DED Deposition-Rate Efficiency Patent Landscape 2026
The DED deposition-rate efficiency space is in a growth phase, with the top five filers among the hundred largest filers holding 52% of combined activity and Norsk Titanium leading at nearly a quarter of the top-applicant total. A wave of new entrants — including Relativity Space, GE Avio, and Linde — signals broadening industrial adoption, while the welding and additive-manufacturing branches remain the dominant technical arenas.
Norsk Titanium leads a moderately concentrated field with new entrants closing fast
Norsk Titanium AS holds the top position with 19 patent families, nearly double the second-ranked Relativity Space Inc at 9 — a lead that reflects the company’s early focus on wire-arc directed energy deposition for aerospace-grade titanium structures.
The top five filers account for 52% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, indicating moderate-to-high concentration at the top tier, but the presence of multiple academic and industrial entrants from the 6th rank downward shows that the field is not yet locked up by a single incumbent.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norsk Titanium AS | 19 | |
| 2 | Relativity Space Inc | 9 | |
| 3 | GE Avio S.r.l. | 8 | |
| 4 | Linde AG | 7 | |
| 5 | Illinois Tool Works Inc | 3 | |
| 6 | Delhi Technological University | 3 | |
| 7 | Narzedzia i Urzadzenia Wiertnicze Glinik Sp. z o.o. | 3 | |
| 8 | Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad | 3 | |
| 9 | Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati | 2 | |
| 10 | EXXONMOBIL TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING CO | 2 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | NITTE (Deemed to be University) | 2 | |
| 12 | Goodrich Corporation | 2 | |
| 13 | PDPM INDIAN INST OF INFORMATION TECH DESIGN & MFG … | 2 | |
| 14 | Indian Institute of Technology | 1 | |
| 15 | Ajay Kumar Garg Engineering College | 1 | |
| 16 | LAIR LIQUIDE SA POUR LETUDE & LEXPLOITATION DES PR… | 1 | |
| 17 | Nagaragere Chikkramaiah Shashidhar | 1 | |
| 18 | NMAM Institute of Technology | 1 | |
| 19 | Sathish Kumar Parimi | 1 | |
| 20 | National Institute of Technology Calicut | 1 |
Norsk Titanium’s dominance — rooted in laser and arc welding subclasses — means challengers must either differentiate on feedstock form (powder vs. wire), process control, or application sector to avoid direct overlap with the leader’s core claims.
Filing counts for the most recent 18–24 months are likely understated due to standard patent publication lag; the apparent 2025–2026 figures should be read as a lower bound. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Annual volume is rising and the technology mix is anchored in welding and additive-manufacturing classes
Two views — the annual filing trend and the IPC technology composition — together show a field expanding on a multi-year basis, with a clear core of arc/laser welding patents surrounding a growing additive-manufacturing layer.
Annual filing trend
After negligible activity through 2019, filings accelerated sharply from 2020 onward, reaching a recent-window growth rate of 35%. Years 2025 and 2026 are understated by publication lag and should not be read as a plateau.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B23K (welding, soldering, and brazing) is by far the dominant branch, reflecting DED’s arc- and laser-based deposition roots. B33Y (additive manufacturing) and B22F (powder metallurgy) form a secondary tier, while branches such as C23C (coating and surface deposition) and H05H (plasma and particle accelerators) remain sparse — signalling under-explored adjacencies.
↗ 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.
Laser metal deposition welding process, parts form…
Provided is an oil, gas and/or petrochemical ferrous or non-ferrous material component including two or more segments of ferrous or non-ferrous components for joining, wherein the two or more segments are of the same or different materials, and laser metal deposition weldments bonding adjacent segments of said components together. Also provided are methods… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DED arc three-dimensional alloy metal powder print… | 20 |
| 2 | Distortion mitigation in directed energy deposition | 14 |
| 3 | 飞行器过渡端框架高精度电弧熔丝增材制造方法及其产品 | 13 |
| 4 | Distortion mitigation in directed energy deposition | 9 |
| 5 | Systems and methods for height control in laser me… | 8 |
| 6 | Laser metal deposition welding process, parts form… | 7 |
| 7 | Systems for Horizontal Additive Manufacturing and … | 4 |
| 8 | Distortion mitigation in directed energy deposition | 4 |
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 combination of a growth-stage lifecycle, moderate concentration, an absence of recorded co-filing alliances, and India as the lead filing jurisdiction creates a distinctive risk-opportunity profile for new entrants and incumbents alike.
Growth stage: annual filings still rising with no peak in sight
The lifecycle evidence places DED deposition-rate efficiency firmly in a growth stage, with a 35% increase in the recent filing window and no indication that annual volume has eased from a prior peak. For R&D teams, this means foundational claim space is still being staked — early movers in under-covered sub-techniques can still build defensible positions. The acceleration from near-zero filings before 2020 to double-digit annual volumes suggests the technology crossed a commercialisation threshold around that year.
Growth stageTop-heavy but not closed: a two-tier applicant structure
The top five filers hold 52% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, yet the gap between ranks 2 and 10 is narrow — most hold 2–3 patent families. This two-tier structure means that a focused filing campaign of even 5–8 families in a differentiated sub-area could move a new entrant into a meaningful competitive position relative to the mid-tier. The cluster of Indian academic institutions in the mid-tier also points to potential technology-transfer opportunities.
