refining being one of the most commercially significant domains for catalyst poisoning (sulphur, metals, coke deposition). The sparsity relative to the dominant B01J core suggests that refinery-specific poisoning-resistance work may be filed under process rather than catalyst classifications, or that this application space remains underserved within the current corpus. Organisations with petroleum processing R&D competencies — such as Lummus Technology Inc or the Research Institute of Petroleum Processing — are already proximate to this branch.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders differ across technology sub-classes
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | B01J 23 · Chemical/physical processes & catalysis | B01J 35 · Chemical/physical processes & catalysis | B01J 37 · Chemical/physical processes & catalysis | B01D 53 · Separation processes (filtration etc.) | B01J 21 · Chemical/physical processes & catalysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnson Matthey PLC | Strong · 56 | Strong · 53 | Moderate · 19 | Strong · 54 | Absent |
| BASF SE | Strong · 36 | Strong · 22 | Strong · 29 | Strong · 31 | Moderate · 15 |
| Johnson Matthey Japan | Strong · 18 | Strong · 18 | Strong · 13 | Strong · 16 | Strong · 16 |
| Engelhard Corporation | Strong · 25 | Absent | Moderate · 9 | Strong · 23 | Absent |
| SDC Materials Inc | Strong · 10 | Strong · 12 | Strong · 8 | Strong · 12 | Strong · 9 |
| Sud-Chemie Prototech | Strong · 7 | Strong · 7 | Strong · 7 | Strong · 7 | Strong · 7 |
| Accentus PLC | Strong · 11 | Absent | Strong · 10 | Strong · 10 | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus contains 207 patent families in scope, with additional patent records distributed across multiple jurisdictions and IPC classes.
Johnson Matthey PLC leads with 66 patent records, more than double the 26 held by second-ranked Engelhard Corp. Johnson Matthey Japan adds a further 18 records, indicating coordinated global portfolio coverage by the Johnson Matthey group.
The field is in a Decline stage based on filing trends. Annual filings peaked at 39 records in 2018 and have since eased. The 2024 and 2025 counts remain subject to publication lag and will increase as applications publish.
The United States is the leading jurisdiction by patent records, followed by China and the EPO. WIPO PCT and India are also significant. The United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia form a secondary tier. South Korea and Germany have minimal coverage in this corpus.
B01J (chemical and physical processes, catalysis) is overwhelmingly dominant. B01D (separation processes) and F01N (exhaust treatment) form a secondary cluster. Sparse branches include B82Y (nanotechnology applications), C10G (hydrocarbon refining), and C04B (ceramics and refractories), each at roughly 1 percent of the IPC distribution.
Collaboration is minimal. The evidence shows a single recorded co-filing between BASF and Georgia Tech Research Corporation. The field predominantly operates through independent filings, leaving room for new cross-institutional partnerships, particularly in nanotechnology-enabled or bio-catalysis-adjacent areas.
Ready to map your own catalyst IP landscape?
Join 18,000+ innovators using PatSnap Eureka to map any technology landscape: search 2B+ patents and papers, surface key assignees, and generate a report like this in minutes.
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.