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Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/floating-photovoltaic-systems-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-07-31 · downloaded from the live page
Patent Landscape · Floating Photovoltaic SystemsFloating photovoltaic patents: mooring, float durability and wave-load claims mapped
- Concentrated at the top. the top 5 assignees hold 70.2% of the 47 records in scope, and the top 10 hold 89.4% — a short list of filers controls most of the claim space.
- Filing has cooled since 2020. activity peaked at 17 records in 2020 and had fallen to a midpoint of 4 by 2022, with the most recent year still partial due to publication lag.
- Marine engineering, not just PV, defines the field. 95.7% of records carry a B63B ships-and-vessels class, ahead of the 74.5% that carry a core H02S photovoltaic class.
47
Published Records
70%
Top-5 Share of All Records
-89%
3-Yr Growth (lag-adjusted)
CN
Leading Jurisdiction
Published byPatsnap Research··6 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Overview
What this landscape covers
Floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems sit at the intersection of marine engineering and solar power generation: floating solar panels anchored or moored to a body of water. This landscape draws on 47 published records filed between 2015 and 2026 that combine floating-solar search terms with claim language on mooring and anchoring, float material durability, wave load, cooling effect on yield, or water evaporation reduction, restricted to the H02S20, B63B35 and H01L31 IPC groups.
Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the most recent filing year in this dataset understates real activity. The pattern that matters is the shape of the curve up to the 2020 peak and the decline since, not the final partial year.
Filing activity and technology composition, 2015-2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Floating Photovoltaic Systems covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
The data
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 47 records: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses the claims actually sit in.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Filings rose to a peak of 17 records in 2020, then eased — the 2022 midpoint sits at 4 records — into a flat-to-declining pattern through the most recent (partial) year.
IPC subclass composition
B63B (ships and marine vessels) appears on 95.7% of the 47 records and H02S (photovoltaic power generation) on 74.5%; smaller shares touch solar heat collectors, semiconductor devices, grid systems, and single-digit outliers in fishing/aquaculture, hydraulic machines and data processing. Records can carry multiple classes, so shares sum to more than 100%.
Shares are the percentage of the 47 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Floating Photovoltaic Systems covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
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Most-cited records in this dataset
Representative filing
System and method for mooring and anchoring of floating solar arrays on water surface (US20220411026A1)
CHELLAKAT, JOEJOE
The filing discloses a floater unit that secures solar panels around its circumference, connected via main mooring lines to buoys, each buoy anchored to the water-body floor. Adjacent main mooring lines are joined in a parabolic curve, a geometry the claims tie directly to load distribution across the anchor points.Filed by Chellakat, Joejoe; published 2022-12-29.
Citation leaders
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20210214056A1 | Floatable array ready solar module mounting device, system and method of solar energy collection | 23 |
| 2 | KR101997077B1 | Floating solar power generation module on the surface of water | 13 |
| 3 | CN114735149A | 一种抗恶劣海况的消浪抗浪一体化浮式光伏装置 | 8 |
| 4 | US20220411026A1 | System and method for mooring and anchoring of floating solar arrays on water surface | 6 |
| 5 | WO2020161714A1 | Controlled floating solar module | 6 |
| 6 | CN216834187U | 一种采用多立柱式浮体基础的海上漂浮式光伏系统 | 5 |
| 7 | CN116588250A | 一种漂浮光伏系泊锚固系统设计方法 | 4 |
| 8 | CN115973328A | 一种自适应调节浮式光伏系泊张力的保护装置 | 4 |
| 9 | IL279932A | Floating solar panel array installation and mooring and method of assembly | 4 |
| 10 | WO2022113103A1 | System and method for mooring and anchoring of floating solar arrays on water surface | 3 |
Ranked by citation count within this searched corpus; older records accumulate citations by tenure, so treat this as a signal of influence rather than current 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.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Citation counts and representative records. Derived from a Patsnap search on Floating Photovoltaic Systems covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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What the numbers say
Three read-throughs from the filing trend, the IPC composition, and the citation table.
Concentration
70.2% / 89.4%
top 5 / top 10 share of 47 records
A short list of filers controls most of the space
The top 5 assignees account for 70.2% of the 47 records in scope, and the top 10 reach 89.4%. For a new entrant, this means the practical prior-art review is short but dense: a handful of portfolios need close reading before drafting new mooring or float claims.
Assignee ranking, 24 companies
Momentum
Peak 17 in 2020
filings by year
Filing has cooled since the 2020 peak
Activity peaked at 17 records in 2020 and had fallen to 4 by the 2022 midpoint. Combined with a mostly-flat recent-year momentum table for individual assignees, this points to a field that filled its core claim space early rather than one still accelerating.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Technology mix
95.7% B63B
share of 47 records
This is a marine-engineering field first
Almost every record in scope carries a B63B ships-and-vessels classification, ahead of the 74.5% carrying a core H02S photovoltaic class. Claims are as likely to be contested on float geometry, mooring hardware or wave load as on the PV module itself.
