Electric Double-Layer Capacitor Electrode Material Patent Landscape
Electric Double-Layer Capacitor Electrode Material Patent Landscape in 2026
This field is heavily concentrated among Japanese incumbents, with Honda Motor and Panasonic Holdings leading a top tier that collectively dominates the hundred largest filers. Annual filing volume has eased substantially from its 2017 peak, signaling a mature and contracting innovation cycle.
Japanese incumbents hold commanding, concentrated positions
Honda Motor Co. Ltd. leads the applicant ranking, followed closely by Panasonic Holdings Corp. and AGC Inc., forming a tight leading trio with no significant gap between the first and second positions.
The top five filers account for 29% of the combined patent records of the hundred largest filers, indicating moderate-to-high concentration at the top tier but a long tail of smaller contributors — consistent with a maturing, specialized technology domain.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honda Motor Co., Ltd. | 64 | |
| 2 | Panasonic Holdings Corp. | 62 | |
| 3 | AGC Inc. | 59 | |
| 4 | Nisshinbo Industries Inc. | 33 | |
| 5 | Elna Co., Ltd. | 32 | |
| 6 | NEC Corporation | 26 | |
| 7 | Tokin Corporation | 21 | |
| 8 | Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co., Inc. | 20 | |
| 9 | Kuraray Co., Ltd. | 20 | |
| 10 | Kyocera Corporation | 18 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Power Systems Co., Ltd. | 17 | |
| 12 | Kuraray Chemical Co., Ltd. | 16 | |
| 13 | Meidensha Corporation | 16 | |
| 14 | Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | 15 | |
| 15 | Nippon Chemi-Con Corporation | 15 | |
| 16 | National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) | 14 | |
| 17 | Isuzu Central Research Laboratory | 13 | |
| 18 | Toyota Motor Corporation | 13 | |
| 19 | Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation | 13 | |
| 20 | Ioxus Japan Co., Ltd. | 13 |
The leaders’ sustained positions reflect deep, long-built portfolios in capacitor and carbon-material science; new entrants face both a substantial prior-art barrier and a declining filing environment, raising the cost of differentiated positioning.
The most recent 18–24 months of filing data are subject to publication lag and will be revised upward as applications publish; apparent near-term volumes should not be treated as final. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Peak activity in 2017 followed by sustained contraction; capacitor IPC class dominates the mix
The filing trend reveals a field that peaked in 2017 and has since contracted sharply, while the technology composition confirms that core capacitor classifications still account for the overwhelming majority of activity.
Annual filing trend
Annual filings peaked in 2017 and declined by 43% over the recent window. The post-2022 figures — showing low single-digit annual counts — remain subject to publication lag and should be read as floor estimates rather than final levels.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01G (Capacitors) is the dominant classification by a wide margin, with C01B (Non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds, covering carbon-based electrode materials) as a meaningful secondary branch. H01M (Batteries, cells and fuel cells) and B82Y (Nanotechnology applications) together represent adjacent vectors with notably lower patent-record counts.
↗ 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.
Polarizable electrode for electric double-layer ca…
The present invention provides: a polarizable electrode for use in electric double-layer capacitor, which is made of a carbon composite material composed mainly of: 100 parts by weight of an activated carbon, 0.05 parts by weight of an amorphous carbon, 0.1-1,000 parts by weight of a conductive agent, and 0.03-90 parts by weight of a fibrillated carbon; and… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
Open this patent in Eureka →| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electric double-layer capacitor | 361 |
| 2 | Carbon material for electric double-layer capacito… | 189 |
| 3 | Electric double-layer capacitor and carbon materia… | 175 |
| 4 | Electric double-layer capacitor and method for mak… | 128 |
| 5 | Electric double-layer capacitor | 125 |
| 6 | Electric double-layer capacitor and carbon materia… | 106 |
| 7 | 一种多元复合纳米材料、其制备方法及其用途 | 101 |
| 8 | Electric double-layer capacitor | 97 |
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 signals — lifecycle stage, concentration, collaboration patterns, and geographic focus — frame the strategic context for any organization considering entry or portfolio expansion in this space.
