Desalination System Patent Landscape 2026
Desalination System Patent Landscape in 2026
The desalination systems patent field spans 9,928 patent families and is past its 2019 activity peak, with annual volumes easing on a multi-year basis; Toray Industries holds the largest portfolio among the top hundred filers, reflecting a moderately concentrated but still contested competitive landscape. Membrane separation and water treatment dominate the technology mix, while adjacent branches in electrolytic and catalytic processes remain comparatively sparse.
Toray Industries leads a moderately concentrated field
Toray Industries holds the top position among the hundred largest filers with 618 patent families, nearly 2.4× the volume of the second-ranked applicant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 262 patent families. The top five filers—Toray Industries, MIT, Hitachi, Doosan Heavy Industries, and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals—together account for 20% of the combined total across the hundred largest filers.
The gap between the leader and challengers is meaningful but not dominant: ranks two through ten are tightly bunched between 165 and 262 patent families, indicating a broad second tier where competitive repositioning is feasible. No single applicant exercises monopoly-level control over the landscape.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toray Industries Inc. | 618 | |
| 2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 262 | |
| 3 | Hitachi Ltd. | 251 | |
| 4 | DOOSAN HEAVY IND & CONSTR CO LTD | 208 | |
| 5 | King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals | 202 | |
| 6 | Gradiant Corporation | 188 | |
| 7 | Kurita Water Industries Ltd. | 174 | |
| 8 | IDE Technologies Ltd. | 167 | |
| 9 | Evoqua Water Technologies LLC | 166 | |
| 10 | IDE Water Technologies Ltd. | 165 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Nitto Denko Corporation | 165 | |
| 12 | General Electric Company | 145 | |
| 13 | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. | 141 | |
| 14 | Omya International AG | 131 | |
| 15 | KING ABDULLAH UNIV OF SCI & TECH | 122 | |
| 16 | TIANJIN SEA WATER DESALINATION & COMPLEX UTILIZATI… | 119 | |
| 17 | Toshiba Corporation | 111 | |
| 18 | Oasys Water Inc. | 108 | |
| 19 | BL Technology Inc. | 107 | |
| 20 | Ebara Corporation | 106 |
Toray’s position, built primarily on membrane and separation process patents, reflects decades of investment in reverse osmosis materials; challengers such as MIT and King Fahd University bring research-institution depth in process chemistry and novel separation routes, which shapes how technology directions evolve below the commercial leader.
Filing counts for the most recent 18–24 months are subject to publication lag and undercount actual inventive activity; apparent softness in 2024–2026 data should not be interpreted as a real-time signal of reduced investment.
Activity peaked in 2019; membrane and water treatment dominate the technology mix
The filing trend and technology composition charts together reveal a field that built scale through the late 2010s and has since moderated, while remaining overwhelmingly concentrated in two IPC classes that cover core separation science.
Annual filing trend
Annual filings reached their highest observed level around 2019 and have eased since; the field is in a declining phase on a multi-year basis. Data for 2024–2026 are materially undercounted due to publication lag and should not be read as acceleration of decline.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
C02F (water and wastewater treatment) and B01D (separation processes including filtration) together account for the large majority of patent records in this corpus, confirming membrane-based and physicochemical treatment as the structural core. Smaller but notable clusters appear in B01J (chemical and physical processes), C25B (electrolytic production), C01B (non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds), F03G (miscellaneous motors, relevant to energy recovery), and C08J (polymer processing for membrane materials), indicating active but lower-volume adjacent streams.
↗ 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.
