EV Battery Pack for Construction Equipment Patent Landscape
With 32 patent families in scope and the top five filers accounting for the entire activity among the largest ranked filers, this is a highly concentrated, early-stage niche that peaked in 2021 and has since eased. Volvo Truck Corp holds the dominant position, while Ford Global Technologies has entered recently, signalling renewed but selective interest.
Volvo Truck Corp commands a dominant lead in a tightly held niche
Volvo Truck Corp sits at the top of the ranking with 15 patent families, nearly double the count of the second-ranked Ford Global Technologies at 8, and more than twice that of third-ranked Volvo Construction Equipment AB at 7. GM Global Technology Operations holds a single family, rounding out the top four.
The top five filers account for 100% of the activity among the ranked applicants visible in this query, confirming an extreme concentration where a handful of commercial vehicle and construction-equipment OEMs hold virtually all formal IP positions. There is no visible long-tail of academic or start-up filers diluting the rankings.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Volvo Truck Corp | 15 | |
| 2 | Ford Global Technologies LLC | 8 | |
| 3 | Volvo Construction Equipment AB | 7 | |
| 4 | GM Global Technology Operations LLC | 1 |
The Volvo group’s combined presence across two affiliated entities — Volvo Truck Corp and Volvo Construction Equipment AB — gives it a structurally entrenched position covering both powertrain integration and construction-specific applications, making it the de facto reference point for any entrant benchmarking freedom-to-operate.
Filings from 2024 onward are subject to standard publication lag and should be treated as a floor, not a ceiling, for recent activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Activity peaked in 2021 and has eased; electric propulsion dominates the technology mix
The annual filing trend reveals a small but episodic corpus, with the visible IPC class — B60L (electric vehicle propulsion) — appearing across all 32 families and illustrating where core integration know-how is concentrated.
Annual filing trend
Annual filings reached a local high of 9 families in 2021, then fell to 6 in 2022 and dropped to near-zero in subsequent years. The lifecycle evidence confirms the field peaked in 2021 and annual volume has since eased. Years 2024–2026 record only 1–0 families respectively and are subject to publication lag, so the true recent rate is likely higher than the chart shows. The irregular pattern — with zero-filing years in 2018 and 2020 — reflects the thin corpus rather than genuine stop-start activity.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B60L (electric vehicle propulsion) is visible in with 32 patent records, followed by B60K (vehicle propulsion and drive) at 17 and H01M (batteries, cells and fuel cells) at 14. Power supply and grid systems (H02J) and motor vehicle structural classes (B62D, B60W) trail well behind, identifying where coverage thins out. The concentration in propulsion integration rather than cell chemistry suggests filers are patenting system-level pack integration rather than underlying battery technology.
↗ 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.
Device for installing traction batteries, a system…
The invention relates to a device for installing traction batteries underneath a cab of a cab-over-engine vehicle. A base portion defines a space into which a portion of a traction battery pack is receivable by lowering the traction battery pack into said space. Front and rear securing element are connected to the base portion for securing the base portion… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vehicle | 23 |
| 2 | Systems and methods for controlling power flow bet… | 11 |
| 3 | Systems and methods for prioritizing power flow be… | 10 |
| 4 | A device for installing traction batteries, a syst… | 10 |
| 5 | A coolant system for a vehicle | 9 |
| 6 | Device for installing traction batteries, a system… | 6 |
| 7 | Vehicle systems and methods for providing assistiv… | 5 |
| 8 | Device for installing traction batteries, a system… | 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 IP structure means for R&D investment decisions
The combination of a peaked lifecycle, extreme applicant concentration, absent formal collaboration, and US-heavy jurisdiction coverage defines a set of structural constraints and openings any new entrant must navigate.
Post-peak field with annual volume easing from its 2021 high
The lifecycle stage is classified as Decline, with annual filings easing back from the 2021 peak and a recent-window growth rate of –59%. This does not necessarily mean the technology is obsolete — it may reflect that foundational integration patents have been secured and incremental system improvements are being captured elsewhere. New entrants should audit the existing Volvo and Ford positions before committing to overlapping routes.