Decline phase: annual volume easing from 2017 peak
The field has entered a Decline lifecycle stage, with annual filings easing back from the 2017 peak and the recent-window growth rate at –43%. This implies that the core technology space is largely charted and incremental electrode-material patents face high prior-art density. Residual activity is concentrated in a small set of incumbents, suggesting that meaningful differentiation now requires either a genuinely novel material class or a systems-level angle absent from existing portfolios.
Lifecycle: DeclineTight top tier among Japanese industrial and chemical firms
The top five filers hold 29% of the patent records among the hundred largest filers, and all five are Japanese corporations — Honda Motor, Panasonic Holdings, AGC, Nisshinbo Industries, and Elna. This level of concentration, combined with the declining filing rate, means the competitive moat is wide and growing wider as new activity slows. Challengers would need to target sub-segments with demonstrably lower incumbent coverage.
High concentrationAGC–Elna and Honda–Kuraray Chemical are the most active co-filing pairs
The most active co-filing relationship is between AGC Inc. and Elna Co. Ltd., with 30 jointly filed patent records, indicating a deep materials-plus-component integration partnership. Honda Motor and Kuraray Chemical Corp. form the second-most active pair at 23 jointly filed records, reflecting Honda’s materials supply-chain strategy. NEC Corp. has also co-filed with the Japan Science and Technology Agency, pointing to academic-industrial bridging. These established alliances leave limited space for new partnerships unless targeted at currently uncovered material classes.
Partnership-drivenJapan is the primary filing jurisdiction; modest international coverage
Japan accounts for the large majority of patent records, confirming that the technology was developed and protected primarily in its home market. The United States, China, South Korea, and Europe (EPO) together represent material secondary coverage, while filings via WIPO (PCT) are comparatively sparse. This geographic profile suggests that incumbent players have not aggressively pursued global protection strategies in all markets — creating potential entry points for filing in less-covered jurisdictions, particularly where demand for energy storage is growing.
Japan-centricGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| AGC Inc. | Elna Co., Ltd. | 30 |
| Honda Motor Co., Ltd. | Kuraray Chemical Co., Ltd. | 23 |
| Nisshinbo Industries Inc. | Nisshinbo Holdings Inc. | 7 |
| Power Systems Co., Ltd. | Yoshio Masayuki | 7 |
| NEC Corporation | Japan Science and Technology Agency | 6 |
| Power Systems Co., Ltd. | Japan Carlit Co., Ltd. | 3 |
| Honda Motor Co., Ltd. | Kashima Oil Co., Ltd. | 2 |
| Honda Motor Co., Ltd. | Kureha Corporation | 2 |
| Honda Motor Co., Ltd. | Daido Metal Co., Ltd. | 2 |
| Honda Motor Co., Ltd. | Kuraray Co., Ltd. | 2 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Honda Motor and Panasonic Holdings lead; AGC anchors the materials tier
The top three applicants each exceed 59 patent records and are separated by only a narrow margin, signaling genuinely competitive portfolio-building among Japanese incumbents over the field’s active years.
Honda Motor Co. Ltd.
Honda Motor Co. Ltd. leads the ranking with 64 patent records, concentrating its portfolio across H01G 11 and H01G 9 (core capacitor classes) and extending significantly into C01B 31 (carbon and inorganic electrode materials) — reflecting a vertically integrated strategy that spans both device architecture and raw material science. Applicant momentum data for the current period is not available in evidence.
patent records: 64Panasonic Holdings Corp.
Panasonic Holdings Corp. holds 62 patent records, closely trailing Honda. Its technology focus spans H01G 11 and H01G 9 for capacitor structures and extends into H01M 4 (battery and fuel cell electrode materials), suggesting a deliberate overlap strategy between supercapacitor and battery electrode chemistries. This cross-class positioning differentiates Panasonic from the purely capacitor-focused incumbents. Applicant momentum data for the current period is not available in evidence.
patent records: 62Under-served adjacent branches in battery interfaces and nanotechnology
Several IPC branches adjacent to the dominant H01G capacitor class carry meaningfully lower patent-record counts, suggesting areas where incumbent coverage is thinner. These are observations of relative sparsity; technical value and entry feasibility should be validated independently.
