EDLC Nano-Carbon Electrode Patent Landscape 2026
The EDLC nano-carbon electrode patent space is concentrated, with a single commercial entity holding a dominant share among the top filers; the field has reached a maturity plateau following a 2018 peak, with annual volume easing since but multi-year activity remaining substantive. Academic institutions and university spinouts are the second most active tier, signaling that fundamental innovation remains research-driven even as commercial filings stabilize.
Nanotek Instruments leads a field split between one commercial frontrunner and a broad academic tier
Nanotek Instruments Group LLC sits clearly at the top of the applicant ranking with 40 patent records, more than three times the count of the next-ranked filers. The Regents of the University of California and Avery Dennison Retail Information Services each follow with 12 patent records, placing them as co-second-tier challengers at roughly one-third the leader’s volume.
The top five filers together account for 25% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, indicating moderate concentration: one entity dominates, but the remaining share is distributed across a diverse set of universities, national laboratories, and smaller commercial players. No single challenger has yet mounted a filing campaign of comparable scale to the leader.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nanotek Instruments Group LLC | 40 | |
| 2 | Avery Dennison Retail Information Services LLC | 12 | |
| 3 | Regents of the University of California | 12 | |
| 4 | The Research Foundation for the State University of New York | 7 | |
| 5 | Analog Devices Inc | 6 | |
| 6 | University of Technology Sydney | 6 | |
| 7 | University of Washington | 6 | |
| 8 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 6 | |
| 9 | Pocell Tech Ltd | 6 | |
| 10 | Honeycomb Battery Co | 5 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | COUNCIL OF SCI & IND RES | 5 | |
| 12 | Nanotek Instruments Inc | 4 | |
| 13 | Energ2 Inc | 4 | |
| 14 | National University of Defense Technology | 4 | |
| 15 | Harbin Institute of Technology | 4 | |
| 16 | Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee | 4 | |
| 17 | Fudan University | 4 | |
| 18 | KOREA ADVANCED INST OF SCI & TECH | 4 | |
| 19 | Korea Electric Power Corporation | 4 | |
| 20 | KOREA INST OF CERAMIC ENG & TECH | 4 |
Nanotek’s position implies deep, sustained investment in EDLC electrode architecture and graphene-based capacitor materials, while the broad academic presence — MIT, University of Washington, University of Technology Sydney, and several Korean and Chinese institutions — signals that the knowledge frontier remains partially open to new entrants with differentiated synthesis or materials routes.
Filing data for approximately the last 18 to 24 months should be treated as incomplete due to standard patent publication lag; apparent softness in the most recent years does not necessarily indicate reduced inventive activity.
Activity plateaued after a 2018 peak; capacitor IPC classes dominate with nanotechnology and carbon chemistry as secondary branches
The annual filing trend reveals a field that surged to a 2018 high and has since settled into a lower, irregular annual cadence. The technology composition is heavily anchored in H01G (Capacitors) with meaningful secondary coverage in B82Y (Nanotechnology applications) and C01B (Non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds), reflecting the dual electrochemistry and materials-science character of the domain.
Annual filing trend
Filings peaked in 2018 and have oscillated at reduced levels since; the 2023–2026 data should be read cautiously given publication lag — the apparent trough in those years likely understates true filing activity.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01G (Capacitors) is the dominant IPC branch by a wide margin, underscoring the primary supercapacitor application; B82Y (Nanotechnology applications) and C01B (Non-metallic elements) form a secondary cluster reflecting carbon nanomaterial synthesis work, while H01M (Batteries, cells and fuel cells) records a notable share, pointing to hybrid energy-storage architectures.
↗ 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.
