Electric Drivetrain for Construction Equipment Patent Landscape
The patent corpus for electric drivetrains in construction equipment is nascent and highly concentrated, with AFS Trinity Power Corp alone holding the largest single block of patent records and the top five filers accounting for 84% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total. Filing activity emerged only from 2022 onward, signalling an early-stage field where strategic positions can still be established.
AFS Trinity Power Corp leads a tightly concentrated field
AFS Trinity Power Corp ranks first with 9 patent records, followed by Volvo Truck Corp with 8 and Dana Belgium NV with 4. The ranking shows a sharp drop-off after the top three, with the remaining applicants holding 3 records or fewer each.
The top five filers — AFS Trinity Power Corp, Volvo Truck Corp, Dana Belgium NV, Snyder Philip K, and Bender Donald. A — together account for 84% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, indicating an oligopolistic structure at this early stage of the technology’s development.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AFS Trinity Power Corp | 9 | |
| 2 | Volvo Truck Corp | 8 | |
| 3 | Dana Belgium NV | 4 | |
| 4 | Snyder Philip K | 3 | |
| 5 | Bender Donald A | 3 | |
| 6 | Sustainable Energy Technologies Inc | 2 | |
| 7 | John A Smith dba Tartaglia Engineering | 1 | |
| 8 | Power Technology Holdings LLC | 1 | |
| 9 | Cummins Inc | 1 |
The leaders’ positions imply that a small number of actors have moved first on foundational architecture patents, particularly around electric vehicle propulsion (B60L) and vehicle propulsion and drive (B60K). New entrants such as Volvo Truck Corp and Cummins Inc are now filing, signalling that incumbents from adjacent heavy-equipment markets are beginning to stake claims.
The most recent 18–24 months of filings are likely under-counted due to standard patent publication lag and should not be read as a slowdown. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Activity emerged in 2022 and technology is anchored in EV propulsion classes
The annual filing trend and technology composition charts together reveal an early-stage field that is just beginning to attract structured R&D attention, with activity concentrated in a narrow set of IPC classes.
Annual filing trend
Zero filings were recorded from 2017 through 2021. Activity began in 2022 with 2 records, rose to a peak of 5 in 2023, and stood at 3 in both 2024 and 2025. The 2024–2025 figures are subject to publication lag and likely under-represent actual filing volume; the 2026 figure of zero reflects data not yet published rather than a true absence of activity.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B60L (Electric vehicle propulsion) dominates with 19 records, followed by B60K (Vehicle propulsion and drive) with 16 and H02K (Electric motors and generators) with 7. F16H (Gearing and transmissions) and B60W (Hybrid/joint vehicle control) hold 5 and 4 records respectively, suggesting that mechanical integration and control logic are secondary but meaningful areas of filing.
↗ 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.
Supercapacitor and electrochemical hybrid battery …
Disclosed herein are systems and methods for energy management. A system, such as a vehicle, includes a plurality of energy storage units that include a supercapacitor and an electrochemical battery. The system includes an electric drivetrain configured to propel the vehicle, a plurality of energy storage units including a supercapacitor and an… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | System and Method for Dual Energy Storage Management | 276 |
| 2 | System and method for dual energy storage management | 64 |
| 3 | Transmission with integrated electromagnetic torqu… | 14 |
| 4 | System and method for dual energy storage management | 12 |
| 5 | Supercapacitor and electrochemical hybrid battery … | 7 |
| 6 | Electric generator for electric vehicle | 6 |
| 7 | Supercapacitor and electrochemical hybrid battery … | 5 |
| 8 | Transmission with integrated electromagnetic torqu… | 5 |
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 patent structure means for R&D investment decisions
The combination of a very small corpus, high concentration, and a filing history that only began in 2022 creates a distinctive risk-opportunity profile for engineers and strategists evaluating entry points.
Early-stage field with foundational positions still forming
Filing activity did not materialize until 2022, and the corpus of 13 patent families remains small. The lifecycle stage cannot be formally classified from the available evidence, but the filing chronology, the entry of new corporate applicants from 2022 onward, and the absence of a sustained multi-year filing history all indicate a field in its formative phase. Foundational architecture claims are still being filed, which means freedom-to-operate risk is lower than in a mature field but the window for establishing priority positions is narrowing.
Early Stage84% of top-100 filer activity held by five actors
The top five filers hold 84% of the hundred largest filers’ combined patent records. AFS Trinity Power Corp and Volvo Truck Corp together account for the two largest blocks. This degree of concentration in such a small corpus means that a single new entrant with a targeted filing programme could materially shift the competitive balance. Individual inventors (Snyder Philip K, Bender Donald A) appear in the top five, which is unusual and may reflect early-stage licensing or spin-out dynamics.