H01M · Battery and fuel cell electrode interfaces
H01M (Batteries, cells and fuel cells) appears as an adjacent branch with 86 patent records — substantial in absolute terms but representing only 7% of the technology composition, well below the H01G dominant share. The crossover between EDLC electrode materials and battery electrode chemistries (seen in Panasonic’s portfolio emphasis) is a technically plausible convergence zone, particularly for hybrid supercapacitor-battery architectures. Incumbent coverage here is spread across fewer dedicated players, suggesting room for targeted filing by organizations with expertise in dual-ion or lithium-ion compatible carbon materials.
Search this in Eureka →B82Y · Nanotechnology applications for capacitor electrodes
B82Y (Nanotechnology applications) carries only 42 patent records and a 3% share of the technology composition, and C04B (Ceramics, cement and refractories) holds just 14 records. These branches are sparse relative to the dominant capacitor class, and nanostructured electrode materials (e.g., graphene-derived, carbon nanotube, or metal-oxide nanocomposites) have demonstrated performance advantages in academic literature. The low incumbent filing density in B82Y and C04B within this corpus indicates that nanotechnology-enabled and ceramic-composite electrode approaches remain under-protected in this specific application context.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders differ by technology route across IPC sub-classes
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | H01G 11 · Capacitors | H01G 9 · Capacitors | C01B 31 · Non-metallic elements & inorganic compounds | H01M 4 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | C01B 32 · Non-metallic elements & inorganic compounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honda Motor Co., Ltd. | Strong · 61 | Strong · 41 | Strong · 35 | Emerging · 4 | Emerging · 4 |
| Panasonic Holdings Corp. | Strong · 63 | Strong · 54 | Absent | Emerging · 6 | Absent |
| AGC Inc. | Strong · 59 | Strong · 44 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| NEC Corporation | Strong · 35 | Strong · 30 | Moderate · 11 | Moderate · 13 | Absent |
| Nisshinbo Industries Inc. | Strong · 36 | Strong · 35 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Kuraray Chemical Co., Ltd. | Strong · 26 | Strong · 20 | Strong · 21 | Absent | Emerging · 2 |
| Elna Co., Ltd. | Strong · 32 | Strong · 31 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The evidence dataset contains 40 patent families in scope for this topic, representing the core body of globally filed protection in this area.
Honda Motor Co. Ltd. leads the applicant ranking with 64 patent records, followed closely by Panasonic Holdings Corp. with 62 and AGC Inc. with 59.
No. The field is in a Decline lifecycle stage. Annual filings peaked in 2017 and recent-window growth is -43%. The most recent annual counts remain subject to publication lag but the multi-year contraction is clear.
Japan is the primary filing jurisdiction by a wide margin, followed by the United States, China, South Korea, and Europe (EPO). WIPO PCT filings are comparatively sparse, indicating limited global harmonization strategies among most applicants.
The most active co-filing pair is AGC Inc. and Elna Co. Ltd. with 30 jointly filed patent records, followed by Honda Motor Co. Ltd. and Kuraray Chemical Corp. with 23. NEC Corp. has also co-filed with the Japan Science and Technology Agency.
H01M (battery and fuel cell electrode interfaces) carries only a 7% share of the technology composition, and B82Y (nanotechnology applications) holds a 3% share — both are notably sparse relative to the dominant H01G capacitor classes. C04B (ceramics) and C08L (polymer compositions) each represent only 1% of records, suggesting thin incumbent coverage in those adjacent material approaches.
Generate your own EDLC electrode material landscape
Join 18,000+ innovators using PatSnap Eureka to map any technology landscape: search 2B+ patents and papers, surface key assignees, and generate a report like this in minutes.
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.