Electrocatalyst Design Patent Landscape 2026
Electrocatalyst design is a growth-stage field with 247 patent families in scope, led by academic and government research institutions rather than industrial incumbents. The University of Leland Stanford Junior holds a clear lead, and the United States is the dominant filing jurisdiction, reflecting a landscape still being shaped by fundamental research.
Stanford leads a fragmented, research-institution-dominated field
The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University holds the top position with 26 patent families, followed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research with 17 and the University of Toronto and Johnson Matthey Hydrogen Technologies each with 10. The top five filers together account for 28% of the combined output of the hundred largest filers, signaling moderate rather than extreme concentration.
A meaningful tier gap separates Stanford from the second-ranked applicant and a steeper drop follows into the mid-tier cluster of applicants with 4–8 patent families each. This two-tier structure is typical of a growth-stage field where no single industrial player has yet consolidated a dominant portfolio.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University | 26 | |
| 2 | COUNCIL OF SCI & IND RES | 17 | |
| 3 | The Governing Council of the University of Toronto | 10 | |
| 4 | Johnson Matthey Hydrogen Technologies Ltd | 10 | |
| 5 | Monash University | 8 | |
| 6 | William Marsh Rice University | 7 | |
| 7 | Avium LLC | 6 | |
| 8 | University of Houston System | 6 | |
| 9 | UChicago Argonne LLC (Argonne National Laboratory) | 6 | |
| 10 | Indian Institute of Technology Bombay | 6 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals | 6 | |
| 12 | Mattiq Inc | 5 | |
| 13 | Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia | 5 | |
| 14 | Johnson Matthey PLC | 5 | |
| 15 | The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois | 4 | |
| 16 | West Virginia University | 4 | |
| 17 | Miru Smart Technologies Corp | 4 | |
| 18 | Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V. | 4 | |
| 19 | RES & BUSINESS FOUND SUNGKYUNKWAN UNIV | 4 | |
| 20 | Hunt Energy Enterprises LLC | 3 |
The presence of Stanford, the University of Toronto, Monash University, Rice University, and multiple national research councils at the top of the ranking indicates that fundamental materials science and catalytic chemistry—rather than product engineering—are the primary IP battlegrounds. Industrial entrants such as Johnson Matthey and Avium are present but remain smaller by volume.
Filings from the most recent 18–24 months are subject to standard publication lag and are likely under-counted; treat recent-period totals as provisional. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filing volumes are rising and electrolytic production dominates the technology mix
Annual filing data show a growth trajectory since 2017, with 2024 representing the highest recorded year at 46 patent families; 2025 and 2026 figures are provisional due to publication lag. The technology composition is heavily concentrated in a few IPC classes, with clear secondary clusters in fuel-cell and catalysis research.
Annual filing trend
Filings grew across the window, reaching a recorded peak of 46 patent families in 2024 before the expected lag-driven drop-off in 2025 and 2026. The 57% recent-window growth figure confirms an expanding field; the 2025–2026 data should not be read as a real decline.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
C25B (electrolytic production of compounds) is the dominant class by a wide margin, reflecting the field’s core focus on water splitting, CO2 reduction, and related electrochemical reactions. H01M (batteries, cells, and fuel cells) and B01J (chemical and physical processes and catalysis) form the main secondary clusters, while B82Y (nanotechnology applications) appears as a distinct but smaller branch covering nanoscale catalyst 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 manufacturing an electrocatalyst, elect…
The invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electrocatalyst in the form of an HER catalyst for a water electrolyzer, wherein the HER catalyst is synthesised from an aqueous solution of a molybdenum salt with the addition of an aromatic amine and an acid. The invention further relates to a method for manufacturing an electrocatalyst in the form of… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | N-doped porous carbon electrocatalyst and process … | 68 |
| 2 | Oxygen electrode and a method of manufacturing the… | 49 |
| 3 | A new class of electrocatalysts | 49 |
| 4 | HIERARCHICAL METAL PHOSPHIDE-SANDWICHED Ni 5P 4-BA… | 38 |
| 5 | Metal-free bifunctional electrocatalyst for oxygen… | 33 |
| 6 | Mesoporous metal oxides, preparation and applicati… | 32 |
| 7 | Heterostructures for ultra-active hydrogen evoluti… | 30 |
| 8 | High Performance Bifunctional Porous Non-Noble Met… | 29 |
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 strategy
The combination of growth-stage dynamics, academic leadership, and a highly concentrated technology core around electrolytic production creates both clear entry barriers in mainstream classes and genuine headroom in adjacent branches.
Growth stage: annual filings still rising
The lifecycle assessment classifies this field as Growth, with annual filings still rising and the most recent years understated by publication lag. The 57% recent-window growth confirms sustained momentum. Entrants can still establish meaningful positions, but foundational catalyst chemistry claims are accumulating rapidly at leading research institutions.
Growth stageModerate concentration, two-tier applicant structure
The top five filers hold 28% of the combined output of the hundred largest filers—moderate, not extreme, concentration. Stanford’s lead over the second-ranked applicant is substantial, but the mid-tier is populated by a diverse set of universities and national labs from multiple countries. Industrial players are present but have not yet established portfolios that rival the academic leaders.
