HVDC Transmission for Data Centers Patent Landscape
HVDC Transmission for Data Centers Patent Landscape in 2026
The HVDC-for-data-center patent space is highly concentrated, with CET Power Luxembourg SA holding the largest single-filer position and the top five filers accounting for more than half of the hundred largest filers’ combined output. The field peaked in 2020 and annual volume has eased since, though a cohort of new entrants suggests continued strategic interest in power-supply reliability and fault-protection architectures.
A concentrated field led by CET Power Luxembourg SA
CET Power Luxembourg SA holds the leading position in this space, followed by GCCALLIANCE, Hitachi Energy Ltd, ABB (Schweiz) AG, and UT Battelle LLC. The top five filers together account for 56% of the hundred largest filers’ combined patent records, signalling a tightly held competitive space.
The gap between the first and second tiers is visible: the leader’s count is substantially larger than those of mid-ranked players such as Delta Electronics, Meta Platforms, and Huawei Digital Power Technologies, each of which registers a comparatively modest footprint.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CET Power Luxembourg SA | 17 | |
| 2 | GCCALLIANCE | 11 | |
| 3 | Hitachi Energy Ltd | 10 | |
| 4 | ABB (Schweiz) AG | 9 | |
| 5 | UT Battelle LLC | 8 | |
| 6 | Delta Electronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. | 5 | |
| 7 | Meta Platforms Inc | 5 | |
| 8 | Hitachi Energy Switzerland AG | 5 | |
| 9 | Huawei Digital Power Technologies Co., Ltd. | 5 | |
| 10 | NIPPON TELEGRAPH & TELEPHONE CORP | 4 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Vertiv Corp | 4 | |
| 12 | Hefei CLT Microelectronics Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 13 | China United Network Communications Group Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 14 | BICKEL JON A | 1 | |
| 15 | Xi’an Weiguang Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 16 | Schneider Electric USA Inc | 1 | |
| 17 | Wasabi Technologies LLC | 1 | |
| 18 | R Stor Inc | 1 | |
| 19 | Schneider Electric IT Corp | 1 | |
| 20 | Design Power Solutions Int | 1 |
The leaders’ positions imply that power-supply architecture, emergency backup, and fault-isolation know-how have already been substantially claimed by a small group of specialist power-electronics and energy firms, leaving less obvious whitespace in core H02J territory.
Filings from roughly 2024 onward are likely under-counted due to standard patent-publication lag and should not be read as a structural contraction. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2020 activity peak with H02J dominating the technology mix
The annual filing trend reveals a sharp 2020 spike followed by reduced but sustained activity, while the technology composition is overwhelmingly anchored in power-supply and grid-systems classification, with power conversion as a secondary strand.
Annual filing trend
Filings surged to a high point in 2020 then stepped down, with a secondary wave visible around 2022. Years 2024–2026 are materially under-counted due to publication lag and should be treated as floor estimates rather than a confirmed decline.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H02J (power supply and grid systems) dominates the branch mix, reflecting core HVDC bus and uninterruptible-power-supply work. H02M (power conversion) forms a meaningful secondary cluster, while H05K, G06F, and G05B each represent thinner adjacent branches that remain comparatively sparse.
↗ 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.
Networked distributed high voltage direct current …
A Network Distributed High Voltage Direct Current Power Supply Management Method, includes the following steps: multiple high voltage direct current power supply devices are deployed in parallel connected, ensuring that at least one high voltage direct current power supply device not needs to connect with load; there are four power supply modes pre-set in… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emergency supplemental power supply for outage pro… | 127 |
| 2 | High voltage direct current power system for data … | 36 |
| 3 | Fault protection in converter-based DC distributio… | 27 |
| 4 | Fault isolation and system restoration using power… | 26 |
| 5 | High voltage direct current power generator for co… | 24 |
| 6 | Grid forming vector current control | 15 |
| 7 | Method and system for generation and distribution … | 12 |
| 8 | Fault protection in converter-based DC distributio… | 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
The combination of a past-peak filing trend, high leader concentration, and active new entrants creates a nuanced investment signal: core routes are maturing while adjacent and integration-layer routes remain open.
Field is past its 2020 peak — core routes are maturing
The lifecycle evidence indicates that annual filings have eased back from the 2020 peak, placing this field in a declining phase on a recent-window basis. Core H02J power-supply and fault-protection claims are well-staked. New entrants entering in recent periods are doing so from a low prior base, suggesting opportunistic rather than broad-front investment.
Past-peak · 2020 highTop five control more than half of the top-100 filers’ output
With the top five filers holding 56% of the hundred largest filers’ combined patent records, any new entrant faces a dense prior-art landscape in core HVDC bus and emergency-power architectures. Mid-tier players — including Meta Platforms, Huawei Digital Power Technologies, and Vertiv — hold smaller positions, suggesting the second tier has not yet consolidated around a clear challenger.
High concentrationABB–Hitachi Energy axis is the dominant co-filing relationship
The most active co-applicant pairings are ABB (Schweiz) AG with Hitachi Energy Switzerland AG (7 joint records), ABB (Schweiz) AG with Hitachi Energy Ltd (2 records), and Hitachi Energy Switzerland AG with Hitachi Energy Ltd (2 records). This cluster reflects the corporate reorganisation history of the ABB power-grids business and suggests that combined ABB/Hitachi Energy IP should be evaluated as a unified block when assessing freedom to operate.
