CDI Selective Ion Recovery Patent Snapshot 2026
The CDI selective ion recovery field is still expanding on a multi-year basis, with annual volume having eased from its 2023 peak; Texas A&M University leads a fragmented, research-institution-dominated corpus. Water treatment (C02F) is the dominant technology route, though battery-recovery and metal-refining threads signal broadening industrial scope.
Texas A&M leads a fragmented, academically concentrated field
Texas. A&M University holds the top position with 5 patent records, ahead of Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology at 3 and a cluster of applicants at 2 each, including LG Energy Solution, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and Noble Materials Co. (Nobl Materials).
The top five filers account for 48% of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total, indicating moderate-to-high concentration at the head of the ranking but with no single applicant commanding a visible share. The competitive tier below the leader is densely packed, leaving the evidence snapshot genuinely contestable.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY | 5 | |
| 2 | Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology | 3 | |
| 3 | LG Energy Solution Ltd. | 2 | |
| 4 | Northwest Engineering Corporation Municipal and Environmental Design Institute Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 5 | Noble Materials Co. (Nobl Materials) | 2 | |
| 6 | HUAZHONG UNIV OF SCI & TECH | 2 | |
| 7 | Toray Advanced Materials Korea Inc. | 2 | |
| 8 | Northwest University | 1 | |
| 9 | Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering | 1 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Jilin University | 1 | |
| 11 | Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School | 1 | |
| 12 | Huazhong Agricultural University | 1 | |
| 13 | Tianjin University | 1 | |
| 14 | Pusan National University Industry-University Cooperation Foundation | 1 | |
| 15 | Henan Polytechnic University | 1 | |
| 16 | Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources | 1 | |
| 17 | KOREA INST OF MACHINERY & MATERIALS | 1 | |
| 18 | Chongqing University | 1 |
The leading position of universities and research institutes — rather than established industrial players — suggests that the technology is still being defined at the fundamental level, and that early movers with robust IP stacks can establish durable positions before large industrials consolidate.
The most recent filing years (2025–2026) are further understated by publication lag and should not be interpreted as a slowdown; the multi-year trend remains clearly upward. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filing activity surged from 2023 onward; water treatment anchors the technology mix
Two complementary views — the annual filing trend and the IPC class distribution — together show a field that accelerated sharply after 2022 and spans a wider set of end-use applications than the water-treatment label alone implies.
Annual filing trend
Filings were negligible through 2021, then jumped to 7 records in 2023 before settling at 5 in 2024 and 6 in 2025. The 2023 peak and the still-healthy 2024–2025 counts confirm the field’s growth phase; 2025–2026 figures are understated by publication lag and should be treated as lower bounds.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
C02F (water and wastewater treatment) is the anchor branch with the largest share of records, followed by H01M (batteries and fuel cells), B01D (separation processes), and C22B (metal extraction and refining). The presence of H01M and C22B alongside C02F signals that the technology is being applied not only to desalination but also to battery-metal recovery — a meaningful diversification of the application base.
↗ 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.
Flow electrode capacitive deionization system and …
A flow electrode capacitive deionization system and a method for recovering phosphorus in phosphogypsum leachate and synchronous performing brine desalination belong to the technical field of wastewater treatment and recycling. The flow electrode capacitive deionization system includes a phosphorus recovery electrodeionization module and a desalination… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一种基于流动电极的串联堆叠脱盐系统及脱盐方法 | 7 |
| 2 | 电化学回收三元锂电池浸出液中锂离子的方法及系统 | 2 |
| 3 | 一种生物除磷与电容去离子联用强化除磷与磷回收装置 | 1 |
| 4 | 离子液体作为电解质在流动电极电容去离子技术中的应用 | 1 |
| 5 | 一种木质纤维炭的制备方法及其在沼液处理中的应用 | 1 |
| 6 | Selective ion recovery device and method using flo… | 1 |
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.
Assignee snapshot from the current evidence set
The applicants below are visible in this query result. Because the evidence set is relatively small, read this section as a directional snapshot rather than a full competitive ranking.
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University holds 5 patent records and entered the corpus as a new entrant in the recent window (trend: new entrant), meaning its entire position was built in the current growth phase. Its technology emphasis spans C02F water-treatment subclasses and H01G capacitor classifications — indicating a flow-electrode CDI architecture focus that bridges environmental and energy-storage applications.
patent records: 5LG Energy Solution
LG Energy Solution holds 2 patent records and co-files with Toray Advanced Materials Korea, concentrating on B01D separation processes and C22B metal extraction and refining — specifically lithium recovery (C22B 26) from battery leachates. This positions LG as the most industrially oriented applicant in the corpus and the clearest signal of commercial CDI adoption for battery-material recovery.
patent records: 2Frequently asked questions
The current corpus contains 24 patent families in scope, reflecting a field that has grown rapidly since 2022 but remains early-stage in terms of absolute portfolio size.
Texas A&M University is the top filer with 5 patent records, entered as a new entrant in the recent filing window. Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology follows with 3 records.
China leads with 10 patent records, followed by South Korea and the United States each with 4. Europe via the EPO and WIPO PCT each hold 2 records, and Australia has 1.
The field is in the Growth stage. Recent three-year filings are 367% above the prior three-year window, confirming multi-year expansion. Annual volume eased from a 2023 peak, and the most recent years are further understated by publication lag.
H01G (capacitors, 4 records, 7% share), B01J (chemical and physical processes, 3 records, 5%), and C25B (electrolytic production, 3 records, 5%) are the most populated sparse branches adjacent to the visible C02F water-treatment core.
Yes. Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology co-files with Northwest Engineering Corporation Municipal and Environmental Design Institute (2 joint filings), and LG Energy Solution co-files with Toray Advanced Materials Korea (2 joint filings). The LG–Toray pairing is the most commercially oriented collaboration identified in the corpus.
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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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