Electric & Hybrid Vessel Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
- Filing has plateaued, not grown. 2021 to 2024 filings held flat at 9 a year (0% change), with 2019 still the peak year at 23 filings — publication lag means 2025-26 figures will keep rising as filings catch up.
- Marine propulsion dominates the claim map. B63H covers 39.5% of the 162 records in scope, more than double the next largest class, H02J power supply and grid systems at 18.5%.
- The field is not consolidated. The leading assignee holds 11 records and the top 5 combined account for just 27.8% of all 162 records — a long tail of single- and few-filing entrants fills the rest.
Filing growth compares 2021 (9 records) with 2024 (9) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 162 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This landscape maps 162 published records filed between 2015 and 2026 that combine marine or hybrid-vessel electric systems with a second technical anchor: electric propulsion, onboard battery, cargo handling, berth control, offshore structure or subsea equipment. It spans propulsion control, power distribution, battery integration and ship auxiliary systems rather than any single component.
The scope covers commercial vessel electrification and adjacent offshore/subsea equipment, not automotive EV drivetrains adapted for marine use in isolation. Filings are tracked at the publication level, with receiving-office and technology-class detail drawn from the same 162-record set.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 162-record set: how filing activity has moved year over year, and how those records distribute across propulsion, power and battery-system technology classes.
Filing trend, 2017–2026
Annual filings ran from 6 in 2017 to a peak of 23 in 2019, then settled into a flatter pattern: 9 filings in both 2021 and 2024, a 0% change over that span. 2025 and 2026 show lower counts, but publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so those years are still filling in rather than signalling a genuine decline.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
B63H (marine propulsion & steering) appears in 39.5% of the 162 records, well ahead of H02J power supply and grid systems (18.5%) and H01M batteries, cells & fuel cells (16.7%). Because records can carry multiple IPC classes, these shares add up to more than 100% and should be read as claim overlap, not as a breakdown of the whole.
Shares are the percentage of the 162 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Electric & Hybrid Vessels Patent Landscape with Eureka
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Try EurekaThe most-cited records in this landscape
AU2021100354A4 — Method and system for determining failure mode risk of marine electric propulsion system
Filed by Harbin Engineering University, this record discloses a method for determining failure-mode risk in a marine electric propulsion system. It combines functional analysis and a hierarchical system model with failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), then applies expert knowledge, fuzzy linguistic terms and fuzzy number theory to compute a fuzzy risk priority number. Defuzzifying that number produces a ranked prioritisation of failure modes across the propulsion system.Filed 2021-04-15. A risk-assessment and prioritisation method layered on top of propulsion system architecture, rather than a claim on the propulsion hardware itself.
View full filing| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20100125383A1 | Electronic method of controlling propulsion and regeneration for electric, hybrid-electric and diesel-electri… | 116 |
| 2 | US6188139B1 | Integrated marine power distribution arrangement | 93 |
| 3 | JP2006129594A | Control method for marine electric propulsion system and apparatus therefor | 60 |
| 4 | US20120101671A1 | Electronic system and method of automating, controlling, and optimizing the operation of one or more energy s… | 55 |
| 5 | JP2008024187A | Marine electric propulsion system | 50 |
| 6 | EP1022218A2 | Marine power distribution arrangement | 41 |
| 7 | US20160059949A1 | Sternboard drive for marine electric propulsion | 39 |
| 8 | WO2011100654A2 | Electric powered surfboard propulsion and control systems | 29 |
| 9 | US4808835A | Power generation cassette type power plant for marine electric propulsion and a controller thereof | 29 |
| 10 | US3261591A | Automatic self-tensioning winch | 29 |
Citation counts accumulate over time, so older records such as the two US filings from the 2000s and 2010s lead the table by default. Treat citation rank as a signal of historical influence on the field, not of current commercial relevance.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for a filing decision
Three findings that shape where a new filing would sit relative to existing claim density.
Leadership without lock-up
The leading assignee holds 11 records out of 162, and the top 5 combined reach only 27.8% of the field. That is real leadership, but not the kind of concentration that forecloses entry — 95 companies appear in the ranking, most with only a handful of filings each.
