EDLC Low-Cost Materials Patent Landscape 2026
The EDLC low-cost materials patent field is fragmented across a wide pool of university and corporate filers, with no single applicant commanding a dominant share; Nanotek Instruments Group leads the ranking but holds only a modest portion of the corpus. Activity peaked in 2019 and has since eased, with China the dominant filing jurisdiction by a wide margin.
Fragmented field led by Nanotek Instruments Group, with Chinese universities forming the second tier
Nanotek Instruments Group leads the applicant ranking with 9 patent records, followed by a cluster of competitors — Elna Co. Ltd., AGC Inc., and Ivan Araujo Dayrell — each with 6 patent records. The top five applicants together account for 18% of the combined total of the hundred largest filers, indicating a structurally fragmented competitive landscape.
No single entity has established a commanding position. The gap between the leader and the second tier is narrow, and the second tier itself is broad, including both Japanese materials companies and Chinese universities. This spread means that any well-resourced newcomer can enter without facing a concentrated IP blockade.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nanotek Instruments Group LLC | 9 | |
| 2 | Elna Co. Ltd. | 6 | |
| 3 | AGC Inc. | 6 | |
| 4 | Ivan Araujo Dayrell | 6 | |
| 5 | South China University of Technology | 5 | |
| 6 | Fuzhou University | 4 | |
| 7 | JX NIPPON OIL & ENERGY CORP | 4 | |
| 8 | Jiangsu University | 4 | |
| 9 | Ivan Araujo Dayrell | 3 | |
| 10 | Honda Motor Co. Ltd. | 3 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Jilin University | 3 | |
| 12 | WUHAN UNIV OF SCI & TECH | 3 | |
| 13 | Changzhou University | 3 | |
| 14 | North Minzu University | 3 | |
| 15 | Sumitomo Seika Chemicals Co. Ltd. | 3 | |
| 16 | National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) | 3 | |
| 17 | Guilin University of Electronic Technology | 3 | |
| 18 | Wenzhou University | 3 | |
| 19 | Anhui University of Technology | 3 | |
| 20 | Kuraray Co. Ltd. | 3 |
The leaders’ positions suggest divergent strategic orientations: corporate filers such as Elna and AGC focus on device-level capacitor IP, while Chinese academic institutions are building materials-process IP. This structural split creates limited cross-blocking risk but also signals that commercial-scale, low-cost process IP remains underdeveloped.
Filings from approximately 2024 onward are subject to publication lag and likely under-represent actual activity; the apparent 2026 partial-year count should not be read as a further decline. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filing activity eased from its 2019 peak; capacitor-device IPC dominates but materials branches are meaningful
The annual filing trend and technology composition charts together reveal a field that expanded sharply through 2019 and has since moderated, while remaining anchored in capacitor-device classification with a visible tail of carbon and inorganic materials work.
Annual filing trend
Filings rose to a peak of 27 records in 2019, then fell and have fluctuated since. The most recent 18–24 months (2024–2026) are affected by publication lag, so the partial counts for those years understate true activity and should not be interpreted as a continued decline.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01G (Capacitors) accounts for the large majority of classified records, confirming that most filers anchor their claims at the device level. C01B (Non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds, including carbon materials) forms the most significant secondary branch, reflecting the centrality of activated carbon and graphene to low-cost electrode research. Smaller branches — H01M, B82Y, B01J — point to adjacent work in battery hybrids, nanotechnology, and catalytic synthesis.
↗ 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.
BINDER FÜR ELEKTRODE EINES ELEKTRISCHEN DOPPELSCHI…
A binder for an electric double-layer capacitor electrode according to the present invention includes a copolymer of vinyl alcohol and an alkali metal-neutralized product of ethylene-unsaturated carboxylic acid. (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Supercapacitor with high energy density | 119 |
| 2 | Process for producing graphene foam supercapacitor… | 101 |
| 3 | Activated carbon, method for preparing the same, a… | 74 |
| 4 | Multi-layer type electric double-layer capacitor | 63 |
| 5 | Supercapacitor having an integral 3D graphene-carb… | 58 |
| 6 | Multi-layer based new conceptual battery type supe… | 52 |
| 7 | 一种制备生物质多孔氮掺杂碳材料的工艺以及超级电容器电极的制备方法 | 44 |
| 8 | Electric double-layer capacitor | 40 |
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 and technology structure means for R&D investment
Four structural observations — maturity, concentration, collaboration, and geography — shape where new IP investment is most and least defensible in EDLC low-cost materials.
Declining phase: annual volume has eased from the 2019 peak
The lifecycle evidence classifies this field as Decline, with annual filings easing back from the 2019 peak of 27 records. For an R&D team, this signals that the foundational IP layer for mainstream carbon-electrode EDLCs is maturing, and incremental claims in that space face crowded prior art. Investment value now lies in adjacent or next-generation material classes rather than core activated-carbon electrode formulations.
Lifecycle: DeclineLow concentration: top five hold only 18% share among the hundred largest filers
With the top five filers collectively representing 18% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, there is no entrenched IP oligopoly. The leadership margin is thin — the gap between first place (9 patent records) and the next tier (6 each) is small. This low concentration lowers freedom-to-operate risk for a new entrant but also means existing portfolios provide limited defensive moats, so speed of filing in emerging sub-areas matters.
Low concentrationOne significant co-filing pair: Elna Co. Ltd. and AGC Inc.