Seawater desalination system and resourcezation sy…
The present invention discloses a seawater desalination system and resourcezation system. The seawater desalination system comprises a raw water tank, a seawater pretreatment device, a seawater desalination device, a desalination water tank and a nanofiltration recovery device; The resourcezation system comprises the seawater desalination system, a salt… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Interfacially synthesized reverse osmosis membrane | 1,162 |
| 2 | Method and apparatus for capacitive deionization a… | 368 |
| 3 | Water-mist blower cooling system and its new appli… | 363 |
| 4 | High water recovery membrane purification process | 341 |
| 5 | Method and apparatus for capacitive deionization, … | 301 |
| 6 | Method and apparatus for capacitive deionization a… | 267 |
| 7 | Filtration membranes, and related nano and/or micr… | 255 |
| 8 | Apparatus for the production of freshwater from ex… | 213 |
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
Four structural dimensions—maturity, concentration, collaboration, and geography—shape where defensible invention space remains and where entry costs are highest.
Field is in decline from a 2019 peak
Annual filing volumes have been easing back from a peak observed around 2019, placing the field in a declining phase. For R&D strategy this means core membrane and RO process spaces are heavily precedented; incremental improvements face a crowded prior-art landscape. Investment differentiation should target either adjacent technical branches or genuine performance step-changes rather than incremental membrane chemistry refinements.
Lifecycle: DeclineModerate concentration with a competitive second tier
The top five filers hold 20% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, and the leader Toray Industries at 618 patent families is well ahead but not prohibitively so. The second tier—MIT, Hitachi, Doosan, King Fahd University, Gradiant, Kurita, IDE Technologies, Evoqua, and Nitto Denko—each hold between 165 and 262 patent families, meaning no single challenger is more than a few years of focused filing away from closing the gap in a specific sub-segment.
Moderate concentrationMIT–King Fahd University is the dominant co-filing pair
The most active co-applicant relationship is between Massachusetts Institute of Technology and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals with 73 joint patent families, far exceeding all other pairs. The next most active collaborations involve Mitsubishi Heavy Industries with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering (16 families), General Electric with BL Technology (14 families), and Hitachi with Babcock Hitachi (10 families). These clusters indicate that academic–industry and parent–subsidiary co-development structures are the primary collaboration modes in this field.
Academic–industry pairsChina leads by filings; US and EPO are critical validation markets
China is the leading jurisdiction by patent-record volume, followed by the United States, Europe (EPO), and WIPO PCT filings. Australia, Japan, South Korea, India, and Israel also host meaningful volumes. This distribution reflects both the scale of Chinese domestic desalination deployment and the strategic importance of US and European markets for commercial licensing. Filers seeking global protection should prioritize at minimum China, US, EPO, and PCT routes.
China-led, globally distributedGo 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.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals | 73 |
| Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering Ltd. | 16 |
| General Electric Company | BL Technology Inc. | 14 |
| Hitachi Ltd. | Babcock Hitachi K.K. | 10 |
| Hitachi Ltd. | Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. | 9 |
| Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. | Arisawa Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | 9 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Singapore University of Technology and Design | 8 |
| IDE Technologies Ltd. | IDE Water Technologies Ltd. | 8 |
| Kurita Water Industries Ltd. | Nanyang Technological University | 7 |
| Hitachi Ltd. | JFE Holdings Inc. | 5 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Toray Industries leads on volume; MIT and King Fahd University drive research-institution momentum
The top players diverge sharply by trajectory: the portfolio leader is experiencing modest contraction while certain challengers, particularly King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, are expanding at pace.
Toray Industries
Toray Industries holds 618 patent families—the largest portfolio among the top hundred filers—concentrated across water and wastewater treatment (C02F 1), membrane separation (B01D 61), and membrane materials (B01D 71). Recent filing momentum shows a modest contraction (approximately –9% versus the prior period), consistent with a mature core portfolio rather than active drawdown. Toray’s depth in reverse osmosis membrane chemistry makes it the benchmark against which all entrants must differentiate.
families: 618King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals holds 202 patent families with recent filing momentum up approximately +50% versus the prior period—the strongest sustained growth rate among tracked applicants with an established base. Its technology emphasis spans water treatment (C02F 1), distillation-based separation (B01D 1), and process variants (C02F 103), reflecting strong investment in thermally driven and hybrid desalination routes suited to the Gulf region’s energy and water conditions. This trajectory positions it as the most rapidly growing institutional filer in the field.