Fragmented mid-tierUniversity-industry co-filing active between Toronto and TotalEnergies
The most active co-filing partnership is between the Governing Council of the University of Toronto and TotalEnergies, which have co-filed 5 patent families together, with one additional family co-filed with TotalEnergies Ventures. This is the only collaboration pair with notable volume in the evidence, suggesting that cross-sector partnerships remain an underexplored lever for most applicants in this field.
Limited co-filingUS-led filings with China and PCT as strong secondary routes
The United States is the leading jurisdiction by patent records, followed by China and WIPO PCT filings, with Europe (EPO) and India each representing a further significant cluster. Australia and Canada are smaller but present. The breadth of PCT use reflects applicants seeking international coverage for fundamental discoveries, consistent with the academic profile of the leading filers.
US-led, global reachGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| The Governing Council of the University of Toronto | TotalEnergies SE | 5 |
| The Governing Council of the University of Toronto | TotalEnergies Ventures | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Stanford anchors electrolytic production; CSIR challenges in fuel-cell catalysis
The two largest filers occupy distinct technical niches: Stanford concentrates on electrolytic compound production and separation processes, while the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research focuses on battery and fuel-cell electrode catalysis and heterogeneous catalysis.
Stanford University
Stanford holds the top position with 26 patent families, concentrated in C25B electrolytic production and separation processes. Its applicant momentum data does not appear in the recent-entrant tracking, indicating an established rather than newly accelerating position. The breadth across both electrode design (C25B 11) and product electrolysis (C25B 1) signals a wide foundational claim strategy.
families: 26Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
CSIR ranks second with 17 patent families and is flagged as a new entrant in recent-period momentum tracking, with 8 recent patent families, suggesting an accelerating filing program. Its technical focus spans H01M 4 (fuel-cell and battery electrodes), B01J 23 (heterogeneous catalysis), and C25B 11, giving it a broader application scope than Stanford’s more focused portfolio.
families: 17| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) | 8 | ▲ new entrant |
| The Governing Council of the University of Toronto | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| Johnson Matthey Hydrogen Technologies Ltd | 5 | ▲ new entrant |
| Avium LLC | 6 | ▲ new entrant |
| King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served routes in coatings, electroforming, and metal compounds
Several IPC classes adjacent to the dominant C25B core show low filing counts and small shares of the corpus, making them observable as relatively sparse areas. Two stand out for their potential technical relevance to electrocatalyst design.
C23C · Coating and surface deposition
With only 17 patent records and a 3% share of the corpus, surface deposition techniques applied to electrocatalyst layers remain a relatively sparse branch. Atomic layer deposition and physical vapor deposition routes to precisely controlled catalyst coatings have clear technical value for tuning active-site density and durability—capabilities central to the broader field. Entrants with expertise in thin-film processing could find differentiated ground here with limited direct opposition from the current leading filers.
Search this in Eureka →C01G · Compounds of other metals
C01G covers synthesis of transition-metal compounds—oxides, hydroxides, and mixed-metal phases—that serve as electrocatalyst precursors and active materials. With 24 patent records and a 4% share, this branch is noticeably sparse relative to its downstream relevance in C25B. Work on earth-abundant metal compound synthesis as an upstream enabler of non-precious-metal electrocatalysts represents a plausible and differentiated entry path for materials chemistry groups.
Search this in Eureka →How leading applicants differ by technology route
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | C25B 11 · Electrolytic production of compounds | C25B 1 · Electrolytic production of compounds | H01M 4 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | B01J 23 · Chemical/physical processes & catalysis | B01J 35 · Chemical/physical processes & catalysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University | Strong · 20 | Strong · 18 | Moderate · 6 | Absent | Absent |
| Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) | Absent | Moderate · 4 | Strong · 10 | Strong · 7 | Moderate · 4 |
| Monash University | Absent | Strong · 8 | Strong · 6 | Strong · 5 | Strong · 5 |
| BASF SE | Strong · 6 | Strong · 6 | Strong · 7 | Absent | Moderate · 2 |
| William Marsh Rice University | Strong · 6 | Strong · 6 | Absent | Moderate · 3 | Absent |
| University of Houston System | Strong · 6 | Strong · 6 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells Ltd | Strong · 6 | Absent | Strong · 6 | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus examined contains 247 patent families in scope, spanning academic, government, and industrial applicants across multiple jurisdictions.
The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University leads with 26 patent families, followed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research with 17 patent families.
The field is classified as Growth stage. Annual filings are still rising, with 2024 recording the highest single-year count at 46 patent families, and the recent three-year window shows 57% growth. The 2025 and 2026 figures are understated by publication lag.
The United States is the leading jurisdiction by patent records, followed by China and WIPO PCT filings. Europe (EPO) and India each represent a further meaningful cluster, with Australia and Canada as smaller but present filing destinations.
C25B (electrolytic production of compounds) is the dominant class by a wide margin. H01M (batteries, cells, and fuel cells) and B01J (chemical and physical processes and catalysis) form the main secondary clusters.
The most active co-filing partnership identified in the evidence is between the Governing Council of the University of Toronto and TotalEnergies, with 5 co-filed patent families. Other major applicants do not show prominent co-filing patterns in the evidence, suggesting that cross-sector collaboration remains limited in this field.
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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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