ABB–Hitachi Energy axisUS-centric filing with modest European and PCT coverage
The United States is the dominant filing jurisdiction, followed by Europe (EPO) and WIPO (PCT). Germany, China, and several smaller national offices round out the coverage. The relative thinness of Chinese filings is notable given Huawei Digital Power Technologies and Delta Electronics are active filers, implying their domestic Chinese filings may sit outside this particular corpus scope.
US-centricGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| ABB (Schweiz) AG | Hitachi Energy Switzerland AG | 7 |
| ABB (Schweiz) AG | Hitachi Energy Ltd | 2 |
| Hitachi Energy Switzerland AG | Hitachi Energy Ltd | 2 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
CET Power and GCCALLIANCE lead; ABB–Hitachi Energy are new entrants with conversion depth
The ranking is led by a specialist uninterruptible-power and HVDC-distribution firm, followed by an energy-alliance vehicle, with established power-electronics majors entering more recently across conversion and grid-protection branches.
CET Power Luxembourg SA
CET Power Luxembourg SA holds 17 patent records, the largest position in this corpus, concentrated almost entirely in H02J power-supply and grid-systems subclasses — particularly emergency and backup supply architectures (H02J9) and distribution bus configurations (H02J1, H02J3). Momentum data for this filer is not available in the recent-entrant set, indicating its position was built across the full filing window rather than in a late surge.
17 patent recordsABB (Schweiz) AG
ABB (Schweiz) AG holds 9 patent records and is classified as a new entrant in the most recent filing window, with 2 recent records. Its technology focus spans H02J3 (grid-interconnection systems) and H02M power-conversion subclasses (H02M1, H02M7), indicating a converter-level approach to HVDC data-center supply that complements Hitachi Energy’s grid-control and communications-layer emphasis. The ABB–Hitachi Energy co-filing relationship (7 joint records) makes their combined portfolio the most significant bloc among challengers.
9 patent records| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| ABB (Schweiz) AG | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Hitachi Energy Switzerland AG | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| UT Battelle LLC | 8 | ▲ new entrant |
| Delta Electronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. | 5 | ▲ new entrant |
| Huawei Digital Power Technologies Co., Ltd. | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Vertiv Corp | 4 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches in integration, control, and switchgear
Several IPC branches adjacent to the dominant H02J/H02M core have comparatively sparse coverage, making them worth monitoring for teams working at the intersection of HVDC power delivery and data-center IT infrastructure.
G06F · Electric digital data processing
With only 7 patent records, the G06F branch — covering software-layer management of computing infrastructure — is sparsely populated relative to the hardware-heavy H02J core. Data centers increasingly require tightly coupled power-IT co-management (dynamic load shedding, workload migration during HVDC fault events), yet this integration layer remains lightly claimed. Entry paths include software-defined power management and HVDC-aware hypervisor or orchestration patents, where prior art density is low.
Search this in Eureka →G05B · Control & regulating systems
G05B has only 6 patent records in this corpus, despite HVDC bus voltage regulation, fault-ride-through control, and autonomous protection being technically central to reliable data-center power delivery. The sparse coverage here may reflect that control innovations are often embedded in broader H02J claims rather than classified independently under G05B. A focused filing strategy around autonomous HVDC control algorithms and real-time regulating systems could differentiate a new entrant from the incumbent H02J-heavy block.
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 | H02J 1 · Power supply & grid systems | H02J 9 · Power supply & grid systems | H02J 7 · Power supply & grid systems | H02M 7 · Power conversion (AC/DC etc.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CET Power Luxembourg SA | Strong · 17 | Moderate · 6 | Strong · 14 | Moderate · 6 | Absent |
| GCCALLIANCE | Moderate · 3 | Strong · 7 | Strong · 8 | Strong · 11 | Moderate · 4 |
| ABB (Schweiz) AG | Strong · 9 | Moderate · 2 | Emerging · 1 | Absent | Moderate · 4 |
| UT Battelle LLC | Strong · 8 | Strong · 5 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Huawei Digital Power Technologies Co., Ltd. | Strong · 3 | Strong · 3 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 5 |
| Hitachi Energy Switzerland AG | Strong · 9 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Vertiv Corp | Strong · 4 | Strong · 4 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus contains 75 patent families in scope for HVDC transmission applied to data-center power delivery.
CET Power Luxembourg SA holds the largest position with 17 patent records, ahead of GCCALLIANCE (11), Hitachi Energy Ltd (10), ABB (Schweiz) AG (9), and UT Battelle LLC (8).
The United States is the leading filing jurisdiction, followed by Europe (EPO) and WIPO (PCT). Germany and China are the next most common national offices.
The field is in a declining phase on a recent-window basis, with annual filings easing back from a 2020 peak. The most recent years (2024–2026) are likely under-counted due to publication lag.
The dominant co-filing relationship is between ABB (Schweiz) AG and Hitachi Energy Switzerland AG, which have 7 joint patent records. ABB (Schweiz) AG and Hitachi Energy Ltd share 2 records, and Hitachi Energy Switzerland AG and Hitachi Energy Ltd share another 2, reflecting the corporate history of the ABB power-grids spinout.
G06F (electric digital data processing) and G05B (control and regulating systems) are among the sparsest branches, with 7 and 6 patent records respectively. H02B (power switchboards and substations) is also thin at 4 records. These represent adjacent areas where prior-art density is comparatively low relative to the dominant H02J core.
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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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