Direct Seawater Electrolysis Materials Patents: Leaders & Gaps 2026
- 36 families total, filed almost entirely from 2020 onward, with 2025 the peak year at 16 filings so far.
- China dominates the filing venue, with 30 of 36 records routed through the China receiving office against 4 in India and 2 at the EPO.
- Co-filing is rare, with only two co-assignee pairs found across the whole corpus, pointing to isolated, single-institution R&D rather than joint development.
What this landscape covers
Direct seawater electrolysis skips the desalination step and runs electrolysis on raw or lightly treated seawater, which forces the anode and membrane materials to survive chlorine evolution and chloride-driven corrosion that freshwater electrolysers never see. This landscape tracks patent activity at the intersection of chlorine-blocking layers, corrosion-resistant catalysts, selective anode materials and general electrode material claims, filtered to the electrolytic-production and corrosion-prevention IPC classes that matter for this chemistry.
The dataset is small and young: 36 families total, almost all filed since 2020, concentrated in a narrow set of IPC subclasses and receiving offices. That size matters for how the findings should be read — this is a landscape still being drawn, not a mature field with settled leaders.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Filings were essentially absent before 2020 and rose sharply into 2025, the peak year on record. The IPC spread shows the field is still anchored almost entirely in one subclass, with only thin activity spilling into adjacent nanotechnology, electroplating and battery classes.
A late, steep filing curve
Filings ran near zero through 2017-2019, reached a midpoint of 4 in 2022, and climbed to 16 in 2025 — the single peak year in the dataset. 2026 shows only 3 filings so far, which is expected given typical 18-month publication lag rather than a sign of a slowdown.
One dominant subclass, thin adjacencies
Every one of the 36 records sits in C25B (electrolytic production of compounds), the core class for seawater electrolysis. B82Y (nanotechnology) appears in 7 records, reflecting nanostructured catalyst claims, while C25D, B22F, C01B, C01G, H01M and B22D each register only 1-3 records — evidence of exploratory rather than established claim coverage in those adjacent areas.
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 Direct Seawater Electrolysis Advanced Materials with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about direct seawater electrolysis advanced materials and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaMost-cited records and a representative filing
EP4506489A1 — Noble-metal single-atom nanomaterial on a non-noble metal substrate
Filed by Shenzhen Hingear Energy, this filing covers a nanomaterial with noble metal single atoms dispersed on the surface of a non-noble metal substrate, with the single atoms coordinated with both halogen and oxygen. The substrate's large specific surface area and electrochemical active area are paired with single-atom dispersion of the noble metal to raise catalytic efficiency while limiting noble-metal loading.Published 2025-02-12; one of only two EPO-routed filings in this dataset.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CN113026045A | 一种泡沫镍负载Ni(OH)<sub>2</sub>/FeOOH纳米花材料制备方法 | 16 |
| 2 | CN119040945A | 一种常温常压下快速合成大电流电解海水自支撑式耐腐蚀阳极催化剂的方法 | 3 |
| 3 | CN121023563A | 一种碱式氯化钴@钴铁尖晶石复合电极的制备方法与电解海水制氢应用 | 1 |
| 4 | CN120006338A | 一种用于真实海水体系下稳定电解产氢的镍基电极材料及其制备方法 | 1 |
| 5 | CN118497809A | 一种镍铁氮化物电极材料及其制备方法和应用 | 1 |
| 6 | CN118345365A | 一种用于海水电解的不锈钢基阳极析氧电极及其制备方法 | 1 |
| 7 | CN117468044A | 一种核壳结构电极材料的制备方法 | 1 |
| 8 | CN115094435A | 一种海水电解装置 | 1 |
Citation counts favour older records in any searched corpus; treat them as a signal of influence within this dataset, not as a ranking 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. Publication numbers are shown where the record carries one (8 of 8 rows); clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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The trend and citation data point to a field where claim space is still open in most directions except the catalyst-material core, and where a small number of Chinese research institutions are setting the pace.
Growth is recent and steep, not sustained
The jump from a 2022 midpoint of 4 filings to 16 in 2025 shows the field only recently attracted sustained patenting interest. With 2026 data still incomplete, it is too early to call this a plateau or a continuing climb.
Filing activity is heavily China-centred
China accounts for the large majority of receiving-office activity, with India and the EPO each registering single-digit counts. That skew suggests domestic Chinese research priorities are currently driving the technology's direction more than multinational corporate strategy.
One nickel-foam catalyst record anchors the field
CN113026045A, covering a nickel-foam-supported Ni(OH)2/FeOOH nanoflower material, draws far more citations than any other record in the set, making it a reference point for anyone claiming nickel-based composite catalysts.
