Icephobic Coatings for Aircraft Patents: Leaders & White Space 2026
- 41.9% concentration. The top 5 of 39 ranked assignees hold 65 of the 155 records in scope — a leader at 22 filings ahead of a long tail of single- and double-digit filers.
- Filings cooled after a 2018 peak. Publications hit 27 in 2018; by the last complete year the pace had fallen 67% from 2021's 12 to 2024's 4, though 18-month publication lag means 2025-2026 figures are still filling in.
- Coatings chemistry dominates over hardware. C09D coating formulations sit in 51.0% of the 155 records, more than 20 points ahead of B64D aircraft-equipment claims at 30.3%, showing the fight is mostly in the material, not the airframe integration.
Filing growth compares 2021 (12 records) with 2024 (4) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 155 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What This Patent Set Covers
This landscape covers 155 published patent families filed between 2015 and mid-2026 that combine anti-icing coating chemistry with aerospace-relevant testing or application claims — ice adhesion reduction, rain erosion resistance, surface texturing, slippery liquid-infused surfaces, leading-edge erosion protection and icing wind tunnel validation. It sits at the intersection of coatings science and airframe ice protection, rather than inside either field alone.
Most activity routes through <em>coating composition</em> claims rather than mechanical de-icing hardware, and the receiving-office spread — concentrated in the United States and Europe, with a meaningful PCT and Canadian presence — points to filers protecting formulations in the jurisdictions where aerospace certification and coatings manufacturing both cluster.
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Filing Trend and Technology Composition
The following two views use the same 155-record scope: one tracks publication volume by year, the other breaks the same records down by IPC subclass so more than one class can apply to a single record.
A Sharp 2018 Peak Followed by a Multi-Year Pullback
Publications rose to a peak of 27 in 2018, then fell across the following years; the -67% drop from 12 filings in 2021 to 4 in 2024 is the clearest complete-year signal available, since 2025 and 2026 volumes will keep revising upward as later filings publish.
Coatings Chemistry Outweighs Airframe Hardware Claims
C09D (coatings, paints and inks) appears in 51.0% of the 155 records and C09K (materials for miscellaneous applications) in 26.5%, versus 30.3% for B64D aircraft equipment — the claim pressure sits mostly on the coating formulation and its processing (B05D, 23.9%), not on how it attaches to the aircraft.
Shares are the percentage of the 155 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
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Try EurekaMost-Cited Records in This Set
Polyurethane-Based Ice-Shedding Coatings
The filing addresses low durability in existing ice-shedding coatings under mechanical, chemical and environmental stress by describing a polyurethane-based, stress-localized coating chemistry intended to withstand harsh aerospace conditions while retaining ice-release performance.Abstract condensed from the original filing for length.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20170107413A1 | Anti-icing composition driven by catalytic hydrogen generation under subzero temperatures | 114 |
| 2 | US20150175814A1 | Slips Surface Based on Metal-Containing Compound | 91 |
| 3 | WO2014012052A1 | Slips surface based on metal-containing compound | 75 |
| 4 | US20140127516A1 | Composite for Preventing Ice Adhesion | 68 |
| 5 | US7246773B2 | Low power, pulsed, electro-thermal ice protection system | 53 |
| 6 | US20070075188A1 | Low power, pulsed, electro-thermal ice protection system | 35 |
| 7 | EP1593595A2 | Low power, pulsed, electro-thermal ice protection system | 32 |
| 8 | WO2016090468A1 | Coating compositions, method of preparation thereof and uses thereof | 29 |
| 9 | US20110143148A1 | Articles comprising a weather resistant silicone coating | 24 |
| 10 | US20210017395A1 | Articles comprising durable icephobic coatings | 19 |
Citation counts reward earlier publication dates within this corpus and should be read as influence within the searched set, not as a measure of current commercial importance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Three figures set the boundaries for any freedom-to-operate read of this space: how concentrated ownership is, how the technology claims split, and what the trend actually supports.
Ownership Is Top-Heavy but Not Locked
The leader holds 22 records and the top 5 combine for 65 of 155 records in scope. That leaves more than half the field spread across a long tail of smaller filers, so a newcomer is competing against a handful of dense portfolios rather than a single gatekeeper.
