Floating Wind Turbine for Renewable Hydrogen Patent Landscape
Floating Wind Turbine for Renewable Hydrogen Patent Landscape in 2026
The floating wind-to-hydrogen field is sharply concentrated: the top five filers among the hundred largest applicants hold 72% of that group’s combined total, with Lone Gull Holdings and Innovator Energy accounting for nearly half the corpus alone. The field is still expanding on a multi-year basis, though annual volume has eased from its 2022 peak and the most recent filing years remain understated by publication lag.
A tightly held niche dominated by two specialist firms
Lone Gull Holdings Ltd leads all applicants with 30 patent families, followed by Innovator Energy LLC with 21 and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy AS with 13.
The top five filers account for 72% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total — an unusually high concentration for an emerging energy technology, indicating that a small cluster of specialist and early-mover entities has established a structurally dominant position before mainstream industrial adoption.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lone Gull Holdings Ltd | 30 | |
| 2 | Innovator Energy LLC | 21 | |
| 3 | Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy AS | 13 | |
| 4 | Single Buoy Moorings Inc | 8 | |
| 5 | Subsea 7 Ltd | 8 | |
| 6 | Cabin Air Group | 4 | |
| 7 | FREW HLDG BV | 3 | |
| 8 | Hitachi Ltd | 3 | |
| 9 | Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC | 3 | |
| 10 | University of Maine | 3 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Dehlsen Associates of the Pacific Ltd | 2 | |
| 12 | KOREA INSTITUTE OF OCEAN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | 2 | |
| 13 | SIA YIK HEI | 2 | |
| 14 | Huygens Beheer BV | 1 | |
| 15 | Korea Marine Equipment Research Institute | 1 | |
| 16 | National Institute of Technology Manipur | 1 | |
| 17 | Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 1 | |
| 18 | University of Massachusetts | 1 | |
| 19 | Odfjell Oceanwind AS | 1 | |
| 20 | Edison Technology Co Ltd | 1 |
Lone Gull’s lead, built on hydraulic machinery and marine vessel classes, suggests a platform-level approach; Siemens Gamesa’s entry signals that a major turbine OEM has begun staking IP positions, which typically foreshadows broader industrial competition.
Filing counts for 2024 and 2025 are understated due to standard patent publication delays of 18–24 months; the apparent slowdown in those years should not be read as a real decline in inventive activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Activity surged from 2021 onward; hydraulic and marine classes dominate the technology mix
The annual filing trend and the IPC technology composition together reveal both the pace at which the field has matured and the breadth of engineering disciplines it spans.
Annual filing trend
Filings were negligible before 2019, then accelerated sharply through 2021 and peaked in 2022. The three-year window ending in 2024 sits well above the prior three-year window, confirming multi-year growth, but annual volume has eased from the 2022 peak. Years 2024 and 2025 are materially understated by publication lag and should not be interpreted as a real slowdown.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
Hydraulic machines and engines (F03B) and ships and marine vessels (B63B) are the two most represented IPC classes, reflecting the offshore platform engineering at the core of these inventions. Wind motors (F03D) and electrolytic production of compounds (C25B, which covers electrolysis-based hydrogen generation) follow, confirming that the corpus spans both the energy-capture and the hydrogen-production subsystems. Several adjacent classes — water treatment (C02F), power grid integration (H02J), and liquid dispensing (B67D) — appear at lower densities, indicating that balance-of-plant and offtake engineering is less developed in the patent record.
↗ 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.
EINE NICHT VERANKERTE, FREI SCHWIMMENDE WINDKRAFTA…
This disclosure relates to an unmoored floating wind turbine system comprising a connecting structure that bears one or more wind turbines, and at least three hulls or topological concentrations of buoyancy-force, wherein the connecting structure is configured to transmit moments and forces between the at least three hulls and the one or more wind turbines… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hydrogen production and conveyance system | 45 |
| 2 | Power generating windbags and waterbags | 28 |
| 3 | Wind and wave desalination vessel | 28 |
| 4 | Offshore renewable energy power station | 16 |
| 5 | Hydrogen production and conveyance system | 11 |
| 6 | Mobile floating offshore wind energy system | 10 |
| 7 | Brine power | 10 |
| 8 | 一种浮式海上风机与制氢一体化系统及其应用 | 8 |
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
The combination of high concentration, a clearly identifiable growth inflection, limited academic-industrial collaboration, and US-centric filing geography shapes both the risk and opportunity profile for new entrants.
Growth stage, but past its 2022 filing peak
The field carries a Growth lifecycle designation: the recent three-year filing window sits well above the prior three-year window, confirming the field is still expanding on a multi-year basis. However, annual volume has eased from the 2022 peak, suggesting the initial land-grab phase is transitioning toward more selective, higher-quality filings. New entrants can still establish credible positions, but the window of easy differentiation is narrowing.
Lifecycle: GrowthTwo specialists hold structural dominance
Lone Gull Holdings and Innovator Energy together account for 51 of the top-ranked patent families, giving them a blocking position across core hydraulic-marine system architectures. Siemens Gamesa’s entry with 13 patent families introduces an OEM-scale competitor whose supply-chain leverage could accelerate commercialization. Any new entrant must either design around the dominant clusters or target the adjacent, less-covered branches.
Top-5 share: 72%One active co-filing pair identified: University of Maine and Alliance for Sustainable Energy
The University of Maine and the Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC share 3 co-filed patent families, the only collaboration pair evidenced in the data. Both organizations focus on floating platform vessel architecture (B63B). The near-absence of broader academic-industrial co-filing suggests that the dominant private players are developing technology internally rather than through open-innovation partnerships, which may create licensing or partnership entry points for research institutions.
