Data Center Heat Reuse Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
- Filing is still accelerating, not maturing. the trend runs from zero in 2017 to a 2023 peak of 5, with 2026 already at 3 despite the year being incomplete.
- Concentration sits at the top but the field is not locked up. the top 5 assignees hold 55.6% of all 36 records in scope, and the leader alone accounts for 11.
- Claim language still reads like power-plant engineering. F02C gas-turbine plants cover 44.4% of records versus 11.1% for F25B refrigeration and heat pumps, the class closest to actual heat export.
What this landscape covers
This dataset tracks patent activity at the intersection of data center thermal management and waste heat monetisation: claims that combine heat recovery language with terms like temperature grade, heat pump upgrade, seasonal demand mismatch, contractual arrangements, or metering for exported heat. It captures 36 published records filed between 2015 and mid-2026.
The corpus is small enough that individual filings move the picture, and the IPC mix shows the field is still drawing heavily on conventional power-plant patent classes rather than a distinct data-center-heat-export vocabulary. That gap is itself informative for anyone deciding where to file next.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 36 records: filing activity by year, and the IPC subclasses those records fall under. Because a record can carry more than one class, the technology shares add up to more than 100%.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Filings were flat at zero through 2017, rose unevenly to a peak of 5 in 2023, and remained active into 2026 with 3 records already published despite the year being incomplete at the data cut-off. Publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so the most recent year understates true activity.
IPC subclass composition (share of 36 records)
F02C (gas-turbine plants) appears in 44.4% of records and H02J (power supply and grid systems) in 30.6%, with F01K (steam and thermal power plants) at 19.4%. F25B (refrigeration and heat pumps), the class most directly tied to heat upgrading for reuse, sits at just 11.1%, and smaller shares in C01B, C10J and C25B mark adjacent chemical-process branches that touch the topic only in passing.
Shares are the percentage of the 36 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Data Center Heat Reuse and Waste Heat Export with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about data center heat reuse and waste heat export and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaMost-cited records in this dataset
Double-reheat power generator with additional heat recovery turbine stages
A double-reheat power generator design where an ultra-high-pressure cylinder and a high-intermediate-pressure cylinder each carry additional heat recovery turbine stages. Multiple new extraction points feed high-pressure heaters and a deaerator, restructuring how recovered heat is staged and reused across the generation cycle rather than exported off-site.Filed by Zhang, Lidao, published 2021-05-13 as US20210140347A1.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20040045300A1 | Method and apparatus for starting a combined cycle power plant | 82 |
| 2 | US6782703B2 | Apparatus for starting a combined cycle power plant | 77 |
| 3 | US20220065162A1 | Integrated power production and storage systems | 63 |
| 4 | US20160258363A1 | Methods and systems for enhancing control of power plant generating units | 38 |
| 5 | US20210140347A1 | Double-reheat power generator with an ultra high pressure cylinder and a high-intermediate pressure cylinder … | 18 |
| 6 | CN110273723A | 一种用于内燃机余热回收的分流式二氧化碳动力循环系统 | 9 |
| 7 | US20230291231A1 | Integrated power production and storage systems | 7 |
| 8 | CN102424369A | 试剂级高纯硫酸生产工艺 | 7 |
| 9 | US20230291232A1 | Integrated power production and storage systems | 6 |
| 10 | US11670960B2 | Integrated power production and storage systems | 6 |
Citation counts inside a searched corpus favour older filings by construction; treat them as a signal of influence within this dataset, not of current technical importance.
Patent titles are shown in the language they were filed in, not translated, so that each record stays verifiable against the original filing — a translated title will not match in Eureka or in any national register. Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Three patterns stand out once the ranking, trend and IPC composition are read together.
The top of the ranking is thin, not a wall
The top 5 assignees combined hold 55.6% of all 36 records in scope, and the top 10 reach 77.8%. With a leader at 11 records and fifth place at only 2, the gap between first and fifth is wide enough that a well-targeted filing can still land ahead of most of the ranked field.
Growth restarted after a flat midpoint
The trend shows 2022 at zero, meaning the 2023 peak of 5 and the continued activity into 2026 both sit on the far side of that gap. That pattern reads as a field re-entering active filing rather than one in steady decline.
Power-generation classes still dominate over heat-pump classes
F02C gas-turbine plants cover 44.4% of records while F25B refrigeration and heat pumps, the class most directly about upgrading low-grade heat for reuse, covers only 11.1%. That imbalance suggests the reuse-specific engineering claims are thinner than the generation-side claims.
