Deep Geological Disposal Patents: Who Leads, Where Gaps Are 2026
Deep geological disposal patents: engineered barriers, canister corrosion and the safety case
One assignee dominates. the leading filer holds 11 of 16 records in scope, with the top 5 combined accounting for 93.8% of all records. Filings peaked at 4 in 2020, the highest single year in the window. From 2021 to 2024 filings dropped 100%, a decline that should be read cautiously: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 and 2026 figures are still incomplete and are not yet evidence of a genuine slowdown.
- 1深度隔离有限公司68.8%
- 2韩国原子力研究院6.3%
- 3核工业北京地质研究院6.3%
- 4TSAI CHAO MING6.3%
- 5SVENSK KARNBRANSLEHANTERING6.3%
See the full deep geological disposal analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Common questions about deep geological disposal patents
Who holds the most patents in deep geological disposal technology?
The dataset’s assignee ranking shows one filer well ahead of the rest, holding 11 of the 16 records in scope. The remaining five ranked assignees hold small, mostly single-digit counts, with the fifth-place holder at just 1 record. This means the field has a clear leader but a very thin trailing group rather than several closely matched competitors.
Is patent filing in deep geological disposal increasing or slowing down?
Filings peaked at 4 in 2020 and fell to 0 by 2024, a 100% drop over that three-year span. However, patent publication typically lags actual filing by around 18 months, so the low counts in 2025 and 2026 mostly reflect applications still working through the publication pipeline rather than a confirmed halt in R&D. Any conclusion about a slowdown should rest on 2024 and earlier data, not the most recent two years.
What technology areas do these patents actually cover?
Most records, 81.3% of the 16 in scope, are classified under G21F, which covers radiation protection and shielding — this includes canister, buffer and backfill engineering. Smaller shares sit in earth and rock drilling (E21B, 18.8%), solid waste disposal methods (B09B, 18.8%) and materials analysis and testing (G01N, 12.5%), with ceramics and container packaging each appearing in only a single record.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Deep Geological Disposal covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.