EV Battery Thermal Management Patent Landscape 2026
EV Battery Thermal Management Patent Landscape in 2026
EV battery thermal management is a growth-stage field with 6,862 patent families in scope, led by Ford Global Technologies ahead of BYD and Hyundai Motor. The field expanded strongly on a multi-year basis, though annual volume has eased from its 2023 peak and China is the dominant filing jurisdiction by a wide margin.
Ford leads a moderately concentrated field dominated by automakers and battery makers
Ford Global Technologies holds the top position with 282 patent families, ahead of BYD Co Ltd (239) and Hyundai Motor (192), confirming that integrated automakers rather than pure-play thermal specialists set the pace.
The top five filers — Ford, BYD, Hyundai Motor, Toyota, and GM Global Technology Operations — together account for 26% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, indicating moderate rather than extreme concentration; a challenger tier from LG Energy Solution down to Geely and CATL commands meaningful secondary share.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford Global Technologies LLC | 282 | |
| 2 | BYD Co Ltd | 239 | |
| 3 | Hyundai Motor Co Ltd | 192 | |
| 4 | Toyota Motor Corporation | 170 | |
| 5 | GM Global Technology Operations LLC | 158 | |
| 6 | LG Energy Solution Ltd | 123 | |
| 7 | Dana Canada Corporation | 108 | |
| 8 | Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd | 103 | |
| 9 | Contemporary Amperex Technology (Hong Kong) Limited | 89 | |
| 10 | China FAW Co Ltd | 86 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Guangdong University of Technology | 75 | |
| 12 | Caterpillar Inc | 67 | |
| 13 | Aspen Aerogels Inc | 65 | |
| 14 | Tesla Inc | 64 | |
| 15 | Hanon Systems Co Ltd | 58 | |
| 16 | South China University of Technology | 57 | |
| 17 | Gentherm Inc | 55 | |
| 18 | BLACK & DECKER CORP | 53 | |
| 19 | Huating Hefei Power Technology | 50 | |
| 20 | Hyundai Mobis Co Ltd | 50 |
The leaders’ positions imply deep investment in system-level integration: the top applicants span cell-level thermal design (H01M), EV propulsion management (B60L), and cabin HVAC coupling (B60H), making it difficult for component specialists to displace them without broad cross-domain coverage.
The most recent 18–24 months of data are subject to publication lag and will understate true filing activity; the trend figures for 2024–2026 should be read as provisional. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Multi-year growth holds firm; cell-level thermal design dominates the technology mix
The filing trend and IPC composition together reveal a field that is maturing in its core battery-cell thermal classes while still building out adjacent vehicle-system branches.
Annual filing trend
Annual filings climbed steadily from 2017 through a 2023 peak of 1,109, representing a multi-year expansion; the subsequent easing to 970 in 2024 and 720 in 2025 is partly an artefact of publication lag and should not be read as a structural decline. The recent three-year window sits 45% above the prior three-year window, confirming the field is still expanding on a multi-year basis.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01M (batteries, cells and fuel cells) overwhelmingly anchors the corpus, followed by B60L (electric vehicle propulsion) and B60H (vehicle heating and. A/C). Downstream heat-exchanger classes F28D and F28F, power supply class H02J, and fire-fighting class A62C each represent smaller but technically meaningful clusters, pointing to diversification toward system-level and safety-oriented work.
↗ 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.
Battery pack, battery thermal management system an…
The disclosure provides a battery pack, a battery thermal management system and a battery thermal management control method. The battery pack includes: a housing, a bracket and a battery cell. The housing is provided with an accommodation space. The bracket is arranged in the accommodation space, which forms at least one accommodation cavity with the… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
Open this patent in Eureka →| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Predictive model for estimating battery states | 374 |
| 2 | Battery cooling system for vehicle | 328 |
| 3 | Active Thermal Runaway Mitigation System for Use W… | 263 |
| 4 | Thermal management systems for battery packs | 249 |
| 5 | System for cooling electric vehicle batteries | 240 |
| 6 | Battery thermal management system | 190 |
| 7 | Method of thermal management for a hybrid vehicle | 189 |
| 8 | Quick charge battery with thermal management | 182 |
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 investment decisions
Four structural observations — maturity stage, applicant concentration, collaboration patterns, and geographic spread — directly inform where new entrants and incumbents should focus resources.
