HEA Recycling & Metal Recovery Patent Snapshot 2026
The patent evidence snapshot for high-entropy alloy (HEA) recycling and metal recovery is at an early, nascent stage, with only 4 patent families in scope and activity concentrated almost entirely in China and India. All identifiable filers are new entrants, signalling that this remains an open field with no established dominant player.
A nascent field with no dominant assignee — five applicants, each holding one patent record
The corpus spans 4 patent families, distributed equally across five applicants — Beijing University of Technology, Central South University, Mishra Dhatu Nigam, Qingdao University of Science & Technology, and CNGR Advanced Material Co., Ltd. — each holding a single patent record. No single organization has established a commanding position.
The top five filers account for 100% of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total, reflecting extreme concentration by headcount rather than by volume: the field is small enough that every recorded filer is represented in the top tier. There is no measurable tier gap between a leader and a challenger.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beijing University of Technology | 1 | |
| 2 | Central South University | 1 | |
| 3 | Mishra Dhatu Nigam | 1 | |
| 4 | QINGDAO UNIV OF SCI & TECH | 1 | |
| 5 | CNGR Advanced Material Co., Ltd. | 1 |
The equal distribution of records across academic institutions and one industry–academia pair (Central South University and CNGR Advanced Material) implies that exploratory research, not commercial-scale IP strategy, is currently driving activity. No applicant has yet signalled a sustained filing programme.
The most recent 18–24 months of filings are subject to publication lag and may be under-counted; the apparent zero for 2024 and 2026 does not necessarily indicate a pause in activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filing activity emerged only in 2022; metal extraction dominates the technology mix
The annual trend and the IPC composition together describe a field that was effectively dormant before 2022 and whose published work clusters tightly around metallurgical extraction methods.
Annual filing trend
No filings were recorded between 2017 and 2021. Activity first appeared in 2022 with two records, followed by a single record in 2023 and one in 2025. The apparent gaps in 2024 and 2026 should be treated cautiously given publication lag; recent filings are routinely under-represented in live datasets.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
C22B (Metal extraction and refining) accounts for all 4 records, confirming hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical recovery as the core technical route. C22C (Alloys) appears in 3 records, reflecting work on alloy composition resulting from recycled feedstocks. B29B (Plastics preparation) and C08J (Polymer processing and solutions) each appear in 1 record, associated with the HEA nanocatalyst approach to plastic degradation filed by Mishra Dhatu Nigam.
↗ 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.
Novel method for recycling superalloy waste
The present invention discloses a novel method for recycling superalloy waste material, comprising the steps of obtaining superalloy waste material generated during the casting processes; and melting the said waste material in VIM to form an ingot refining the said ingot in ESR to prepare high-entropy alloy (HEA), wherein the high-entropy alloy comprises a… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
Open this patent in Eureka →| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一种用于废塑料聚乳酸降解的高熵合金纳米线催化剂的制备方法 | 3 |
| 2 | 一种可同时、短流程回收利用高温合金废料的方法 | 3 |
| 3 | 一种镍吹炼渣还原制备Fe-Ni-Co-Cu高熵合金的方法 | 2 |
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.
Assignee snapshot from the current evidence set
The applicants below are visible in this query result. Because the evidence set is relatively small, read this section as a directional snapshot rather than a full competitive ranking.
Beijing University of Technology
Holds 1 patent record, focused on C22B (metal extraction and refining) and C22C (alloys), consistent with work on recycling HEA scrap back into defined alloy compositions. Trend is marked as a new entrant with 1 recent record and no prior-period baseline, so no trajectory comparison is possible yet.
patent records: 1Central South University / CNGR Advanced Material
Central South University and CNGR Advanced Material Co., Ltd. each hold 1 patent record and are the dataset’s only co-filing pair. Their shared focus on C22B 1, C22B 15, and C22B 23 points to extraction of specific metals (copper, nickel, cobalt) from alloy scrap — directly relevant to battery-material supply chains. Both are flagged as new entrants with no prior filing baseline.
patent records: 1 eachFrequently asked questions
The PatSnap Eureka corpus for this topic contains 4 patent families in scope, making it one of the smallest active technology clusters in advanced manufacturing.
Five applicants each hold one patent record: Beijing University of Technology, Central South University, Mishra Dhatu Nigam, Qingdao University of Science & Technology, and CNGR Advanced Material Co., Ltd. No single filer holds more than one record.
No filings were recorded between 2017 and 2021. The first activity appeared in 2022 with two patent records, followed by single records in 2023 and 2025. The field is therefore less than five years old in terms of documented IP.
China accounts for three of the four patent records; India accounts for one. No filings have been identified in the US, EU, Japan, or South Korea, leaving those jurisdictions as areas of low prior-art density.
Metal extraction and refining (C22B) covers all four records, with alloy composition (C22C) appearing in three. One record from Mishra Dhatu Nigam also covers HEA nanocatalysts for polymer degradation, classified under B29B and C08J.
Yes. Central South University and CNGR Advanced Material Co., Ltd. have co-filed one patent record, representing the only co-filing collaboration identified in the dataset. Their shared focus on copper, nickel, and cobalt extraction links academic metallurgy research to commercial battery-material supply chains.
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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.