Grid-Forming Inverter for Mining Operations Patent Landscape
Grid-Forming Inverter for Mining Operations Patent Landscape in 2026
The grid-forming inverter for mining operations patent space is small but accelerating, with 29 patent families on record and a 63% recent-window growth rate — driven by a burst of activity centred on 2024. Siemens AG holds a commanding first-mover lead, while power-conversion and grid-systems classes dominate the technology mix, leaving control, software, and energy-storage branches notably under-served.
Siemens AG leads a highly concentrated, still-nascent field
With only 29 patent families in scope, grid-forming inverters for mining operations remain an early-stage niche. Siemens AG sits at the top of
The top five filers account for 100% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, indicating extreme concentration. ABB (Schweiz) AG and Adaptr Inc each hold 1 patent family, creating a wide tier gap between Siemens and all challengers.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Siemens AG | 8 | |
| 2 | ABB (Schweiz) AG | 1 | |
| 3 | Adaptr Inc | 1 |
Siemens AG’s position implies both a defensive moat and a signal of early commercialisation intent in mine-site power systems. The thin challenger base means that a focused filing programme from any industrial-automation or microgrid specialist could rapidly alter the competitive balance.
The most recent 18–24 months of filings are subject to publication lag and are likely under-counted; the true volume for 2024–2026 is probably higher than current records show. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2024 filing spike atop an H02J/H02M core, with sparse adjacent branches
Two charts together reveal the timing and technological shape of the field: an irregular but rising annual volume and a technology mix concentrated in grid and power-conversion classes.
Annual filing trend
Filings were negligible before 2019, spiked briefly that year, then lay dormant until surging to 12 families in 2024 — the field’s single largest year. The 2025 and 2026 figures are understated by publication lag and should be read as lower bounds rather than real-activity measures. The lifecycle evidence confirms the field remains in growth phase with annual volume still rising on a multi-year basis.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H02J (power supply and grid systems) and H02M (power conversion) together account for the bulk of IPC-branch coverage, reflecting the core inverter and microgrid control problem. B60L (electric vehicle propulsion) appears, likely tied to mine-haul electrification overlap. G05B (control and regulating systems), G06Q (business and administrative data processing), G06F (digital data processing), and H01M (batteries and fuel cells) each carry very few records, flagging them as structurally under-developed relative to the dominant classes.
↗ 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.
Power supply system and method for operating a pow…
A power supply system for providing, powered by an external power source, a load power to one or more loads is provided. The power supply system includes a power supply bus connectable to the external power source, a first electric component, a first feed forward data link, and a first synchronous condenser configured to output reactive power to the power… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Distributed energy resource management system | 36 |
| 2 | Grid adapter systems and methods | 8 |
| 3 | Resilient on-site microgrid system | 5 |
| 4 | Multiport transformer enabled modular multiport po… | 4 |
| 5 | Distributed energy resource management system | 4 |
| 6 | Distributed energy resource management system | 2 |
| 7 | Resilient on-site microgrid system | 1 |
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 patent structure means for R&D investment decisions
The combination of early lifecycle stage, extreme applicant concentration, and sparse adjacent branches creates both risk (dependence on a single leader’s trajectory) and opportunity (open white space in high-value adjacent areas).
Growth phase: annual filings still rising
The field is classified as Growth, with a 63% recent-window increase and the lifecycle evidence confirming that annual filings are still rising rather than easing from a peak. A 2024 spike to 12 families in a single year is consistent with a nascent technology crossing from research into engineering application. Early movers filing now can still establish foundational positions before the field becomes crowded.
Growth stageSingle-leader dominance with negligible challenger depth
Siemens AG holds 8 of the 29 in-scope patent families; the top five filers collectively represent 100% of the top-100 filers’ combined total. This level of concentration in such a small corpus means the competitive dynamics are defined by one incumbent rather than a multi-player race. Any new entrant filing even a handful of families in under-covered branches could become a visible challenger within two to three years.
Highly concentratedNo co-filing activity detected
Evidence pending: the collaboration dataset shows no co-applicant relationships within the current corpus. The absence of joint filings may reflect the field’s early stage, where individual firms are still building proprietary positions before forming alliances. R&D teams should monitor whether Siemens AG or new entrants begin forming consortium or joint-development agreements as the field matures.