Growth stage, easing from 2023 peak
The field is classified as Growth: the recent three-year filing window sits 45% above the prior three-year window, confirming sustained multi-year expansion. Annual volume peaked in 2023 and has since eased, a pattern consistent with a maturing core alongside active development of adjacent sub-fields. New entrants still have room to stake positions in under-served branches before consolidation tightens further.
Growth · post-2023-peakModerate concentration with a strong challenger tier
The top five filers hold 26% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total — meaningful but not dominant. A second tier running from LG Energy Solution (123 patent families) through Dana Canada (108) and Geely (103) means incumbents face credible challengers. Component specialists such as Aspen Aerogels and Gentherm have carved defensible niches despite lower family counts.
Moderate concentrationHyundai–Kia is the dominant co-filing pair; Geely ecosystem is most active
The most active co-filing relationship is Hyundai Motor and Kia with 126 jointly assigned families, reflecting deep platform integration. Geely Holding leads a multi-entity ecosystem spanning Geely Automobile Research Institute, Zeekr, Viridi E-Mobility (Ningbo), Geely Remote New Energy, Zhejiang Liankon Technology, and Sichuan Geely Commercial Vehicle, with co-filing counts ranging from 6 to 23 per pair. Toyota and Subaru round out the notable collaborations with 7 joint families.
Ecosystem co-filingChina filing dominance; US and EPO are secondary strongholds
China accounts for 3,832 patent records — by far the largest single jurisdiction — reflecting the scale of Chinese domestic EV production and policy-driven R&D. The United States is the next largest at 1,821 records, followed by EPO at 734. India (413) and South Korea (365) are emerging enforcement-relevant jurisdictions. Organizations seeking broad protection should prioritise at minimum the China–US–EPO–Korea quartet.
China-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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hyundai Motor Co Ltd | Kia Corporation | 126 |
| Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd | Zhejiang Geely Automobile Research Institute Co Ltd | 23 |
| Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd | Geely Automobile Research Institute (Ningbo) Co Ltd | 17 |
| Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd | Zhejiang Zeekr Intelligent Technology Co Ltd | 15 |
| Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd | Viridi E-Mobility Technology (Ningbo) Co Ltd | 12 |
| Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd | Zhejiang Geely Remote New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group Co Ltd | 10 |
| Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd | Zhejiang Liankon Technology Co Ltd | 9 |
| Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd | Geely Sichuan Commercial Vehicle Co Ltd | 8 |
| Toyota Motor Corporation | Subaru Corporation | 7 |
| Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd | Ningbo Geely Automobile Research and Development Co Ltd | 6 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Ford leads on family count; GM shows the sharpest recent acceleration
The top two players illustrate contrasting momentum profiles: Ford holds the largest cumulative portfolio while GM Global Technology Operations has posted the strongest recent-period surge.
Ford Global Technologies
Ford holds the top position with 282 patent families, with primary technology emphasis on H01M cell-level thermal design (239 families), B60L EV propulsion management (88), and B60H vehicle HVAC coupling (54). Recent momentum shows a ▼ -28% decline versus the prior three-year window, suggesting the portfolio is maturing and Ford may be selectively narrowing filing scope rather than pursuing broad coverage.
patent families: 282GM Global Technology Operations
GM ranks fifth with 158 patent families but stands out with a recent-period trajectory of ▲ 3.0× versus the prior three-year window — the sharpest acceleration among major applicants. Its focus is concentrated in H01M cell thermal classes (123 families) and H01M50 battery structural elements (49), with B60L propulsion management (29) as a secondary area, pointing to a cell-and-pack-first strategy rather than full system integration.