High ConcentrationCo-filing clusters around AFS Trinity Power Corp
The most active co-filing relationships observed are between Snyder Philip K and AFS Trinity Power Corp (3 joint records) and between Bender Donald A and AFS Trinity Power Corp (3 joint records). This pattern suggests that the two individual inventors in the top five ranking are collaborators rather than independent actors, effectively making AFS Trinity Power Corp’s network position even more dominant than its solo count implies.
Inventor-Led CollaborationUS-centric filing with selective PCT and EPO coverage
The United States leads with 11 patent records, followed by Europe via the EPO with 7 and WIPO PCT with 5. Germany, Hong Kong, and India each have 1 record. The PCT and EPO filings indicate that at least some applicants are pursuing broad international protection, but coverage outside North America and Europe is sparse, leaving significant geographic white space in markets such as China, Japan, and South Korea where construction-equipment manufacturers are active.
US-Led GeographyGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Snyder Philip K | AFS Trinity Power Corp | 3 |
| Bender Donald A | AFS Trinity Power Corp | 3 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
AFS Trinity Power Corp vs. Volvo Truck Corp — different routes into the same space
The two largest filers approach electric drivetrains for construction equipment from distinct technical angles: AFS Trinity Power Corp through hybrid energy storage architectures and Volvo Truck Corp through motor control and battery management systems.
AFS Trinity Power Corp
AFS Trinity Power Corp leads with 9 patent records and has co-filed with individual inventors Snyder Philip K and Bender Donald A (3 records each), extending its effective portfolio. Its technology focus centres on B60L 11 and B60L 50 (electric vehicle propulsion, 7 records each) and B60K 6 (vehicle propulsion and drive, 6 records), indicating a strong position in plug-in hybrid and dual energy storage architectures. The most-cited patents in the corpus — relating to dual energy storage management and supercapacitor-battery hybrid systems — are consistent with AFS Trinity Power Corp’s filing profile. No momentum trend is recorded for this applicant, suggesting its filings predate the 2022 activity window.
patent records: 9Volvo Truck Corp
Volvo Truck Corp ranks second with 8 patent records and is classified as a new entrant, with 6 recent records indicating that all or nearly all of its filings fall within the recent filing window. Its technology focus is concentrated in B60L 7 (regenerative braking, 4 records), B60L 15 (motor control, 3 records), and B60L 58 (battery management, 3 records) — a profile oriented toward operational efficiency and system integration rather than energy storage architecture. This trajectory suggests Volvo Truck Corp is building a position in the control and management layer of the drivetrain stack.
patent records: 8| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Volvo Truck Corp | 6 | ▲ new entrant |
| Sustainable Energy Technologies Inc | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Power Technology Holdings LLC | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| Cummins Inc | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
How leading applicants differ across technology routes
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | B60L 50 · Electric vehicle propulsion | B60K 6 · Vehicle propulsion & drive | B60L 11 · Electric vehicle propulsion | B60L 15 · Electric vehicle propulsion | B60L 58 · Electric vehicle propulsion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFS Trinity Power Corp | Strong · 7 | Strong · 6 | Strong · 7 | Moderate · 2 | Absent |
| Bender Donald A | Strong · 3 | Strong · 3 | Strong · 3 | Absent | Absent |
| Snyder Philip K | Strong · 3 | Strong · 3 | Strong · 3 | Absent | Absent |
| Volvo Truck Corp | Moderate · 1 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 3 | Strong · 3 |
| Dana Belgium NV | Absent | Strong · 4 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Sustainable Energy Technologies Inc | Strong · 2 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Moderate · 1 |
| Power Technology Holdings LLC | Strong · 1 | Strong · 1 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 13 patent families in scope. This is a small corpus, consistent with an early-stage technology area where structured filing activity only began in 2022.
AFS Trinity Power Corp leads with 9 patent records. It also co-filed 3 records each with individual inventors Snyder Philip K and Bender Donald A, giving it a broader effective network position than its solo count alone indicates.
Filing activity was zero from 2017 through 2021. The first recorded filings appeared in 2022 (2 records), rising to 5 in 2023 and 3 in each of 2024 and 2025. The 2024–2025 figures are subject to publication lag.
B60L (Electric vehicle propulsion) leads with 19 records, followed by B60K (Vehicle propulsion and drive) with 16 and H02K (Electric motors and generators) with 7. These three classes together account for the large majority of recorded technology coverage.
The United States leads with 11 records, followed by Europe via the EPO with 7 and WIPO PCT filings with 5. Germany, Hong Kong, and India each have 1 record. Coverage in major construction-equipment markets such as China and Japan is not yet evident in this corpus.
B60W (Hybrid/joint vehicle control) and H02J (Power supply and grid systems) are the two adjacent branches with the lowest filing density relative to their technical relevance. B60W has 4 records and H02J has 3, and both address functions — supervisory drivetrain control and site-level energy management — that are critical to construction-equipment electrification but remain under-filed.
Ready to map the electric drivetrain landscape for your own R&D portfolio?
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.