Filing is split between two offices, with little elsewhere
Of the recorded receiving offices, the United States accounts for 20 and China for 13, with Australia, India and WIPO each contributing 1. A strategy built only around US or only around China filings would miss the other half of documented activity.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to data center heat reuse and waste heat export, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the momentum has stalled
The ranked field spans 22 companies, from large power-equipment manufacturers to single-filing entrants. Several of the more active assignees in the recent-year momentum data show zero filings in the latest year, which points to a field where positions were staked earlier rather than being actively contested right now.
One assignee holds close to a third of the top-5 total
The leading assignee's 11 records make up more than half of the top-5 combined total of 20, well ahead of the rest of the ranked field. That single-assignee weight is worth checking against family status before assuming broad blocking coverage.
Several named assignees have gone quiet
Multiple assignees tracked in the recent-year momentum data, including large power-equipment names, show 0 filings in the latest year and a -100% year-on-year change for at least one of them. That does not mean they have exited the space, but it does mean current filing pressure may be coming from elsewhere.
Co-filing is rare in this dataset
Only one co-assignee pairing recurs, linking a research institute to a group technology-innovation center. Beyond that single pair, filings in this dataset are largely single-assignee, suggesting most of the work here has not yet moved into joint-development patent strategies.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Mitsubishi Power Americas, Inc. | 0 | -100% |
| BECHTEL INFRASTRUCTURE & POWER CORP | 0 | — |
| General Electric Company | 0 | — |
| Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation | 0 | — |
| Hainan Weishiyake Engineering Services Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Shanghai Aogeli Environmental Protection Engineering Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| ZHANG LIDAO | 0 | — |
| WARNER NOEL ALFRED | 0 | — |
Where to take this next
The numbers above answer what has been filed. The next questions are about your own freedom to operate and where to place new claims.
Check family status behind the leader's 11 records
A single-assignee count that large can mean either broad blocking coverage or a cluster of continuations on one core idea. Family-level analysis in Eureka separates the two before you commit to a design-around.
Explore assignee families in EurekaMap the F25B and metering-adjacent claims in detail
The heat-pump and contractual/metering angles are the thinnest classes in this dataset relative to gas-turbine and steam-plant coverage. A closer claim-by-claim read of that smaller set is where new filing room is most likely to sit.
Run a claim-level search in EurekaCommon questions on this landscape
This dataset contains 36 published records filed between 2015 and mid-2026 that match claims combining heat recovery language with terms such as temperature grade, heat pump upgrade, seasonal demand mismatch, contractual arrangements, or metering. The ranking behind these records spans 22 assignees, so the field is documented but still small compared with broader power-generation patent categories. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the 2026 figure understates actual filing activity for that year.
The ranked field of 22 assignees is led by a single company holding 11 of the 36 records in scope, with the top 5 assignees combined accounting for 55.6% of all records. That concentration is real but not absolute: fifth place holds only 2 records, and the top 10 combined reach 77.8%, leaving a meaningful tail of single- or low-filing entrants. Recent-year momentum data also shows several of the more prominent names recording zero filings in the latest year, which suggests the current filing pressure is not necessarily coming from the historical leaders.
IPC composition skews toward conventional power-generation classes: F02C, gas-turbine plants, covers 44.4% of the 36 records, and F01K, steam and thermal power plants, covers 19.4%. Classes more specific to heat upgrading and reuse, such as F25B, refrigeration and heat pumps, cover only 11.1% of records. That gap indicates most current claims are framed around generation-cycle engineering rather than the export, metering or contractual mechanics of reusing waste heat outside the plant.
Filing activity has been accelerating rather than slowing. The trend runs from zero filings in 2017 up to a peak of 5 in 2023, with a flat midpoint of zero in 2022 immediately preceding that peak, and 2026 already shows 3 records despite the year being incomplete at the data cut-off. Because published records lag actual filing dates by around 18 months, the true trajectory for the most recent one to two years is likely stronger than the raw numbers show.
Among the receiving offices recorded in this dataset, the United States leads with 20 records and China follows with 13. Australia, India and the WIPO PCT route each contribute a single record. A filing or freedom-to-operate strategy focused on only one of the two main offices would miss roughly a third of documented activity, since the US and China together do not account for every record but do account for the large majority of jurisdictional filings tracked here.
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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.