Development is largely siloed
Only two co-assignee pairs appear across 36 families, both involving a research institute paired with a university or industrial partner. That scarcity of joint filings implies most work here is happening inside single labs rather than through cross-institutional programmes.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to direct seawater electrolysis advanced materials, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is active, and where the gate sits
Recent-year momentum is thin across the board: most named assignees show a single filing in the latest year or a full drop-off from the prior year, consistent with a young, still-fragmenting field rather than one with an established leader pulling away.
Tianfu Jiangxi Laboratory holds the only active latest-year filing
Tianfu Jiangxi Laboratory is the sole assignee in this dataset with a filing in the most recent year, and its year-over-year change is flat rather than growing. No other tracked assignee shows sustained multi-year output.
Several 2024-active assignees went quiet in the latest year
Hainan University, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (CAS), and Zhejiang University of Technology each show a -100% year-over-year change, meaning filings that existed in the prior year did not continue into the latest one.
The one strong pairing links a CAS institute and a university
The Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (CAS) and Zhejiang University of Technology form the strongest co-assignee pair in the dataset, filing together twice — a rare instance of sustained joint work in an otherwise siloed field.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Tianfu Jiangxi Laboratory | 1 | 0% |
| Hainan University | 0 | -100% |
| Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 0 | -100% |
| Qingdao Boliu Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Hainan Shenyuanhai New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Zhejiang University of Technology | 0 | -100% |
| General Research Institute for Nonferrous Metals Engineering & Technology Co., Ltd. | 0 | -100% |
| China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) | 0 | -100% |
Where to take this analysis
The raw counts here raise questions that only claim-level review and continued monitoring can answer.
Screen the nickel-foam catalyst claims
CN113026045A's citation lead makes its claim scope the first thing to check before filing anything using nickel-foam-supported nanoflower composites.
Run a claim comparison in EurekaTrack the 2026 filings as they publish
With 2026 data still partial, re-checking this landscape in a few months will show whether the 2025 peak was a one-off or the start of a sustained climb.
Set up filing alerts in EurekaMap the under-claimed branches
The thin IPC counts in C25D, B22F and H01M point to specific sub-areas where a first claim could still land cleanly.
Explore white space in EurekaCommon questions about this landscape
This dataset identifies 36 patent families published between 2015 and mid-2026 that combine seawater electrolysis search terms with chlorine-blocking, corrosion-resistant catalyst, selective anode or general electrode material claims within the relevant IPC classes. That is a small, young corpus rather than a mature field, and filing only became sustained from around 2020 onward. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the 2026 count of 3 understates actual filing activity for that year.
No single assignee shows sustained multi-year dominance in this dataset; the most recent year's only active filer is Tianfu Jiangxi Laboratory, and several previously active Chinese university and research-institute assignees show a full year-over-year drop to zero. The most-cited individual patent, CN113026045A, covering a nickel-foam-supported Ni(OH)2/FeOOH nanoflower catalyst, is a useful reference point for influence within the corpus even though its assignee is not the current top filer. Readers should treat leadership here as fluid rather than settled.
Thirty of the 36 records in this dataset were filed through the China receiving office, against four in India and two at the EPO. That concentration likely reflects where direct seawater electrolysis research funding and pilot programmes are currently strongest, largely at Chinese universities and CAS-affiliated institutes, rather than a global assessment of where seawater electrolysis will ultimately be commercialised. The small EPO and India counts are worth watching as early signs of the technology spreading to other jurisdictions.
Seawater contains high chloride concentrations, and running electrolysis directly on it risks chlorine evolution at the anode instead of the desired oxygen evolution, which corrodes electrodes and produces an unwanted, potentially hazardous byproduct. Chlorine-blocking layers and selective anode materials are designed to suppress that competing reaction while maintaining catalytic activity for hydrogen or oxygen evolution. This dataset's search terms specifically target patents addressing that problem, distinguishing them from generic freshwater electrolysis filings.
The IPC composition shows heavy concentration in C25B (electrolytic production of compounds, present in all 36 records) with only thin coverage in adjacent classes: C25D (electroplating, 3 records), B22F (powder metallurgy, 2), C01B and C01G (inorganic compounds, 2 each), and H01M (batteries and fuel cells, 2). Those thin adjacencies suggest under-claimed combinations, such as powder-metallurgy fabrication routes for corrosion-resistant anodes or battery-integrated seawater-stable electrodes. Any first claim in these areas should still be checked against the dominant C25B prior art before filing.
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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.