Propulsion control is the densest claim space
B63H covers close to two in five records, meaning any new propulsion-control or steering-integration filing is entering the most crowded part of this landscape. H02J power supply (18.5%) and H01M batteries (16.7%) are next, but at roughly half the density.
A plateau, not a slowdown
Filings held flat at 9 a year from 2021 to 2024 after peaking at 23 in 2019. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the lower counts shown for 2025-26 should not be read as a genuine drop-off; they are still being backfilled.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to electric & hybrid vessels patent landscape, with the prior art for and against each one.
The assignee landscape
95 companies appear in the ranking behind these 162 records, from national research institutes and shipbuilders to newer electric-propulsion specialists. The leader holds 11 records; by tenth place the count has already fallen to 4, showing how quickly the ranking thins out.
A single-digit-percentage lead
The top-ranked assignee holds 11 of 162 records. That is enough to shape the propulsion-control conversation but far short of the kind of dominance that would force competitors to design entirely around one portfolio.
The top 10 barely clears two-fifths
Combined, the ten most active assignees account for 43.8% of all 162 records. The remaining majority is spread across dozens of companies with only one or a few filings each, typical of a technology area still being staked out rather than owned.
Co-filing is rare but present
Only 9 co-assignee pairs appear across the dataset, mostly single instances rather than repeated partnerships. Joint filing is not yet a common strategy here, which leaves collaborative filing structures relatively open.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Spear Power Systems | 0 | — |
| FLUID POWER AI INC | 0 | -100% |
| Subsea 7 Norway AS | 0 | — |
| Wuhan Marine Electric Propulsion Research Institute | 0 | — |
| 1847 SUS ENG LTD | 0 | — |
| CAOUETTE PIERRE | 0 | — |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) | 0 | — |
| Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corporation | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether you are scoping a filing, tracking a competitor, or assessing freedom to operate.
Check claim density before drafting
B63H propulsion and steering claims are the densest part of this landscape at 39.5% of records. Before drafting new propulsion-control claims, review how existing filings in that class are structured to avoid overlapping language.
Explore propulsion claims in EurekaWatch the under-claimed branches
Berth-side power, subsea equipment interfacing and cargo-handling energy recovery show thinner claim coverage than the propulsion and battery core. These are reasonable places to scope a first-mover filing.
Run a white-space search in EurekaTrack the long tail, not just the leader
With 95 ranked assignees and the leader holding only 11 records, competitive tracking needs to cover more than the top few names to catch emerging entrants.
Set up assignee monitoring in EurekaCommon questions about electric and hybrid vessel patents
No single company dominates this field. The top-ranked assignee holds 11 of the 162 records in scope, and the top 5 combined reach only 27.8% of all records. Ninety-five companies appear across the full ranking, including shipbuilders, national research institutes and newer electric-propulsion specialists, so competitive tracking needs to look well beyond the top few names to catch where activity is actually shifting.
Filings peaked in 2019 at 23 in a single year, then settled into a flatter pattern, holding at 9 filings in both 2021 and 2024, a 0% change over that span. Lower counts shown for 2025 and 2026 should not be read as a slowdown: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so recent years are still being backfilled as more filings publish.
Marine propulsion and steering (IPC class B63H) is by far the densest, appearing in 39.5% of the 162 records in scope. Power supply and grid systems (H02J) follow at 18.5%, and batteries, cells and fuel cells (H01M) at 16.7%. Because a single record can carry multiple IPC classes, these percentages overlap rather than summing to 100%, which reflects how tightly propulsion, power and battery claims are typically bundled together in this space.
Relative to the dense propulsion and battery core, branches such as berth-side shore power integration, subsea equipment power interfacing, cargo-handling energy recovery and hybrid drivetrain fault diagnostics show thinner claim coverage. These are not unclaimed, but they carry less filing density than the core classes, which makes them reasonable areas to scope before committing to a propulsion-control claim that will compete with a crowded field.
AU2021100354A4, filed by Harbin Engineering University, discloses a method for assessing failure-mode risk in marine electric propulsion systems using fuzzy FMEA analysis. It claims a risk-prioritisation methodology layered on top of propulsion system architecture, not the propulsion hardware or control electronics themselves. A new filing on propulsion control or battery integration would not automatically conflict with it, though anyone building a failure-mode risk-scoring tool for marine propulsion should review its claim scope closely.
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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.