Epoxy Resin Recycling Patents: Who Leads, Where Gaps Remain 2026
- Filing peaked in 2024 at 52 families, then the pace flattens against a 2022 midpoint of 27 — this is not a technology still accelerating unchecked.
- China receives 142 of 309 filings, nearly four times the United States count of 42, concentrating both prior art and freedom-to-operate risk there.
- Only 10 co-assignee pairs exist in the whole set, and the tightest cluster is a French university-industry trio — most filers are working alone.
Filing growth compares 2021 (21 records) with 2024 (52) — 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 309 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What the epoxy resin recycling patent record actually covers
Epoxy resin recycling patents cluster around three technical routes: degradable curing agents that build cleavable bonds (imine, acetal, disulfide) into the cured network, vitrimer chemistries that allow reprocessing through associative bond exchange, and mechanical or solvolytic recovery of carbon fibre from cured composite laminates. The IPC composition shows this is fundamentally a chemistry problem rather than a processing one: C08G (condensation polymers) appears in 291 of 309 records, well ahead of C08J (polymer processing) at 114.
Filing began in earnest after 2017, rose through the early 2020s, and peaked in 2024. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the 2025 and 2026 counts shown in the trend understate real filing activity for those years — the underlying pace at the frontier is higher than the chart alone suggests.
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Filing trend and technology composition
309 patent families sit inside the search window, spread across eight IPC subclasses and six major receiving offices. The shape of both distributions tells you where the field's centre of gravity actually sits.
Growth has plateaued, not accelerated
From 2 filings in 2017 to a peak of 52 in 2024, the trajectory rose steadily through the early 2020s. But the 2022 midpoint of 27 sitting almost exactly at half the peak value, followed by no clear continued climb, points to filing activity flattening rather than compounding — a maturing claim space rather than a land grab still in progress.
Condensation chemistry dominates the IPC mix
C08G (condensation polymers) covers 291 of 309 records — essentially the whole dataset — confirming that curing-agent and network chemistry is where the claims are being written. C08L (polymer compositions, 148) and C08J (processing, 114) trail well behind, and adhesives (C09J, 18) and coatings (C09D, 16) are minor side branches rather than core battlegrounds.
Shares are the percentage of the 309 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Epoxy Resin Recycling with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about epoxy resin recycling and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited records anchor the field's reference chemistry
EP4458901A1 — Degradable composite for wind turbine blades
The disclosure describes a degradable composite built from 30–40% degradable epoxy resin composition, 45–55% fibre raw material, up to 20% core material and up to 10% epoxy structural adhesive, applied specifically to wind turbine blade manufacture. The degradable resin composition is positioned as the structural layer, intended to meet mechanical performance requirements for blades while allowing end-of-life breakdown.Filed by Swancor Advanced Materials Co. Ltd., published 2024-11-06 — one of the more recent entrants applying degradable epoxy chemistry to a specific, high-volume application rather than claiming the base chemistry alone.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CN110218294A | 一种可降解亚胺类环氧树脂固化剂及其制备方法和应用 | 34 |
| 2 | US6570029B2 | No-flow reworkable epoxy underfills for flip-chip applications | 31 |
| 3 | US20170051099A1 | Polymeric materials for bio-applications | 30 |
| 4 | CN113087872A | 一种可循环利用的丁香酚基环氧树脂Vitrimer材料及其制备方法 | 28 |
| 5 | US20020013420A1 | Thermally degradable epoxy underfills for flip-chip applications | 26 |
| 6 | US20060014924A1 | Reworkable adhesives containing thermally labile groups | 25 |
| 7 | US20130245204A1 | Novel agents for reworkable epoxy resins | 23 |
| 8 | CN104527177A | 一种用于印刷电路板的可回收半固化片、固化片、覆铜板及其制备、回收方法 | 21 |
| 9 | CN114195984A | 一种含动态烯胺键的双酚A型环氧固化剂与可降解环氧树脂及其制备、重塑、降解方法 | 20 |
| 10 | CN105754515A | 一种可降解回收的环氧导电胶及其制备和降解回收方法 | 17 |
Citation counts are drawn from within this searched corpus and skew toward older filings that have had more years to accumulate citations — treat them as markers of influence on later filers, not as evidence of present-day importance.
Patent titles are shown in the language they were filed in, not translated, so that each record stays verifiable against the original filing — a translated title will not match in Eureka or in any national register. Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the filing pattern signals for strategy
Three structural features of this dataset matter more than any single ranking: where filings are geographically concentrated, how thin the collaboration network is, and how narrow the technical core is relative to the breadth of IPC codes touched.
China is the primary filing venue by a wide margin
China's receiving-office count of 142 dwarfs the United States (42), EPO (37), WIPO (31), India (25) and South Korea (9) combined runners-up. Any freedom-to-operate check for degradable epoxy or CFRP-recycling chemistry has to start with the Chinese-language prior art, not treat it as a secondary market.