Method for selecting nanoporous carbon material fo…
A method of selecting the nanoporous carbon material for at least one of the polarizable electrodes (positive and/or negative) of EDLC with given organic electrolyte is suggested. The method includes providing of a number of nanoporous carbon materials, which can potentially be used for manufacturing the EDLC electrodes, impregnating the materials with the… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
Open this patent in Eureka →| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Supercapacitor using electrode of new material and… | 129 |
| 2 | Process for producing graphene foam supercapacitor… | 101 |
| 3 | Production process for a supercapacitor having a h… | 75 |
| 4 | 一种钴插层硫化钼二次电池材料及其制备方法和应用 | 70 |
| 5 | Supercapacitor having an integral 3D graphene-carb… | 58 |
| 6 | Supercapacitor devices having composite electrodes… | 57 |
| 7 | Electric double layer capacitance device | 50 |
| 8 | Surface-mediated lithium ion-exchanging energy st… | 46 |
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 mature filing curve, a dominant single incumbent, active academic co-development, and a US-China duopoly in jurisdictional coverage defines the strategic landscape. Engineers evaluating entry points should weigh the incumbent’s depth in core graphene-capacitor claims against the relative openness of adjacent materials and system-integration branches.
Field has plateaued near its 2018 filing peak
The lifecycle stage is Maturity: annual filings have plateaued near their peak, which was reached in 2018. This means the core EDLC nano-carbon electrode design space is largely staked out by existing filers, and incremental claims in the dominant H01G branch face a dense prior-art environment. New entrants are more likely to find freedom-to-operate in adjacent materials classes or system-level integration rather than in core electrode architecture.
Mature / plateauedOne dominant commercial player, fragmented academic second tier
Nanotek Instruments Group LLC holds 40 patent records — roughly three times the next-ranked filers — giving it a commanding position in the core capacitor branch. However, the top five filers account for only 25% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, meaning the remaining 75% is spread across dozens of universities and smaller companies. This fragmentation below the leader creates both freedom-to-operate zones and potential acquisition or licensing targets among the academic spinouts.
Moderate-to-high concentrationUniversity–industry co-development is a visible feature at the top tier
The most active co-filing relationship is between the University of Washington and Energ2 Inc, with 8 joint records, suggesting a tight academic–startup pipeline for activated-carbon electrode materials. MIT and Analog Devices Inc have co-filed 6 records, indicating an industry pull toward advanced capacitor integration with mixed-signal electronics. Individual inventors Zhamu Aruna and Jang Bor Z each have one co-filed record with Nanotek Instruments, reflecting the company’s roots in founder-driven graphene research.
Collaborative ecosystemUS and China dominate filings; India and PCT routes are meaningful secondary channels
The United States leads jurisdictional coverage followed closely by China, together accounting for the large majority of patent-record filings. India ranks third, reflecting strong academic filing activity from Indian technical institutes visible in the applicant ranking. WIPO PCT filings and South Korean records form a secondary protective ring, while European EPO coverage is comparatively limited — a potential gap for applicants seeking broad protection in EU markets.
US–China duopolyGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| University of Washington | Energ2 Inc | 8 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Analog Devices Inc | 6 |
| ZHAMU ARUNA | Nanotek Instruments Inc | 1 |
| JANG BOR Z | Nanotek Instruments Inc | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Nanotek Instruments leads on volume; MIT and Analog Devices are new entrants with hybrid focus
The leader tier is defined by Nanotek Instruments’ deep concentration in capacitor architecture, while the most notable momentum signals come from newer academic and commercial entrants emphasizing hybrid energy-storage and system-integration themes.