No co-filers detectedUS-anchored filing, limited global coverage
The United States leads all jurisdictions with 11 patent records, followed by WIPO PCT filings (4), Australia (3), and Europe via EPO (3). Australia’s presence is notable given its significance as a major mining jurisdiction. Israel, the UAE, Austria, Canada, Germany, India, and Singapore each carry one record, suggesting that most applicants have not yet pursued broad international protection — leaving many mining-active jurisdictions without coverage.
US + AU leadingGo 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.
Siemens AG dominates; new entrants DG Matrix and Adaptr emerging on power-conversion and niche routes
The leader board is short but structurally clear: Siemens AG holds the dominant position by family count, while DG Matrix and Adaptr Inc represent the most active new entrants by recent filing momentum.
Siemens AG
Siemens AG leads with 8 patent families, focused on H02J 3 (grid-connected power supply systems), H02J 13 (remote control of network systems), and G05B 19 (control and regulating systems). This combination reflects a systemic approach to mine-site grid control rather than inverter hardware alone. Siemens’ trajectory predates 2024, giving it the deepest portfolio foundation in the field.
families: 8DG Matrix
DG Matrix enters as a new entrant with 11 recent patent families — a notably high volume for a new entrant in a 29-family corpus — concentrated on H02M 1 and H02M 7 (power conversion, AC/DC electronics) and H02J 3 (grid systems). Its technology emphasis on power-conversion hardware distinguishes it from Siemens’ control-layer focus. Its momentum (flagged as a new entrant with 11 recent families) makes it the most active challenger by filing pace.
families: 11 (recent)| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Adaptr Inc | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| ABB (Schweiz) AG | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
Control systems, storage integration, and data processing branches remain under-served
Several IPC branches appear at the margin of current activity, representing areas where the core inverter technology intersects with higher-level systems engineering but where few patent families have been filed to date.
G05B · Control & Regulating Systems
Only 2 patent records sit in G05B, representing 5% of IPC-branch coverage. Grid-forming inverters for mining require sophisticated autonomous control logic — frequency and voltage regulation without a utility grid reference — yet this branch is structurally thin. A team with expertise in real-time embedded control or adaptive droop strategies could file foundational claims in an area where neither Siemens nor any challenger has established density. The realistic entry path is via control-algorithm patents that reference the H02J and H02M hardware already in the corpus.
Search this in Eureka →H01M · Batteries, Cells & Fuel Cells
H01M holds only 1 patent record, a 2% share, despite energy storage being operationally inseparable from grid-forming operation in islanded mine-site microgrids. The sparse coverage likely reflects applicants filing storage claims in separate portfolios rather than integrating them with inverter filings. There is a plausible technical case for hybrid inverter-storage co-optimisation patents that span H02J, H02M, and H01M simultaneously — an approach that Adaptr Inc’s technology profile (which touches B60L 53 and H01M 8) hints at but has not yet developed at scale.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders differ by technology route
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | H02J 3 · Power supply & grid systems | H02M 1 · Power conversion (AC/DC etc.) | H02M 7 · Power conversion (AC/DC etc.) | H02M 5 · Power conversion (AC/DC etc.) | H02J 13 · Power supply & grid systems |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Siemens AG | Strong · 8 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Strong · 5 |
| ABB (Schweiz) AG | Strong · 1 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Adaptr Inc | Strong · 1 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The current corpus contains 29 patent families in scope. This is a small but growing body of prior art, concentrated heavily in power-supply and power-conversion IPC classes.
Siemens AG leads with 8 patent families, which is more than all other ranked applicants combined. ABB (Schweiz) AG and Adaptr Inc each hold 1 patent family, making the field highly concentrated around a single leader.
The field is in a Growth lifecycle stage. The recent filing window shows a 63% increase and annual filings are still rising on a multi-year basis, with 2024 representing the peak annual volume to date at 12 families. Figures for 2025 and 2026 are understated by publication lag.
The United States leads with 11 patent records, followed by WIPO PCT filings (4), Australia (3), and Europe via EPO (3). Australia’s appearance is significant given its status as a major mining jurisdiction. Most other mining-active markets carry only one record or none.
The highest-cited work is titled ‘Distributed energy resource management system,’ which has accumulated 36 citations and appears multiple times in the top-cited list. ‘Grid adapter systems and methods’ (8 citations) and ‘Resilient on-site microgrid system’ (5 citations) are the next most-referenced works.
G05B (control and regulating systems) and H01M (batteries, cells and fuel cells) are the most technically relevant under-served branches, each carrying only 1–2 patent records. G06Q and G06F (data processing and business logic) are also sparse, though their relevance to core inverter engineering is more indirect.
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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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