Geothermal Energy Patent Landscape 2026
Geothermal Energy Patent Landscape in 2026
Halliburton Energy Services dominates a highly concentrated field, holding a commanding lead over the next tier of filers across 8,749 patent families globally. The field reached its peak in 2022 and has since plateaued, though multi-year growth of 24% confirms continued strategic relevance.
Halliburton leads a concentrated field with a wide gap to challengers
Halliburton Energy Services holds the top position by a substantial margin, followed by Baker Hughes, Eavor Technologies, and Schlumberger Technology Corp, all of which are clustered significantly below the leader in the applicant ranking.
The top five filers account for 37% of the combined output of the hundred largest filers, reflecting a moderately concentrated competitive structure where a handful of oilfield-services and energy firms set the pace.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Halliburton Energy Services Inc | 1,660 | |
| 2 | Baker Hughes Company | 543 | |
| 3 | Eavor Technologies Inc | 314 | |
| 4 | Schlumberger Technology Corp | 314 | |
| 5 | Weatherford Technology Holdings LLC | 306 | |
| 6 | Shell Oil Company | 262 | |
| 7 | Nippon Steel Corporation | 210 | |
| 8 | VALLOUREC MANNESMANN OIL & GAS FRANCE | 201 | |
| 9 | Chevron USA Inc | 201 | |
| 10 | Schlumberger Technology BV | 177 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Schlumberger Canada Ltd | 154 | |
| 12 | Services Petroliers Schlumberger SA | 148 | |
| 13 | Foro Energy Inc | 121 | |
| 14 | Toshiba Corporation | 120 | |
| 15 | EnhancedGEO Holdings LLC | 115 | |
| 16 | Enventure Global Technology LLC | 107 | |
| 17 | JAPAN METALS & CHEM CO LTD | 99 | |
| 18 | Fuji Electric Co Ltd | 91 | |
| 19 | ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company | 86 | |
| 20 | Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij BV | 85 |
The leaders’ positions reflect deep investment in downhole drilling and well-completion technology — a legacy from the oil and gas sector now being redirected toward geothermal applications — creating high barriers for new entrants lacking comparable subsurface engineering portfolios.
Filings from 2024 onward are subject to publication lag and likely undercount actual activity; the apparent dip in 2025–2026 data should not be read as a real-world decline. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Activity peaked in 2022 and has plateaued; drilling dominates the technology mix
Two charts together show where the field stands in its lifecycle and how technology investment is distributed across IPC branches.
Annual filing trend
Filings climbed steadily from 2017 through a 2022 peak of 1,322, then eased to 1,167 in 2023 and 1,112 in 2024. The sharp drop in 2025–2026 reflects publication lag rather than a genuine decline; treat those years as provisional.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
E21B (earth and rock drilling for wells) is the dominant branch by a large margin, consistent with oilfield-services firms leading the corpus. F24T (geothermal systems) and F03G (miscellaneous motors) form the next tier, while branches covering heat exchange, power generation, and geophysical surveying represent smaller but potentially strategic concentrations.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaFoundational and most-cited patents
The most-cited families that anchor this space. Hover a row and click to open it in Eureka.
Geothermal well, method of establishing thereof an…
The object of the invention is a geothermal well, which comprises in a wellbore formed in the Earth’s crust: a fist tube (1) comprising at least one opening in a first depth and having a first inner diameter, a first outer diameter, and a side wall which is thermally insulated at least in a portion thereof; a second tube (2) having a closed bottom in a… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Downhole data transmission system | 549 |
| 2 | Proppant for well fractures and method of making s… | 393 |
| 3 | In situ recovery from a kerogen and liquid hydroca… | 381 |
| 4 | Sealing system for a well bore in which a hot flui… | 374 |
| 5 | In situ thermal processing of a relatively imperme… | 364 |
| 6 | Method for dumping and disposing of carbon dioxide… | 360 |
| 7 | In situ thermal processing of an oil reservoir for… | 356 |
| 8 | In situ thermal processing of an oil shale formati… | 348 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts accrue over time, so this list favours older, broadly-cited patents and may include general-purpose work beyond the specific topic; treat it as foundational context rather than a current-activity ranking.