Lifecycle: DeclineTop five filers hold all activity among the largest ranked filers
With 100% of ranked-applicant activity concentrated in the top five, this niche has no meaningful independent challenger or academic presence visible in the patent record. Volvo Truck Corp alone holds 15 of the 32 families in scope. A new entrant would face a binary choice: design around a small but dense Volvo-centric cluster or seek licensing access before developing differentiated system architectures.
High concentrationNo formal co-applicant relationships recorded in the corpus
The collaboration evidence shows no co-filing activity among any parties in this corpus. All filings are sole-applicant, which is consistent with proprietary OEM development strategies. The absence of joint filings means there are no consortium or standards-body arrangements anchoring the technology roadmap, leaving the field open for a supply-chain partner or Tier-1 supplier to initiate co-development agreements.
No collaboration detectedUS is the primary jurisdiction; European and PCT coverage is thin
The United States leads with 18 patent records, followed by Europe (EPO) at 6 and WIPO (PCT) at 3. Germany and Austria each hold 2 records, and India holds 1. The limited PCT and EPO coverage relative to the US-heavy corpus suggests many families have not been broadly validated internationally, which may create freedom-to-operate opportunities in markets outside North America, particularly in fast-growing construction equipment markets in Asia.
US-visible 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.
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Assignee snapshot from the current evidence set
The applicants below are visible in this query result. Because the evidence set is relatively small, read this section as a directional snapshot rather than a full competitive ranking.
Volvo Truck Corp
Volvo Truck Corp holds 15 patent families, the largest position in the corpus, concentrated in B60L 50 (electric vehicle propulsion, 14 records), B60K 1 (vehicle propulsion and drive, 13 records), and H01M 50 (batteries and cells, 10 records). This cross-class breadth signals a system-level integration strategy covering the full pack-to-drivetrain interface. However, momentum has declined sharply — recent filings are down 93% versus the prior period — suggesting the foundational portfolio has been largely established rather than actively extended.
families: 15Ford Global Technologies
Ford Global Technologies holds 8 patent families and is classified as a new entrant, with 5 recent families versus a negligible prior base. Its focus on B60L 53 (electric vehicle propulsion — charging, 8 records) and H02J 7 (power supply and charging systems, 3 records) differentiates it from Volvo’s pack-integration emphasis, pointing toward charging management and power-flow control as Ford’s distinctive contribution. This trajectory makes Ford the most active recent filer and a credible challenger in adjacent charging-system routes.
families: 8Frequently asked questions
The corpus contains 32 patent families in scope, making this a small and specialized niche relative to broader EV battery or heavy-vehicle electrification domains.
Volvo Truck Corp leads with 15 patent families, roughly double the count of the next-ranked applicant. The Volvo group’s second entity, Volvo Construction Equipment AB, holds a further 7 families, giving the group a combined visible position.
The lifecycle is classified as Decline. Annual filings peaked in 2021 at 9 families and have eased significantly since, with a recent-window growth rate of -59%. Recent years (2024–2026) show very low counts that are subject to publication lag, so the true current rate may be somewhat higher than recorded.
The United States leads with 18 patent records, followed by Europe (EPO) at 6 and WIPO (PCT) at 3. Germany and Austria hold 2 records each, and India holds 1. Coverage outside North America and Western Europe is thin.
No co-applicant filings are recorded in this corpus. All activity is sole-applicant, consistent with proprietary OEM development strategies and the absence of visible standards-body or supply-chain consortium arrangements.
H02J (power supply and grid systems, 4 records) and B60W (hybrid and joint vehicle control, 2 records) are the most sparsely covered branches with plausible technical relevance to construction-equipment electrification. These represent observations of relative sparsity rather than guaranteed open territory, and freedom-to-operate searches should still be conducted.
Ready to map your own EV battery pack landscape?
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.