Nanotek Instruments Group LLC
With 40 patent records, Nanotek Instruments Group LLC holds the largest position in this corpus by a substantial margin. Its technology focus is concentrated in H01G 11 (Capacitors, 26 records), with secondary coverage in condensation polymers (C08G 61) and battery electrode materials (H01M 4), reflecting a deliberate effort to cover graphene-based electrode formulations across both supercapacitor and hybrid-cell applications. Momentum data does not flag a recent surge, consistent with the incumbent building a broad, stable portfolio over multiple years rather than an accelerating push.
patent records: 40Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MIT enters the evidence set with 6 patent records and is flagged as a new entrant in the recent filing window, co-filing with Analog Devices Inc (6 joint records together). Its technology emphasis spans H01G 11 (Capacitors, 6 records), H01M 4 (battery/cell electrodes, 5 records), and B82Y 30 (nanotechnology applications), indicating a hybrid energy-storage orientation that bridges supercapacitors and advanced battery chemistries. This academic–commercial pairing suggests a route toward near-term commercialization of novel nano-carbon electrode architectures.
patent records: 6| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Printed Energy Pty Ltd | 4 | ▲ new entrant |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 3 | ▲ new entrant |
| Analog Devices Inc | 3 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches adjacent to the dominant capacitor core
Several IPC branches adjacent to the dominant H01G capacitor class carry low patent-record counts and low share relative to the total, suggesting areas where the patent landscape is less densely occupied. The observations below reflect relative sparsity; technical and commercial value should be validated independently before treating them as investment priorities.
C23C · Coating and surface deposition
With only 7 patent records and a 1% share among the top branches, surface deposition methods for nano-carbon electrode layers are sparsely covered. Atomic-layer deposition and chemical vapor deposition of functional carbon coatings on current collectors or separator interfaces could improve capacitance uniformity and cycle stability. Existing work in H01G and C01B provides a technical foundation, and entry would likely require differentiating on deposition process parameters or novel precursor chemistries rather than on carbon material composition alone.
Search this in Eureka →H02J · Power supply and grid systems
Only 6 patent records address power supply and grid integration — a branch with direct relevance to EDLC deployment in fast-response grid buffers, regenerative braking, and UPS systems. The sparsity here likely reflects that most filers have focused on the electrode material rather than the system-level integration. As EDLC cells move from component to subsystem, power-management and balancing circuit claims under H02J could represent a relatively open route, particularly for applicants with both materials and power-electronics expertise.
Search this in Eureka →How leading applicants differ across technology routes
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | H01G 11 · Capacitors | B82Y 30 · Nanotechnology applications | C01B 32 · Non-metallic elements & inorganic compounds | H01M 4 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | B82Y 40 · Nanotechnology applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nanotek Instruments Inc | Strong · 26 | Absent | Emerging · 5 | Moderate · 6 | Absent |
| Regents of the University of California | Strong · 10 | Strong · 7 | Strong · 9 | Absent | Strong · 7 |
| Printed Energy Pty Ltd | Strong · 14 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 14 | Absent |
| Energ2 Inc | Strong · 8 | Absent | Moderate · 4 | Absent | Absent |
| University of Washington | Strong · 8 | Absent | Moderate · 4 | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus contains 227 patent families in scope. Patent-record counts used in applicant rankings can exceed this figure because a single family may be counted across multiple jurisdictions or IPC classes.
Nanotek Instruments Group LLC leads with 40 patent records, more than three times the count of the next-ranked applicants (the Regents of the University of California and Avery Dennison Retail Information Services, each with 12 records).
The United States and China are the two dominant filing jurisdictions, followed by India in third place. WIPO PCT and South Korea form a secondary layer, while European EPO coverage is comparatively limited.
The field reached a filing peak in 2018 and has since plateaued at lower annual volumes, placing it in a Maturity stage. The most recent 18 to 24 months of data are subject to publication lag, so apparent softness in 2023–2026 should not be read as confirmed decline.
H01G (Capacitors) is the dominant branch by a large margin, with secondary activity in B82Y (Nanotechnology applications), C01B (Non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds), and H01M (Batteries, cells and fuel cells), the last reflecting hybrid energy-storage architectures.
Yes. The most active co-filing pair is the University of Washington and Energ2 Inc with 8 joint records, followed by MIT and Analog Devices Inc with 6 joint records. Both pairings reflect academic-to-commercial technology transfer in nano-carbon electrode materials and integration.
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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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