What the structure means for R&D investment decisions
Four structural readings — maturity, concentration, collaboration, and geography — point to a field where the incumbent advantage is strong but collaboration patterns and geographic gaps offer entry angles.
Field is mature, not declining
Annual filings plateaued near their 2022 peak rather than continuing to climb, placing the field in a maturity stage. Multi-year growth of 24% confirms the corpus is still expanding on a longer horizon. New entrants face a crowded core but can find less-contested ground in adjacent branches.
Lifecycle: MatureOilfield-services firms dominate; one player towers above the rest
Halliburton’s patent-family count is more than three times that of second-ranked Baker Hughes, creating a steep tier gap. The top five filers collectively represent 37% of the hundred largest filers’ combined output. This concentration means licensing negotiations, standard-setting, and technology partnerships will almost certainly pass through a small set of incumbents.
High concentrationCross-company co-filing is active among a specific cluster of pairs
The most active co-filing relationship is between Nippon Steel Corporation and Vallourec Mannesmann Oil & Gas France, with 168 jointly filed patent families — reflecting their shared focus on tubular goods and pipe fittings for downhole use. Halliburton and Chevron USA are the second most active pair at 143 families, followed by multiple Schlumberger-entity internal and inter-entity collaborations. These clusters signal where technology-sharing agreements are already well-established.
Collaborative clustersUS and China dominate; Europe and PCT paths are secondary
The United States leads all jurisdictions, followed by China and then WIPO PCT and European EPO filings. Canada, Japan, and Australia form a secondary tier. Markets such as Indonesia, the Philippines, and Latin America — geothermal resource-rich regions — show comparatively thin patent coverage, which may reflect both lower enforcement incentives and early-stage commercial development in those countries.
US & China-ledGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Nippon Steel Corporation | Vallourec Mannesmann Oil & Gas France | 168 |
| Halliburton Energy Services Inc | Chevron USA Inc | 143 |
| Schlumberger Technology BV | Services Petroliers Schlumberger SA | 115 |
| Schlumberger Technology Corp | Services Petroliers Schlumberger SA | 90 |
| Schlumberger Technology Corp | Schlumberger Canada Ltd | 88 |
| Schlumberger Technology BV | Schlumberger Canada Ltd | 81 |
| Schlumberger Technology Corp | Schlumberger Technology BV | 79 |
| Halliburton Energy Services Inc | SDG LLC | 49 |
| Chevron USA Inc | SDG LLC | 49 |
| Chevron USA Inc | Sensing Dynamics Inc | 18 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Halliburton and Eavor Tech represent contrasting models: incumbent scale vs. purpose-built geothermal
The ranking separates legacy oilfield-services conglomerates from newer geothermal-native companies. Understanding their technology emphasis explains where the competitive frontier is moving.
Halliburton Energy Services
With 1,660 patent families, Halliburton’s position is built on depth in well completion, production engineering (E21B43), wellbore sealing (E21B33), and downhole fluids and materials (C09K8). Its momentum is positive at +30% in recent filings, reinforcing an active, not coasting, strategy. The breadth of its portfolio makes it the de facto standard-setter in subsurface geothermal engineering.
families: 1,660Eavor Technologies
Eavor Technologies, with 314 patent families, is the highest-ranked geothermal-native company in the corpus and concentrates almost entirely on geothermal systems (F24T10, F24T50) with supporting drilling coverage (E21B43). Its recent filing momentum shows a –62% decline from the prior three-year window, suggesting it has completed an initial portfolio-building phase rather than retreating from the field. As a pure-play closed-loop geothermal developer, it occupies a distinct and less-crowded segment from the oilfield-services leaders.
