Electrodialysis Reliability Patents: Leaders & White Space 2026
- Filing peaked in 2023 at 10 families, then flattened — growth from the 2022 midpoint of 4 has not continued, so the field is consolidating claim territory rather than expanding it.
- B01D separation-process claims dominate at 51 of 58 records — C08J polymer-processing claims sit close behind at 39, showing membrane chemistry is where most durability work is actually anchored.
- No tracked assignee shows activity in the latest year — momentum has stalled across every named filer, which is consistent with publication lag but also means the active edge of this field is not yet visible in the public record.
What this landscape covers
This dataset tracks patent families claiming membrane fouling resistance, scaling resistance, membrane durability or long-term stability in electrodialysis and electrodialysis-reversal (ED) stacks, filtered to IPC classes covering liquid separation by dialysis or electrodialysis (B01D61/44, B01D61/48) and synthetic-resin compositions for membranes (C08J5/22). It is a narrow, application-specific slice of the broader electrodialysis art: the search string requires durability language to appear in the title, abstract or claims, not just membrane structure generally.
58 published families sit inside this window, filed between 2015 and the 2026 cut-off. Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the 2025-2026 count understates real activity; treat the 2023 peak as the most reliable recent read on filing intensity.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 58 families: how filing has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the durability claims.
A peak, then a flattening
Filings rose from 2 in 2017 to a peak of 10 in 2023, but the 2022 midpoint of 4 shows the climb was not steady — this reads as a field working through a specific technical problem in bursts rather than one under sustained, compounding investment.
Separation and polymer chemistry carry the claims
B01D (separation processes) appears in 51 of 58 records and C08J (polymer processing) in 39, confirming that durability claims are being written primarily as membrane-material and stack-design claims. C02F (water treatment, 24) and H01M (batteries and cells, 22) show meaningful overlap with adjacent water-treatment and electrochemical-storage art, while B01J, C08L, B29C and B29L trail as supporting classes.
Shares are the percentage of the 58 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Electrodialysis Reliability and Durability with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about electrodialysis reliability and durability and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited prior art in this space
Electrodialysis device and method for selective removal of drinking water target ions
Filed by RESEARCH CENTER FOR ECO-ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, this filing addresses membrane and diffusion-boundary-layer resistance directly: it proposes converting resistance from the single membrane to the diffusion boundary layer, then compressing that layer by controlling membrane, stack and process parameters together so the relative electromigration rate of target ions improves.Filed 2023-10-12 · published as US20230322591A1
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6248469B1 | Composite solid polymer electrolyte membranes | 408 |
| 2 | US7550216B2 | Composite solid polymer electrolyte membranes | 366 |
| 3 | US20020045085A1 | Composite solid polymer elecrolyte membranes | 162 |
| 4 | US20050031925A1 | Composite solid polymer electrolyte membranes | 89 |
| 5 | WO2000022684A2 | Composite solid polymer electrolyte membranes | 71 |
| 6 | US7052793B2 | Composite solid polymer electrolyte membranes | 49 |
| 7 | US4738764A | Electrodialysis membranes comprising sulfonated constituents | 25 |
| 8 | US20240024823A1 | Systems and Methods for Bipolar Membranes | 8 |
| 9 | EP1712558A1 | Method for separating/refining cationic protein | 7 |
| 10 | WO1987007623A1 | Electrodialysis membranes comprising sulfonated constituents | 5 |
Citation counts inside a searched corpus favour older filings — read this table as a map of foundational art, not of what matters most today.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Three patterns stand out once filing trend, IPC composition and citation concentration are read together.
A burst, not a curve
The jump from 4 filings at the 2022 midpoint to 10 in 2023 followed by a drop-off suggests a concentrated push around a specific durability problem — likely a scaling or fouling mechanism that became commercially urgent — rather than a technology on a steady adoption ramp.
Durability is claimed as separation-process design
Nearly every record sits in B01D, meaning fouling and scaling resistance are being protected through stack and process configuration claims, with C08J polymer claims as the second most common route into the same problem.
Foundational art is old and concentrated
The five most-cited records share nearly identical titles around composite solid polymer electrolyte membranes, indicating the field's citation graph runs through one narrow lineage of membrane composition patents rather than a broad base.
