E-Waste Rare Metal Recovery Patents: Top Companies & Trends 2026
Filing growth compares 2021 (40 records) with 2024 (47) — 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 871 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This dataset tracks patent filings addressing rare metal recovery from electronic waste and related secondary material streams, spanning hydrometallurgical extraction, separation, and downstream compound processing. It draws on 871 published records filed between 2015 and the 2026 data cut-off, ranked across 100 assignees by family count. The scope favours process claims over device claims, reflecting how much of the innovation in this space sits in chemistry and flow design rather than hardware.
Recovery of rare and critical metals from spent electronics, batteries and permanent magnets has drawn sustained patent activity as supply-chain pressure on rare earths and battery metals has grown. The record set spans hydrometallurgical routes, separation and filtration steps, catalytic and physical processing, and specific compound classes such as rare-earth and alkaline-earth chemistries — giving a reasonably complete picture of where claim density sits and where it does not.
Filing trends and technology composition
Two views of the same 871 records: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim density.
Filing activity, 2017-2026
Annual filings rose from 11 in 2017 to a peak of 61 in 2025, with growth of 18% between 2021 (40) and 2024 (47) — the last year the data can be treated as complete. 2025 and 2026 figures will continue to rise as later publications land, per the roughly 18-month lag between filing and publication.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
C22B (metal extraction & refining) appears in 56.5% of all 871 records, well ahead of separation processes (B01D, 12.4%) and catalysis-related processing (B01J, 12.4%). Rare-earth and alkaline-earth compound classes (C01F, C01B) and battery-related filings (H01M) each sit in single-digit-to-low-double-digit territory, since a single record can carry several IPC classes these shares sum to more than 100%.
Shares are the percentage of the 871 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Electronic-Waste Recycling: Rare Metal Recovery Patent Landscape with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about electronic-waste recycling: rare metal recovery patent landscape and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative filing and most-cited records
Selective recovery of rare earth metals from spent permanent magnets
A hydrometallurgical process for selectively recovering heavy rare earth metals (atomic number 62 and above) from acidic aqueous phases generated by treating spent or scrapped permanent magnets, with a companion route that separates heavy from light rare earth metals (atomic number 61 and below) within the same acidic stream.Filed by Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives, published 2017-10-12.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20160045841A1 | New and improved system for processing various chemicals and materials | 861 |
| 2 | US3770614A | Split feed reforming and n-paraffin elimination from low boiling reformate | 286 |
| 3 | WO2014153570A2 | New and improved system for processing various chemicals and materials | 219 |
| 4 | US20060144700A1 | Apparatus and process for mediated electrochemical oxidation of materials | 104 |
| 5 | US3445441A | Amino-amido polymers | 101 |
| 6 | CA2629555A1 | Related/overlapping innovations in health/energy/transport/farming and infrastructure | 88 |
| 7 | EP2450991A1 | Plant and process for the treatment of exhausted accumulators and batteries | 81 |
| 8 | US4233276A | Process for the desulfurization of waste gases | 80 |
| 9 | US6455018B1 | Recovery of precious metal and other values from spent compositions/materials | 79 |
| 10 | US20030041801A1 | Industrial vapor conveyance and deposition | 68 |
Citation counts reflect the searched corpus and favour older filings; treat them as a signal of influence rather than current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for filing strategy
Four read-outs from the ranking, trend and technology data that matter for where to file next and who to watch.
A leader well ahead of the field, then a long tail
The top-ranked assignee holds 38 records against a field of 100 ranked companies, and the top 5 combined account for just 17.6% of all 871 records. That gap between one strong filer and a thin next tier suggests openings for new entrants who pick a specific route rather than competing head-on with the leader's broad portfolio.
Steady, not explosive, growth through the last complete year
Filings rose from 40 in 2021 to 47 in 2024, an 18% increase over three years. That is consistent, incremental growth rather than a surge, and it lands before the publication lag makes 2025-2026 numbers look artificially soft.
Extraction chemistry is the crowded ground
Over half of all 871 records touch C22B, meaning core hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical extraction claims sit on dense prior art. Separation (B01D) and catalytic processing (B01J) each cover 12.4% of records — real but comparatively lighter claim territory worth checking before filing there.
China leads filing volume, the US and EPO follow
China's receiving office accounts for 217 records, ahead of the United States (120), EPO (83), WIPO/PCT (79), Australia (68) and Canada (60). For companies weighing where enforcement risk is highest, China and the US are where the bulk of the granted and pending claim base sits.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to electronic-waste recycling: rare metal recovery patent landscape, with the prior art for and against each one.
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, portfolio benchmarking or identifying open claim space.
Map freedom-to-operate against the leader's portfolio
With one assignee holding 38 of 871 records, a claim-by-claim comparison against that portfolio is the first filter before committing to an extraction route in C22B.
Run a freedom-to-operate check in EurekaTrack the under-claimed branches
Battery-related filings (H01M, 6.9% of records) and water treatment (C02F, 8.2%) sit well below the extraction-chemistry density, suggesting narrower but less contested claim space.
Explore white space in EurekaWatch the co-assignee clusters
A small number of recurring co-assignee pairs point to active joint development; monitoring these relationships flags where new joint filings are likely to appear next.
Track assignee activity in EurekaCommon questions on this landscape
The assignee ranking behind this landscape covers 100 companies, with the leader holding 38 of the 871 records in scope. The top 5 assignees combined account for 17.6% of all records, and the top 10 combined reach 28.4% — meaningful concentration at the very top, but well short of a monopoly on the field. Below the leading names sits a long tail of single- and few-filing entrants, which is typical for a process-chemistry field where routes can be varied without infringing a single dominant claim set.
Metal extraction and refining, covered by IPC class C22B, appears in 56.5% of all 871 records and is the clear centre of gravity for this field. Separation processes (B01D) and catalytic or physical processing (B01J) each appear in 12.4% of records, with rare-earth and alkaline-earth compound classes and battery-related filings covering smaller shares. Because a single patent can carry several IPC classes, these percentages add up to more than 100%, and they should be read as density indicators rather than a breakdown of a whole.
Filings grew 18% between 2021 (40 records) and 2024 (47 records), the last year in this dataset that can be treated as complete. Later years, including the peak of 61 in 2025, should be read cautiously: patent publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so 2025 and 2026 figures will keep rising as more records are published. The honest read is steady, incremental growth through 2024 rather than either stagnation or a sudden surge.
China's receiving office accounts for 217 of the records in this landscape, the largest single jurisdiction, ahead of the United States at 120 and the European Patent Office at 83. WIPO/PCT filings add 79 records, reflecting applicants seeking broader international coverage, while Australia (68) and Canada (60) round out the main receiving offices tracked. This distribution suggests China and the US are the two jurisdictions where competitive and enforcement risk is concentrated.
US20170291827A1, filed by Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives, covers a hydrometallurgical process for selectively recovering heavy rare earth metals from acidic aqueous phases produced when spent or scrapped permanent magnets are treated, plus a companion process for separating heavy from light rare earth metals in the same acidic stream. It sits squarely inside the C22B extraction space that carries the highest filing density in this landscape. Anyone developing a magnet-recycling recovery route should check their acidic-phase separation and selectivity steps against this filing specifically, since it addresses a well-defined technical bottleneck rather than a broad extraction concept.
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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.