HTGR Passive Safety Patent Snapshot 2026
The HTGR passive safety patent space is extremely nascent, with just one family in scope and activity concentrated in a small cluster of Korean and US institutional filers. The competitive field is effectively open, with no dominant incumbent holding a broad portfolio and two new entrants appearing in the most recent filing window.
A highly concentrated, embryonic field led by Korean institutions
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co Ltd and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute each hold the highest position in the applicant ranking, followed by Purdue Research Foundation and UT Battelle LLC, each with a single patent record.
The top five filers account for the entirety of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total, indicating maximum concentration with no second tier to speak of — the field has not yet attracted a broad community of applicants.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KOREA HYDRO & NUCLEAR POWER CO LTD | 2 | |
| 2 | Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute | 2 | |
| 3 | Purdue Research Foundation | 1 | |
| 4 | UT Battelle LLC | 1 |
The visible position of Korean institutions suggests that South Korea’s national nuclear program is driving the early framing of IP in this space, while the appearance of two US entities signals that American research organizations are beginning to establish footholds.
The most recent filing period should be treated with caution due to standard patent publication lag; apparent gaps in 2025 and 2026 data do not necessarily reflect a true absence of activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A single filing event in a decade-long quiet field, anchored in nuclear reactor classification
The annual filing trend and technology composition together reveal a space that has seen minimal patent activity over the observed window, with all classification activity consolidated in a single IPC class.
Annual filing trend
No filings were recorded from 2017 through 2023; a single family appeared in 2024, with no further records in 2025 or 2026. Given publication lag, the true state of recent activity may be underrepresented in the 2024–2026 window and should not be read as a concluded peak.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
All patent records fall under G21C (Nuclear reactors), confirming that passive safety work in high-temperature gas-cooled reactors is classified entirely within the core nuclear reactor branch. No adjacent technology classes appear, reflecting the narrow and specialized nature of the corpus.
↗ 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.
Reactor core system
A high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) core is disclosed which includes a plurality of nuclear fuel kernels encapsulated by i) solid structures; and ii) porous structures, wherein the solid structures and the porous structures form a heterogeneous tileable repeating assembly including a channel for moving heat out of the HTGR core, wherein a ratio of… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Air/Water hybrid passive reactor cavity cooling ap… | 39 |
| 2 | Air/Water hybrid passive reactor cavity cooling ap… | 9 |
| 3 | Reactor core 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.
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.
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co Ltd
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co Ltd holds the leading position with 2 patent records, all concentrated in G21C 15 (Nuclear reactors). The company co-files with Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, suggesting that its HTGR passive safety work is conducted as part of a national research program rather than as a standalone commercial IP strategy. No momentum trend data is available for this applicant in the evidence.
patent records: 2Purdue Research Foundation
Purdue Research Foundation enters with 1 patent record and is flagged as a new entrant in the applicant momentum data. Its technology focus spans both G21C 15 and G21C 5, a slightly broader classification footprint than the Korean leaders. It co-files with UT Battelle LLC, forming a US academic-national-lab pair that mirrors the Korean institutional collaboration structure.
patent records: 1Frequently asked questions
The evidence covers 1 patent family in scope. This is an extremely small corpus, reflecting either the very early commercial stage of HTGR passive safety IP or the narrow search definition applied.
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co Ltd and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute each hold the top position with 2 patent records apiece. Purdue Research Foundation and UT Battelle LLC each hold 1 patent record and are flagged as new entrants.
South Korea leads with 2 patent records, followed by the United States with 1. No other jurisdictions appear in the evidence, meaning the IP landscape outside these two countries is effectively open.
All patent records fall under G21C (Nuclear reactors). Within that class, G21C 15 is the most common sub-class, covering cooling and heat removal aspects. G21C 5 (reactor core structural elements) appears only in the US applicants’ portfolios.
Two co-filing pairs have been identified: Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co Ltd with Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (2 co-filed records), and Purdue Research Foundation with UT Battelle LLC (1 co-filed record). Both reflect institutional partnerships rather than commercial cross-licensing.
No filings were recorded from 2017 through 2023. A single record appeared in 2024. No records appear in 2025 or 2026, though publication lag means recent activity may be underrepresented. The overall picture is of a space that has not yet attracted sustained annual filing activity.
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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.