IPC composition, 8 subclasses tracked
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Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to floating photovoltaic systems, with the prior art for and against each one.
Co-filing is rare
| Assignee | Co-assignee | Shared families |
|---|---|---|
| Solatics Ltd. | SOLATICS | 4 |
| KANOTRA RAHUL | CHELLAKAT JOEJOE | 2 |
| RAHUL KANOTRA | CHELLAKAT SATYARAJ JOE JOE | 2 |
| KANOTRA RAHUL | JOE JOE CHELLAKAT SATYARAJ | 1 |
Only 4 co-assignee pairs appear across the dataset, and the strongest pairing repeats across just a handful of records — most filings in this space are single-assignee efforts rather than joint development.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on Floating Photovoltaic Systems covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Players
Who holds the claim space
The assignee ranking covers 24 companies and research institutes across the 47 records in scope — not a top-50 or top-100 cut, but the full ranked list the dataset returns.
Leader
17 records
leading assignee
One filer well ahead of the rest
The leading assignee holds 17 of the 47 records in scope, a wide gap over fifth place at 3 records. That gap suggests one portfolio anchors most of the foundational mooring and float-structure claims.
Assignee ranking, position 1
Mid-table
3 records
fifth-place assignee
A cluster of mid-size filers
From second through roughly fifth place, filing counts sit close together before tapering into a long tail. This mid-table is where challenger portfolios and university labs compete for adjacent claims.
Assignee ranking, position 5
Long tail
1 record
tenth-place assignee
A long tail of single- or few-filing entrants
By the tenth ranked position, filing counts have dropped to 1 record. Momentum data for several tail assignees shows 0 filings in the latest year, consistent with entrants that filed once and did not follow up.
Assignee ranking, position 10
Recent-year momentum by assignee
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Tianjin University | 1 | 0% |
| Xflow Inc. | 0 | -100% |
| King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals | 0 | -100% |
| Solatics Ltd. | 0 | — |
| SOLATICS | 0 | — |
| Jiangsu University of Science and Technology | 0 | — |
| KANOTRA RAHUL | 0 | — |
| PowerChina Huadong Engineering Corporation Limited | 0 | — |
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee-level momentum. Derived from a Patsnap search on Floating Photovoltaic Systems covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
What's next
Where to take this
Two directions depend on whether the priority is freedom-to-operate or spotting where to file next.
Check freedom-to-operate against the leader's portfolio
With one assignee holding 17 of 47 records, a mooring or float-structure filing should start with a close read of that portfolio's claim scope before drafting.
Run a freedom-to-operate check in EurekaTrack the under-claimed branches
Cooling-effect-on-yield and evaporation-reduction claims sit at single-digit record counts against a 47-record base — thin enough to be worth a deeper novelty search before committing R&D.
Explore white space in EurekaSource: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Floating Photovoltaic Systems covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
FAQ
Common questions on floating photovoltaic patents
In this 47-record dataset, one assignee leads with 17 records, well ahead of the fifth-ranked assignee at 3 records. The ranking covers 24 companies and institutes in total, so the field is concentrated at the top but not a single-company monopoly. Anyone assessing freedom-to-operate should start with the leader's portfolio before moving down the ranked list.
Not currently. Filings peaked at 17 records in 2020 and had fallen to a midpoint of 4 by 2022, and recent-year momentum figures for individual assignees mostly show 0% or negative year-over-year change. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the most recent year in the trend is understated, but the multi-year decline from the 2020 peak is a real pattern, not an artefact of the lag.
The dataset is dominated by marine engineering: 95.7% of the 47 records carry a B63B ships-and-vessels classification, covering float structures, mooring and anchoring. A core photovoltaic classification (H02S) appears on 74.5% of records, while solar heat collectors, semiconductor devices and grid-integration classes each cover smaller minority shares. This means claim novelty in this field is often won or lost on marine hardware, not the PV module itself.
US20220411026A1 claims a floater unit securing solar panels, connected through main mooring lines to buoys individually anchored to the water-body floor, with adjacent mooring lines joined in a parabolic curve tied to load distribution. It is one of the more-cited records in this dataset, with 6 citations, which signals it is a frequently referenced reference point rather than an obscure filing. A new mooring design would need to avoid or design around the specific buoy-to-anchor and parabolic mooring-line geometry rather than mooring and anchoring generally.
Sub-areas tied to cooling effect on yield, water evaporation reduction, and long-term float material durability show up as search terms in this dataset but do not dominate the IPC composition or the citation leaders, unlike the core B63B float-structure and H02S photovoltaic classes. That gap suggests these branches are less densely claimed relative to the 47-record base. A first claim there would need to tie a specific measurable effect, such as evaporation rate reduction, to a concrete structural or material feature rather than restating the general floating-solar concept.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Floating Photovoltaic Systems covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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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.