The most active co-applicant relationship is between Elna Co. Ltd. and AGC Inc., who jointly filed 6 records — the strongest collaboration signal in the dataset. A secondary pairing exists between Jiangsu University and Changzhou University with 2 joint records. The Elna–AGC partnership is notable because it links a capacitor manufacturer with a glass and advanced-materials conglomerate, suggesting a supply-chain integration strategy for electrode or electrolyte materials.
Corporate + academic pairsChina dominates filing activity; US and India are secondary markets
China accounts for 97 patent records — by far the largest jurisdiction — reflecting the concentration of both university research and manufacturing-oriented filings. The United States is the second jurisdiction with 36 records, followed by India with 20. Europe (EPO) and Japan each account for 11 records. This distribution means that IP protection strategies outside China and the US would cover only a thin slice of current activity, though PCT filings (5 records) indicate some applicants are pursuing broader geographic coverage.
China-led, US secondaryGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Elna Co. Ltd. | AGC Inc. | 6 |
| Jiangsu University | Changzhou University | 2 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Nanotek Instruments Group leads on graphene-composite routes; Elna and AGC anchor the Japanese device-level tier
The leader and principal challenger occupy distinct technology lanes: Nanotek emphasizes novel carbon and polymer composite electrode IP, while Elna and AGC — filing jointly — concentrate on established capacitor-device classifications.
Nanotek Instruments Group LLC
Nanotek Instruments Group holds 9 patent records, the highest count in the ranking. Its technology focus is centered on H01G 11 (electrochemical capacitors, 5 records), with a secondary emphasis on condensation polymer classes C08G 61 and C08G 73 (2 records each), signaling work on conductive polymer binders and composite electrode matrices. The applicant momentum data does not flag a recent surge for Nanotek, suggesting a steady rather than accelerating portfolio trajectory.
9 patent recordsElna Co. Ltd. & AGC Inc.
Elna Co. Ltd. and AGC Inc. each hold 6 patent records and are the field’s most active co-filing pair with 6 jointly attributed records. Both are concentrated entirely on H01G 11 and H01G 9 (conventional and electrochemical capacitor classes), reflecting a device-integration rather than materials-synthesis orientation. This positions the pair as IP holders on manufacturable cell and module designs rather than upstream material processes, offering a different competitive moat from the academic materials filers.
6 patent records each| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Jiangsu University | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches in battery-hybrid integration, nanotechnology, and catalytic synthesis
Five IPC branches appear at low share relative to the dominant H01G core. Two carry the clearest combination of technical relevance and sparse coverage, making them worth monitoring for a new IP positioning effort.
H01M · Battery-EDLC hybrid and cell integration
H01M (Batteries, cells and fuel cells) has only 9 patent records in this corpus — a sparse footprint for a branch with direct commercial relevance to hybrid energy-storage architectures. Low-cost EDLC materials that also serve lithium-ion or sodium-ion hybrid cells represent a high-value intersection, and the thin existing IP layer means filing room remains. An entry path exists through electrode materials designed for dual-function operation, or through cell-level integration claims covering cost-reduced separators and current collectors shared between EDLC and battery cells.
Search this in Eureka →B82Y · Nanotechnology applications for EDLC electrodes
B82Y (Nanotechnology applications) records only 8 patent records in the corpus, a low share given that nanostructured carbons — graphene, carbon nanotubes, and hierarchical porous carbons — are central to next-generation low-cost EDLC electrodes. The sparsity may reflect that most nanocarbon EDLC work is classified primarily under H01G or C01B, but it also indicates that claims framed explicitly at the nanoscale application level are underrepresented. An entry path exists through nano-engineering of biomass-derived or waste-derived precursors, which aligns with both the low-cost and nanotechnology framing and has few current claimants.
Search this in Eureka →How leading filers differ across capacitor-device, carbon-materials, and polymer composite routes
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | H01G 11 · Capacitors | C01B 32 · Non-metallic elements & inorganic compounds | H01G 9 · Capacitors | C01B 31 · Non-metallic elements & inorganic compounds | H01M 4 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AGC Inc. | Strong · 6 | Absent | Strong · 6 | Absent | Absent |
| Elna Co. Ltd. | Strong · 6 | Absent | Strong · 6 | Absent | Absent |
| JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation | Strong · 4 | Absent | Strong · 4 | Strong · 4 | Absent |
| South China University of Technology | Strong · 5 | Strong · 3 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Ivan Araujo Dayrell | Strong · 6 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Nanotek Instruments Inc. | Strong · 5 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Emerging · 1 |
Frequently asked questions
The evidence covers 138 patent families in scope for EDLC low-cost materials across the surveyed period.
Nanotek Instruments Group LLC leads the ranking with 9 patent records, ahead of Elna Co. Ltd., AGC Inc., and Ivan Araujo Dayrell, each with 6 patent records.
China is the dominant filing jurisdiction with 97 patent records, well ahead of the United States (36 records) and India (20 records).
The field is classified as Decline: annual filing volume has eased from its peak of 27 records in 2019. The most recent 18–24 months are subject to publication lag and may undercount recent activity.
H01G (Capacitors) is by far the most frequent branch. C01B (Non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds, covering carbon materials) is the leading secondary branch, followed by H01M, B82Y, and B01J at much lower counts.
Yes. The most active co-filing pair is Elna Co. Ltd. and AGC Inc., with 6 jointly attributed records — the strongest collaboration signal in the dataset. Jiangsu University and Changzhou University also filed 2 records jointly, representing a university-to-university pairing.
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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.
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