No visible current leader
Every named assignee shows zero filings in the most recent tracked year. Given the 18-month publication lag this likely understates real activity, but it also means the public record cannot yet identify who is currently pushing this art forward.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to electrodialysis reliability and durability, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who holds the claim space
Assignee activity is spread thin: 10 co-assignee pairs exist across the dataset, and the strongest pairing appears 7 times — modest by the standards of a concentrated field, and consistent with a technology area still being worked by research institutes and a handful of specialist firms rather than a small set of dominant industrial filers.
Research-institute pairings lead collaboration
The strongest co-assignee link pairs two research-oriented organisations, with the next two strongest pairs each appearing 5 times — collaboration exists but is not yet organised around a single industrial anchor.
US and EPO lead office selection
The United States (17) and EPO (14) receive the most filings, with WIPO/PCT (10) close behind — a filing pattern typical of applicants seeking broad, defensible protection rather than single-market coverage.
The active edge is not yet public
None of the assignees with historical filings show activity in the latest tracked year. Combined with the 2023 peak, this points to a lull that may already be ending in filings not yet published.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Foster-Miller, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) | 0 | — |
| ONGC Energy Centre (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Energy Centre) | 0 | — |
| Arland Corporation | 0 | — |
| California Institute of Technology (Caltech) | 0 | — |
| Kurume University | 0 | — |
| KOVAR ROBERT F | 0 | — |
| HARING THOMAS | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The landscape points to a narrow, citation-concentrated field with a visible filing lull — the next steps depend on whether you are scoping freedom-to-operate or looking for a filing gap.
Check the boundary-layer and process-control angle
The representative 2023 filing works the diffusion-boundary-layer resistance problem directly. Before filing on stack or process-parameter control for fouling resistance, check how close this claim sits to your intended scope.
Run a freedom-to-operate checkWatch for a post-lag filing wave
Zero latest-year activity across every tracked assignee, against an 18-month publication lag, means a wave of filings from the 2023 peak's follow-on work may not be visible yet. Re-run this landscape in 6-12 months to catch it.
Set up a monitoring alertExplore the polymer-blend and catalytic-coating overlap
C08L and B01J each appear in fewer than a fifth of records despite clear technical relevance to anti-fouling membrane design — a smaller but real gap for a first-mover claim.
Explore adjacent IPC classes in EurekaCommon questions about electrodialysis durability patents
In this landscape it means a filing whose title, abstract or claims explicitly reference membrane fouling resistance, scaling resistance, membrane durability or long-term stability, combined with IPC classification in dialysis/electrodialysis separation (B01D61/44, B01D61/48) or synthetic resin membrane composition (C08J5/22). This excludes general electrodialysis stack patents that do not make a durability claim, so the 58 families here are a deliberately narrow slice of the wider ED patent universe. A filing on stack geometry alone, without a fouling or scaling claim, would not appear in this set even if it improves durability in practice.
No single assignee dominates this field; filing is spread across research institutes and specialist firms, with the strongest co-assignee pairing appearing in just 7 records. The most-cited prior art clusters around a lineage of composite solid polymer electrolyte membrane patents rather than a single current market leader. Because every tracked assignee shows zero filings in the latest year, the current leader by momentum is not yet visible in the public record — that picture may change once filings from the 2023 peak finish publishing.
The rise from 4 filings at the 2022 midpoint to 10 in 2023 looks like a concentrated push around a specific technical problem, likely a scaling or fouling mechanism that became commercially pressing. The apparent drop after 2023 should be read cautiously: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 and 2026 counts are structurally incomplete rather than necessarily reflecting reduced R&D activity. A clearer picture will only emerge once the 2024-2026 cohort finishes publishing.
Start with B01D (separation processes), which covers 51 of the 58 tracked families and is the primary home for stack- and process-based durability claims. C08J (polymer processing, 39 records) is the second major route, typically covering membrane material composition. Do not ignore C02F (water treatment) and H01M (batteries and cells), which each appear in over a third of records and signal meaningful claim overlap with adjacent application domains — a durability claim written only against B01D may miss prior art sitting in these adjacent classes.
The IPC composition thins out noticeably in B01J (catalytic/physical processes), C08L (polymer compositions) and the B29C/B29L plastics-shaping classes, each appearing in well under a third of records despite clear technical relevance to anti-fouling and anti-scaling membrane design. Boundary-layer resistance control, as claimed in the 2023 representative filing, is another area where claim density is still low relative to the core separation and polymer classes. A first claim combining catalytic anti-fouling coating chemistry with stack-level scaling resistance would sit in a genuinely thinner part of this landscape.
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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.