families: 202| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Toray Industries Inc. | 21 | ▼ -9% |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 30 | ▬ -3% |
| IDE Technologies Ltd. | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals | 33 | ▲ +50% |
| Gradiant Corporation | 16 | ▼ -58% |
| Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| Kurita Water Industries Ltd. | 27 | ▼ -16% |
Under-served branches in electrolytic, catalytic, and energy-recovery processes
Several IPC branches adjacent to the dominant membrane and water-treatment core carry relatively low patent-record counts, representing areas where the prior-art landscape is less dense; these are observations of relative sparsity rather than validated commercial opportunities.
C25B · Electrolytic production of compounds
With 477 patent records against the much larger volumes in C02F and B01D, electrolytic desalination and brine-to-chemicals conversion is an under-served branch. Electrochemical approaches—including capacitive deionization and electrodialysis—appear in the top-cited patents, signalling technical relevance. A focused filing program in electrode materials, cell architecture, or selective ion extraction could establish a defensible position without directly confronting the RO membrane incumbents. Entry path: target novel electrode chemistries or integrated brine-valorisation process claims.
Search this in Eureka →F03G · Spring/weight & miscellaneous motors (energy recovery)
F03G carries 356 patent records, reflecting activity around mechanical energy recovery devices used in high-pressure desalination systems. Given that energy cost is the primary operational constraint in reverse osmosis, innovations in pressure-exchange or isobaric energy recovery that fall under F03G could command significant commercial value. The sparse prior-art base relative to the field’s scale suggests that novel energy-recovery mechanical architectures are not yet crowded. Entry path: focus on integration of energy recovery with variable renewable power sources, which also links to F24S and H02S branches.
Search this in Eureka →How leading applicants differ by technology route
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | C02F 1 · Water & wastewater treatment | C02F 103 · Water & wastewater treatment | B01D 61 · Separation processes (filtration etc.) | C02F 9 · Water & wastewater treatment | B01D 71 · Separation processes (filtration etc.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toray Industries Inc. | Strong · 303 | Absent | Strong · 222 | Emerging · 22 | Strong · 183 |
| Hitachi Ltd. | Strong · 197 | Absent | Strong · 161 | Emerging · 24 | Absent |
| IDE Water Technologies Ltd. | Strong · 112 | Strong · 72 | Strong · 77 | Absent | Absent |
| Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., Ltd. | Strong · 173 | Moderate · 57 | Absent | Emerging · 24 | Absent |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Strong · 167 | Absent | Strong · 86 | Absent | Absent |
| Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. | Strong · 148 | Absent | Strong · 84 | Absent | Absent |
| King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals | Strong · 155 | Moderate · 73 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 9,928 patent families in scope across global jurisdictions, with China, the United States, and Europe (EPO) as the leading filing destinations.
Toray Industries holds the largest portfolio among the top hundred filers with 618 patent families, concentrated in membrane separation and water treatment processes.
Annual filing volumes peaked around 2019 and have been easing since, placing the field in a declining phase on a multi-year basis. Data for 2024–2026 are undercounted due to publication lag and should not be treated as definitive evidence of the current rate of decline.
The most active co-applicant pair is Massachusetts Institute of Technology and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals with 73 joint patent families. Other notable collaborations include Mitsubishi Heavy Industries with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering (16 families) and General Electric with BL Technology (14 families).
C02F (water and wastewater treatment) and B01D (separation processes including filtration) dominate by patent-record count. Adjacent branches with lower but notable activity include B01J (chemical/physical processes), C25B (electrolytic production), C01B (non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds), F03G (miscellaneous motors relevant to energy recovery), and C08J (polymer processing for membrane materials).
Based on relative patent-record counts, C25B (electrolytic production including electrochemical desalination), F03G (mechanical energy recovery devices), B01J (catalytic and physical process innovations), and C08J (advanced polymer processing for membrane fabrication) carry lower filing volumes compared to the dominant classes, indicating comparatively less-crowded prior-art environments.
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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.