Co-filers: 1 pairUS-led filing with limited Asian and European coverage
The United States is the leading filing jurisdiction, followed by the EPO regional route and WIPO PCT filings. Australia, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam also appear in the record, suggesting some applicants are pursuing Asia-Pacific market access. China and South Korea each carry only a small number of patent records despite both countries’ active offshore wind programs, indicating a potential gap between commercial ambition and filed IP in those markets.
Lead office: USGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| University of Maine | Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC | 3 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Lone Gull leads on volume; Innovator Energy and Siemens Gamesa are the fastest-moving challengers
The leader set divides into an established volume leader (Lone Gull) and a cohort of new entrants that entered the recent three-year window at scale, with Innovator Energy and Siemens Gamesa being the most consequential.
Lone Gull Holdings Ltd
Lone Gull Holdings holds 30 patent families, the largest portfolio in the corpus. Its technology emphasis is concentrated in hydraulic machines and engines (F03B) and marine vessel architecture (B63B), indicating a platform-level, systems-integration approach to the offshore hydrogen value chain. Recent momentum shows a 60% decline from prior levels, suggesting the initial filing campaign has concluded and the portfolio is now in a consolidation or prosecution phase rather than active expansion.
families: 30Innovator Energy LLC
Innovator Energy LLC holds 21 patent families and entered the recent filing window as a new entrant, with 18 of those families filed in the recent period. Its technology focus spans hydraulic machinery (F03B), water and wastewater treatment (C02F), and power grid systems (H02J), which is a notably broader systems scope than Lone Gull’s and covers the electrolysis balance-of-plant chain more explicitly. This trajectory makes Innovator Energy the most active current filer and a potential challenger for portfolio leadership in the next cycle.
families: 21| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Lone Gull Holdings Ltd | 8 | ▼ -60% |
| Innovator Energy LLC | 18 | ▲ new entrant |
| Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy AS | 11 | ▲ new entrant |
| Subsea 7 Ltd | 8 | ▲ new entrant |
| Cabin Air Group | 4 | ▲ new entrant |
| University of Maine | 3 | ▲ new entrant |
| Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC | 3 | ▲ new entrant |
| FREW HLDG BV | 3 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches in power integration, liquid handling, and vessel auxiliaries
Several IPC branches appear at materially lower patent-record densities relative to the dominant hydraulic and marine classes, suggesting that certain engineering subsystems have received less systematic IP coverage and may be accessible to focused entrants.
H02J · Power supply and grid systems integration
With 15 patent records against 37 in the core wind motor class (F03D), grid and power management represents an under-served adjacent branch. Offshore hydrogen systems require dynamic power routing between the turbine, electrolyzer, and potential grid export — a technically complex problem that existing filings address only partially. Innovator Energy is the primary filer in this space (H02J 15), but coverage is thin. An entrant with expertise in power electronics or microgrid control could file in this branch without directly conflicting with the dominant hydraulic-marine portfolios.
Search this in Eureka →B67D · Dispensing and transfer of liquids (hydrogen offtake)
B67D covers liquid dispensing and transfer, which in this context maps to compressed or liquefied hydrogen offtake, storage transfer, and bunkering — a critical but currently sparse branch with 13 patent records. Safe and efficient hydrogen transfer from an offshore floating platform to a carrier vessel or pipeline is a recognized commercialization bottleneck. No single dominant filer is evident in this branch, and the technical problem is distinct from the upstream generation and platform engineering covered by the leading portfolios, offering a realistic entry path for marine logistics or gas-handling specialists.
Search this in Eureka →How the leading applicants differ across technology routes
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | F03B 13 · Hydraulic machines & engines | C25B 1 · Electrolytic production of compounds | B63B 35 · Ships & marine vessels | F03D 13 · Wind motors (wind turbines) | F03D 9 · Wind motors (wind turbines) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lone Gull Holdings Ltd | Strong · 27 | Moderate · 12 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy AS | Absent | Moderate · 5 | Absent | Moderate · 6 | Strong · 13 |
| Innovator Energy LLC | Strong · 19 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Single Buoy Moorings Inc | Absent | Strong · 6 | Strong · 8 | Absent | Absent |
| Subsea 7 Ltd | Absent | Absent | Absent | Strong · 8 | Absent |
| FREW HLDG BV | Absent | Absent | Absent | Strong · 3 | Strong · 3 |
| Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology | Absent | Strong · 2 | Strong · 2 | Strong · 2 | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 111 patent families in scope as identified by PatSnap Eureka for this technology topic.
Lone Gull Holdings Ltd leads with 30 patent families, concentrated in hydraulic machinery and marine vessel architecture. Innovator Energy LLC is the most active recent entrant with 21 patent families, of which 18 were filed in the recent three-year window.
The field carries a Growth lifecycle designation, with the recent three-year filing window sitting well above the prior three-year window. However, annual volume has eased from its 2022 peak. Filing counts for 2024 and 2025 are additionally understated by standard patent publication delays and should not be read as a real decline.
The United States is the leading jurisdiction, followed by the EPO regional route and WIPO PCT filings. Australia and the United Kingdom also appear. China and South Korea each carry only a small number of patent records, representing a potential gap relative to those countries’ commercial offshore wind ambitions.
Power grid and supply systems (H02J) and liquid dispensing and transfer (B67D) are among the lower-density branches relative to the dominant hydraulic and marine vessel classes. These branches address real engineering bottlenecks — dynamic power routing and hydrogen offtake logistics — with no single dominant filer, making them realistic entry points for specialists.
Only one co-filing pair is evidenced in the data: the University of Maine and the Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC share 3 co-filed patent families, both focused on floating platform vessel architecture. Broader academic-industrial collaboration is not apparent in the current corpus.
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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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