Most filers are going it alone
Only 10 co-assignee pairs exist across the entire dataset, and the strongest is a single French university-industry cluster. That scarcity means most claim territory is being staked by single entities rather than jointly defended — a gap that acquirers or licensing partners can exploit.
The core fight is over condensation-polymer chemistry
With C08G present in 291 of 309 records, curing-agent and network-bond chemistry is where nearly every filer stakes a claim, while processing (C08J, 114) and additive (C08K, 84) codes are secondary. New entrants should expect the densest prior art in bond-cleavage chemistry, not in mechanical recycling equipment.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to epoxy resin recycling, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the momentum sits
Assignee activity is split between a handful of institutions with sustained multi-year filing and a longer list of single- or few-filing entrants. Recent-year momentum diverges sharply even among the more active names.
Institute of Chemical Materials, China Academy of Engineering Physics gaining pace
Four filings in the latest year against a prior-year base makes this the fastest-accelerating assignee in the dataset, a signal worth tracking even though the absolute volume is still modest.
Indian Institute of Science slowing after earlier activity
Three filings in the latest year, down 40% year on year, suggests this academic filer's pace of output is easing even as its cumulative footprint remains part of the active set.
Established filers Arkema France and Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences have paused
Both show zero filings in the latest year, one with a full -100% year-on-year drop from prior activity. A pause at an established filer does not vacate its granted claims, but it can open room for new filings around the edges of what it already holds.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Institute of Chemical Materials, China Academy of Engineering Physics | 4 | +300% |
| Indian Institute of Science | 3 | -40% |
| Aditya Birla Chemicals (Thailand) Ltd. | 1 | — |
| Arkema France | 0 | — |
| Aditya Birla Chemicals (Wuhu) New Materials Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 0 | -100% |
| Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | 0 | — |
| Georgia Tech Research Corporation | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether you are clearing freedom to operate, scouting licensing targets, or deciding where to file next.
Run a freedom-to-operate check centred on China
With 142 of 309 families received in China, any product or process claim in this space needs Chinese-language prior art searched first, not as an afterthought to US and EPO filings.
Search China filings in EurekaTrack momentum shifts, not just cumulative counts
Assignees moving from zero to several filings per year, or dropping to zero after sustained activity, are early signals that rankings by total family count will miss.
Monitor assignee momentum in EurekaTest claim language against the under-claimed branches
Sub-areas like solvolytic CFRP reclaim and bio-based vitrimer systems show thinner citation density than core curing-agent chemistry — worth a novelty check before assuming the space is closed.
Explore white space in EurekaCommon questions about epoxy resin recycling patents
Vitrimer epoxy patents claim networks that reprocess through associative bond exchange, meaning the cured material can be reshaped or repaired without fully breaking down, and this dataset's most-cited vitrimer record covers a eugenol-based system. Degradable epoxy underfill patents, by contrast, claim networks designed to cleave and fail on demand, typically for flip-chip electronics rework, and several of the oldest, most-cited US records in this space are underfill-specific. Both sit under the same C08G condensation-chemistry umbrella but solve opposite problems: staying together under stress versus coming apart when needed. A search strategy that conflates the two will miss relevant prior art in either direction.
Filing activity is led by a mix of Chinese research institutes, French university-industry collaborations, and specialty materials companies rather than a single dominant assignee. The dataset's strongest collaboration cluster links a French chemicals major with two French research institutions, while several Chinese institutes and companies show the fastest recent-year growth in filing counts. No single assignee holds an overwhelming share of the 309 families, so competitive tracking needs to follow multiple filers rather than one incumbent.
Growth has flattened rather than continuing to accelerate. Filings rose from just 2 in 2017 to a peak of 52 in 2024, but the 2022 midpoint of 27 sits almost exactly at half that peak, suggesting the climb slowed well before the recent peak rather than compounding steadily. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the most recent one to two years in any such trend are always undercounted, so the true 2025-2026 filing rate is likely higher than currently visible, but the overall trajectory reads as maturing rather than exploding.
China receives by far the most, with 142 of 309 records, nearly matching the combined total of the next several offices. The United States (42), the European Patent Office (37), WIPO's PCT route (31), India (25) and South Korea (9) round out the major venues. For freedom-to-operate or licensing due diligence, this means Chinese-language prior art cannot be treated as a secondary check.
EP4458901A1, filed by Swancor Advanced Materials, claims a degradable composite for wind turbine blades built from a specific mass-percentage range of degradable epoxy resin, fibre raw material, optional core material and optional epoxy structural adhesive. It is application-specific to blade manufacture rather than a claim over degradable epoxy chemistry in general, so it constrains blade designs that fall within its stated composition ranges without necessarily blocking degradable epoxy use in other composite applications. Anyone designing a degradable-resin wind blade should check their formulation against its stated percentage ranges specifically, and consider work outside those ranges or outside the blade application as a starting point for differentiation.
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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.