families: 314| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Halliburton Energy Services Inc | 291 | ▲ +30% |
| Baker Hughes Company | 2 | ▼ -93% |
| Eavor Technologies Inc | 78 | ▼ -62% |
| Schlumberger Technology Corp | 106 | ▲ +194% |
| Nippon Steel Corporation | 42 | ▼ -57% |
| Vallourec Mannesmann Oil & Gas France | 54 | ▼ -33% |
| Chevron USA Inc | 8 | ▼ -60% |
| Schlumberger Technology BV | 68 | ▲ 4.3× vs prior 3-yr |
Under-served branches adjacent to the geothermal core
Several IPC branches sit within the geothermal energy corpus at relatively low shares, indicating areas where the existing base of activity is thin relative to their technical relevance to geothermal systems.
G01V · Geophysics & gravity surveying
Geophysical surveying methods are central to site characterization for enhanced geothermal systems and closed-loop projects, yet G01V accounts for only a 2% share of branch records in this corpus. The technical case for deeper investment is clear — better subsurface mapping directly reduces exploration risk. An entrant with seismic or gravity-survey IP could position as an essential data-layer provider to the dominant drilling-focused players.
Search this in Eureka →F28D · Heat-exchange apparatus
Heat exchangers are a critical component in every geothermal power cycle and district heating system, yet F28D holds only a 2% share within this corpus. Given that thermal efficiency at the surface is a key economic lever — particularly for low-enthalpy resources — this branch represents an under-served interface between geothermal resource extraction and energy conversion. Entry paths include surface-plant optimization, compact exchanger designs for remote deployments, and corrosion-resistant materials suited to brine-rich geothermal fluids.
Search this in Eureka →How leading filers differ by technology route
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | E21B 43 · Earth & rock drilling (wells) | F24T 10 · Geothermal systems | F03G 4 · Spring/weight & misc. motors | E21B 47 · Earth & rock drilling (wells) | E21B 33 · Earth & rock drilling (wells) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halliburton Energy Services Inc | Strong · 586 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 387 | Strong · 459 |
| Eavor Technologies Inc | Strong · 109 | Strong · 203 | Moderate · 64 | Absent | Moderate · 88 |
| Baker Hughes Company | Moderate · 78 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 236 | Absent |
| Shell Oil Company | Strong · 223 | Absent | Absent | Moderate · 57 | Absent |
| Schlumberger Technology Corp | Strong · 62 | Moderate · 34 | Absent | Strong · 86 | Moderate · 42 |
| Schlumberger Technology BV | Strong · 51 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 79 | Moderate · 32 |
| ICE Thermal Harvesting LLC | Absent | Absent | Strong · 70 | Strong · 55 | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 8,749 patent families globally. The United States leads all jurisdictions in terms of patent records filed, followed by China and WIPO PCT.
Halliburton Energy Services holds the top position with 1,660 patent families, more than three times the count of second-ranked Baker Hughes at 543 patent families.
The field reached a peak in 2022 and annual filings have since plateaued. Multi-year growth of 24% confirms the corpus is still expanding on a longer time horizon, placing the field in a maturity stage rather than decline. Note that 2024 and later data are subject to publication lag.
E21B (earth and rock drilling for wells) is by far the largest branch, reflecting the strong presence of oilfield-services firms. F24T (geothermal systems) and F03G (miscellaneous motors) form the next tier, followed by materials, heat exchange, and power-plant branches.
The most active co-filing pair is Nippon Steel Corporation and Vallourec Mannesmann Oil & Gas France with 168 jointly filed families, focused on tubular goods. Halliburton and Chevron USA are second at 143 families. Multiple Schlumberger entity pairs are also among the top co-filers.
Geophysics and gravity surveying (G01V) and heat-exchange apparatus (F28D) each account for only a 2% share of branch records in the corpus, making them relatively sparse adjacent branches. Materials for miscellaneous applications (C09K) and steam and thermal power plants (F01K) are also under-represented relative to their technical importance to geothermal systems.
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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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