patent families: 158| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Ford Global Technologies LLC | 41 | ▼ -28% |
| BYD Co Ltd | 76 | ▼ -25% |
| Hyundai Motor Co Ltd | 43 | ▲ +19% |
| Toyota Motor Corporation | 21 | ▼ -22% |
| GM Global Technology Operations LLC | 57 | ▲ 3.0× vs prior 3-yr |
| Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) | 49 | ▼ -16% |
| Dana Canada Corporation | 11 | ▼ -69% |
Under-served adjacent branches worth monitoring
Several IPC classes adjacent to the dominant H01M and B60L core show lower relative filing density; these are observations of sparsity, and where plausible technical value and a realistic entry path exist, they merit further evaluation.
H02J · Power supply & grid systems
With 367 patent records, H02J sits at roughly 2% of the corpus despite its direct relevance to grid-integrated thermal pre-conditioning, V2G thermal load management, and DC fast-charge thermal buffering. The sparse coverage relative to the core battery classes suggests that thermal management at the charging-infrastructure interface is an under-served area. Entrants with power electronics or grid-integration expertise could differentiate by linking charging-protocol design to pack thermal state.
Search this in Eureka →F28D / F28F · Heat-exchange apparatus & details
F28D (307 records, ~2%) and F28F (251 records, ~2%) together cover dedicated heat-exchanger hardware — cold plates, manifolds, microchannel designs — that underpins immersion cooling and high-power fast-charge architectures. Their low share relative to H01M indicates that hardware-level heat-exchanger design is not yet heavily patented in the EV battery context. Thermal component specialists or materials companies could establish strong positions here before automaker integration work crowds the space.
Search this in Eureka →How the leading applicants differ across technology routes
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | H01M 10 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | B60L 58 · Electric vehicle propulsion | H01M 50 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | B60H 1 · Vehicle heating & A/C | H01M 2 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Global Technologies LLC | Strong · 239 | Moderate · 88 | Moderate · 51 | Moderate · 54 | Emerging · 19 |
| BYD Co Ltd | Strong · 194 | Strong · 98 | Moderate · 41 | Moderate · 81 | Emerging · 18 |
| Hyundai Motor Co Ltd | Strong · 173 | Moderate · 53 | Emerging · 32 | Moderate · 55 | Emerging · 13 |
| LG Chem Ltd | Strong · 113 | Absent | Strong · 61 | Absent | Moderate · 46 |
| Toyota Motor Corporation | Strong · 146 | Moderate · 30 | Absent | Emerging · 15 | Emerging · 13 |
| GM Global Technology Operations LLC | Strong · 123 | Moderate · 29 | Moderate · 49 | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus comprises 6,862 patent families in scope globally. China is the leading filing jurisdiction with 3,832 patent records, followed by the United States at 1,821 and EPO at 734.
Ford Global Technologies leads with 282 patent families, ahead of BYD Co Ltd (239 patent families) and Hyundai Motor Co Ltd (192 patent families). The top five filers account for 26% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total.
The field is in the Growth stage on a multi-year basis, with recent three-year filings 45% above the prior three-year window. Annual volume peaked in 2023 at 1,109 and has since eased; the 2024–2026 figures are also understated by publication lag, so the apparent recent dip should not be read as a structural decline.
GM Global Technology Operations shows the sharpest acceleration at 3.0× its prior three-year filing pace. Hyundai Motor (+19%) and Kia (+21%) are also trending upward, while Ford (-28%), BYD (-25%), Toyota (-22%), and Dana Canada (-69%) have moderated their recent filing rates.
The most-cited work covers predictive battery-state modelling (374 citations), battery cooling system design for vehicles (328 citations), active thermal runaway mitigation (263 citations), thermal management systems for battery packs (249 citations), and system-level EV battery cooling (240 citations).
H02J (power supply and grid systems, 367 patent records) and the combined F28D/F28F heat-exchanger classes (307 and 251 patent records respectively) show lower filing density relative to the H01M and B60L core. These represent adjacent branches in grid-integrated thermal management and dedicated heat-exchanger hardware where coverage is sparse compared to technical importance.
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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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