CO2 Gas Cooler Heat Exchanger Patent Snapshot 2026
Xi’an Jiaotong University dominates a small, China-led corpus in which academic filers hold the majority of activity. Annual filing volume peaked in 2019 and has eased since, leaving the field past its prior peak on a multi-year basis with limited commercial-sector diversification.
Xi’an Jiaotong University leads a concentrated, academically anchored field
Xi’an Jiaotong University holds the top position among ranked filers, followed by Heatcraft Refrigeration Products and individual inventor Wu Zhiren, each with 2 patent records. The ranking reveals a steep drop-off after the leading institution.
The top five filers account for 42% of the combined total among the ranked applicants visible in this query, indicating moderate-to-high concentration at the head of the ranking. Beyond the top tier, most entities hold a single patent record, pointing to a long, flat tail of occasional filers rather than a dense second tier.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xi’an Jiaotong University | 6 | |
| 2 | Heatcraft Refrigeration Products LLC | 2 | |
| 3 | Wu Zhiren | 2 | |
| 4 | Zhongke Carbonleng (Wuxi) High-Tech Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 5 | Kunming Dongqi Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 6 | Ningbo Saisen Energy Saving Equipment Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 7 | UNIV OF SHANGHAI FOR SCI & TECH | 1 | |
| 8 | Dongguan Taige Cooling and Heating Equipment Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 9 | Hitachi Global Life Solutions Inc. | 1 | |
| 10 | Beijing University of Technology | 1 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Hefei General Machinery Research Institute | 1 | |
| 12 | GANSU SPECIAL EQUIP INSPECTION & TESTING RES INST … | 1 | |
| 13 | CHINA NAT ENERGY REFINING & CHEM ENG CO LTD | 1 | |
| 14 | Zhejiang Sci-Tech University | 1 | |
| 15 | Hitachi Appliances Inc. | 1 | |
| 16 | STATE NUCLEAR ELECTRIC POWER PLANNING DESIGN & RES… | 1 | |
| 17 | Shandong Chaoyue Ground-Source Heat Pump Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 18 | Tianjin Chengjian University | 1 | |
| 19 | China Railway Design Group Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 20 | Foshan Lingyingda Energy Saving Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 |
University dominance signals that foundational R&D is still largely institutionally driven. The limited presence of Tier-1 HVAC-R manufacturers outside Heatcraft and Hitachi suggests commercial players have not yet converged on this specific gas-cooler sub-segment.
The most recent filing years should be treated as under-counted due to standard publication lag; apparent recent-year gaps do not necessarily indicate reduced interest. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Activity peaked in 2019; refrigeration and heat-pump classes dominate the technology mix
The annual filing chart captures a clear surge and subsequent easing, while the technology-composition chart shows that refrigeration and heat-pump classifications are the structural core of the corpus.
Annual filing trend
Filings were absent through 2018, surged to a peak in 2019, then oscillated at lower levels through 2023. Years 2024 onward should be read as under-counted due to publication lag; the apparent drop does not confirm continued decline. The field is past its 2019 peak on a multi-year basis.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
F25B (Refrigeration & heat pumps) is the visible branch by a wide margin, followed by F28F (Heat-exchanger details) and F28D (Heat-exchange apparatus). Adjacent branches — including B60H (Vehicle heating & A/C), F24H (Fluid heaters & water heaters), and food-preservation classes — each hold modest shares, indicating the core technology is well-defined while application diversification remains limited.
↗ 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.
Precooler-based transcritical co2 heat pump system…
The present disclosures discloses a precooler-based transcritical CO<sub>2 </sub>heat pump system and a control method of a waterway two-way valve thereof, in which a transcritical CO<sub>2 </sub>heat pump system is assisted by a precooler system. A circulating waterway is divided into two parts in the system through a three-way diversion valve and a… (excerpt from the patent abstract)


| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一种跨临界CO<sub>2</sub>系统多功能除雾除湿系统及控制方法 | 22 |
| 2 | 一种跨临界CO<sub>2</sub>空调热泵系统及其优化控制方法 | 14 |
| 3 | Precooler-based transcritical co2 heat pump system… | 13 |
| 4 | Co2 heat pump water heater | 12 |
| 5 | 一种跨临界CO<sub>2</sub>系统温湿自适应除湿除雾系统及控制方法 | 9 |
| 6 | CO2热泵低温制热供暖系统 | 9 |
| 7 | 一种基于中低温太阳能集热器的冷电联供系统 | 7 |
| 8 | 用于跨临界CO2热泵热水器的气体冷却器换热管 | 5 |
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.
Xi’an Jiaotong University
Xi’an Jiaotong University holds 6 patent records, more than any other filer. Its technology focus is concentrated across F25B 39, F25B 9, and F25B 41 — all within the core refrigeration and heat-pump class — indicating a systematic, narrowly focused research program rather than a broad application sweep. No momentum trend is listed, consistent with its established position.
patent records: 6Heatcraft Refrigeration Products LLC
Heatcraft Refrigeration Products holds 2 patent records, making it the top commercial-sector filer and the only Tier-1 HVAC-R manufacturer in the upper ranking tier. Its presence signals that at least one established refrigeration OEM has staked an IP position in CO2 gas cooler design, though its portfolio depth remains limited relative to the academic leader.
patent records: 2Frequently asked questions
The current corpus covers 21 patent families in scope. It is a small, specialized sub-segment of the broader transcritical CO2 and refrigeration IP landscape.
Xi’an Jiaotong University leads with 6 patent records, more than any other filer. Its portfolio is focused on core F25B refrigeration and heat-pump sub-classes.
China is the visible filing jurisdiction, followed by the United States, Japan, and South Korea. The heavy China weighting reflects the academic and SME-led composition of the applicant base.
Annual filings peaked in 2019 and have eased since; the lifecycle stage is classified as Decline. The most recent years (2024–2026) should be treated as under-counted due to publication lag, so the full trajectory is not yet confirmed.
Two new entrants are identified in the applicant momentum data: Heatcraft Refrigeration Products LLC (translated from its route-matrix name) and Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, each flagged as new entrants with recent activity.
B60H (Vehicle heating & A/C) at 4 patent records and F24H (Fluid heaters & water heaters) at 3 patent records are the most notable adjacent branches with low filing density relative to the visible F25B core. Food-preservation classes A23B and A23L each hold 2 patent records, representing another sparse adjacent domain.
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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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