Moderate concentrationNo co-filing alliances recorded — an open ecosystem
The collaboration evidence shows no co-applicant filings in this corpus, which is unusual for a field with significant aerospace and energy sector interest. The absence of cross-institutional or cross-industry joint patents may reflect the early-stage competitive sensitivity of deposition-rate IP, or simply that partnerships are structured through licensing rather than joint filing. Either way, the ecosystem remains open — no incumbent consortium controls access.
Open ecosystemIndia leads filings; the US and EPO hold strategic coverage
India is the lead filing jurisdiction with 26 patent records, driven largely by academic institutions including Delhi Technological University, IIT Guwahati, and IIT Dhanbad. The United States follows with 22 records and Europe (EPO) with 16, reflecting where the dominant commercial players — Norsk Titanium, Relativity Space, GE Avio — seek enforceable protection. PCT filings (9 records) indicate that several applicants are preserving options for broader international coverage. China has only 1 record, a notable gap given its additive-manufacturing output broadly.
India · US · EPOGo 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.
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Norsk Titanium anchors the field; Relativity Space and GE Avio are new entrants closing quickly
The leader is differentiated by depth in laser and arc welding subclasses; challengers are entering via arc deposition for large-format structures, additive manufacturing process control, and powder-metallurgy-adjacent routes.
Norsk Titanium AS
Norsk Titanium AS holds 19 patent families — the largest position in this corpus — concentrated in laser welding (B23K 26), arc welding (B23K 9), and welding apparatus (B23K 37). Its momentum trend shows a sharp recent decline (▼ –81% vs. prior period), suggesting the company’s core filing campaign may have matured and its attention has shifted toward commercialisation or enforcement rather than new prosecution. Engineers assessing freedom-to-operate should treat Norsk Titanium’s arc and laser DED claims as the primary blocking landscape.
patent families: 19Relativity Space Inc
Relativity Space Inc holds 9 patent families and is recorded as a new entrant in the recent filing window, with all 8 recent-period families indicating a rapid ramp-up from a near-zero prior base. Its technical emphasis spans arc welding (B23K 9), powder metallurgy (B22F 10), and plasma processing (H05H 1) — a combination that reflects its metal 3D-printing-for-launch-vehicles strategy and distinguishes it from Norsk Titanium’s predominantly titanium wire-arc focus. GE Avio SRL (8 patent families, also a new entrant) is an equally important challenger, focused squarely on additive manufacturing process and apparatus (B33Y 30, B33Y 10) and powder metallurgy (B22F 12).
patent families: 9| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Norsk Titanium AS | 3 | ▼ -81% |
| Relativity Space Inc | 8 | ▲ new entrant |
| GE Avio S.r.l. | 7 | ▲ new entrant |
| Linde AG | 5 | ▲ new entrant |
| Narzedzia i Urzadzenia Wiertnicze Glinik Sp. z o.o. | 3 | ▲ new entrant |
| Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches at the edge of the dominant DED core
Several IPC classes adjacent to the dominant B23K/B33Y core carry low patent counts relative to their technical relevance to deposition-rate efficiency; these are observations of relative sparsity and should be evaluated against each team’s specific technical pathway before treating them as investment priorities.
C23C · Coating & surface deposition
With only 4 patent records and a 2% share among the top IPC classes, C23C is notably sparse despite its direct relevance to DED: deposition-rate efficiency is fundamentally a surface-build-rate problem, and coating science (thermal spray, CVD-adjacent hybrid processes) shares significant process physics with wire-arc and laser DED. An entrant with expertise in high-velocity thermal spray or cold-spray hybridisation could find limited prior art in this sub-space, though technical overlap with B23K claims must be mapped carefully before concluding that claim space is genuinely open.
Search this in Eureka →H05H · Plasma & particle accelerators
H05H accounts for only 4 patent records in this corpus, yet plasma-transferred-arc and plasma-arc welding are among the highest-deposition-rate DED variants available. Relativity Space’s presence in this subclass (H05H 1) suggests awareness of the route, but the overall filing density remains low. Teams developing plasma-arc DED for refractory metals or large-format structural parts may find a relatively uncrowded sub-space, provided they can differentiate from Relativity Space’s existing claims and the broader B23K 9 arc-welding block held by multiple applicants.
Search this in Eureka →Frequently asked questions
The evidence base contains 85 patent families in scope for DED deposition-rate efficiency, spanning filings across India, the United States, Europe, WIPO, and several other jurisdictions.
Norsk Titanium AS leads with 19 patent families, concentrated in laser welding, arc welding, and welding apparatus subclasses. Its recent filing momentum has declined sharply, suggesting a shift from active prosecution toward commercialisation.
Yes. The lifecycle evidence places the field in a growth stage, with a 35% increase in the recent filing window. Annual filings accelerated from near zero before 2020 to double-digit volumes by 2023–2024. The most recent 18–24 months are understated due to publication lag.
India is the lead filing jurisdiction with 26 patent records, driven largely by academic institutions. The United States follows with 22 records, and Europe (EPO) holds 16. PCT filings (9 records) indicate several applicants are preserving broader international coverage options. China has only 1 record.
B23K (welding, soldering, and brazing) is the dominant IPC class with 78 patent records, reflecting DED’s arc- and laser-based roots. B33Y (additive manufacturing, 49 records) and B22F (powder metallurgy, 37 records) form a substantial secondary tier. Sparse branches include C23C, H05H, C22C, and B23P.
No co-applicant filings are recorded in the evidence base. The ecosystem shows no incumbent consortium controlling access through joint patents, which may indicate that partnerships in this field are structured through licensing agreements rather than co-filed applications.
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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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