Formulation Claims Lead Integration Claims
C09D coverage outpaces B64D aircraft-equipment coverage by more than 20 points, and C09K and B05D processing claims each sit above 20% of records. The claim pressure sits on what the coating is made of and how it is applied, not on how it is mounted to an airframe.
Volume Has Pulled Back From Its 2018 Peak
Publications peaked at 27 in 2018 and fell from 12 in 2021 to 4 in 2024, the last year that can be read as complete. Treat 2025 and 2026 counts as provisional; the roughly 18-month gap between filing and publication means recent years always understate true activity.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to icephobic coatings for aircraft, with the prior art for and against each one.
Assignee Landscape and Where the Gaps Sit
The ranking covers 39 assignees across the 155 records in scope. A leader with 22 filings sits well ahead of the field, but the drop to the fifth-place assignee at 8 and the tenth at 6 shows most of the ranking is single- or low-double-digit activity rather than a second tier of near-equal challengers.
One Filer Sets the Pace
The leading assignee's 22 records are nearly triple the fifth-place count of 8, marking it as the reference portfolio to clear before filing formulation claims in this space.
A Concentrated but Not Closed Top Tier
Five assignees combine for 41.9% of all records in scope. That still leaves 58.1% distributed across 34 other assignees, most holding a handful of filings each.
The Tenth-Place Cutoff Is Just 6 Records
The top 10 assignees together hold 64.5% of the field, but the tenth-ranked filer has only 6 records — meaning entry into the visible leadership tier does not require a large portfolio.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Azra SHS Tech Inc. | 0 | — |
| University of Houston System | 0 | — |
| Integran Technologies Inc. | 0 | — |
| Adaptive Surface Technologies Inc. | 0 | — |
| 3M Innovative Properties Co. | 0 | — |
| Goodrich Corp. | 0 | — |
| Rosemount Aerospace Inc. | 0 | — |
| UCL Business Ltd. | 0 | -100% |
Turning This Landscape Into a Filing or FTO Decision
The figures above outline where claim density sits and where it does not; the next step is usually a targeted freedom-to-operate check or a claims comparison against the densest portfolios before drafting.
Check Claims Against the Top Filers
With 41.9% of records held by five assignees, a new coating formulation should be checked against the leader's and its closest peers' independent claims before drafting around composition or application method.
Run a claims comparison in Eureka →Probe the Under-Claimed Branches
Rotor/drone leading-edge applications and PFAS-free binder chemistries show thinner coverage than core C09D formulation claims, making them worth a dedicated search before assuming the space is open.
Explore white space in Eureka →Common Questions on Icephobic Aircraft Coating Patents
Within this 155-record scope, one assignee leads with 22 filings, well ahead of the fifth-ranked assignee at 8 and the tenth at 6. The top 5 assignees together hold 41.9% of all records, and the top 10 hold 64.5%, so while there is a clear leader, more than a third of the field is spread across 29 additional assignees with smaller portfolios. Anyone assessing freedom-to-operate should check the leader's claims first, then the next four, since together they cover the largest single block of prior art.
Publications peaked at 27 in 2018 and had fallen to 4 by 2024, a 67% drop from the 12 filed in 2021 — the clearest complete-year comparison available in this dataset. That said, patent publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the apparent decline in 2025 and 2026 numbers is partly an artefact of records still working through the pipeline rather than confirmed reduced activity. A fairer read is that the field cooled substantially from its 2018 high, with the most recent trend understated rather than definitively falling further.
Coating composition claims under IPC class C09D appear in 51.0% of the 155 records, making formulation the dominant claim type. Aircraft-equipment integration claims (B64D) appear in only 30.3% of records, and coating-process claims (B05D) in 23.9%, indicating that most filers are protecting what the coating is made of rather than how it is fitted to the airframe. Materials for miscellaneous applications (C09K, 26.5%) and polymer additive/composition classes (C08K at 22.6%, C08L at 16.8%) round out the chemistry-heavy profile of this field.
US20220228022A1 describes polyurethane-based, stress-localized ice-shedding coatings designed to survive mechanical, chemical and environmental stress better than prior ice-shedding coatings, targeting aerospace and other industrial applications. It matters as a representative example of the coating-chemistry-first approach that dominates this field's claim activity, rather than a mechanical or electrothermal de-icing route. Anyone drafting a similar polyurethane-based formulation should review its specific claim scope around chemical composition and processing before filing.
The technology composition data shows heavy claim density in core coating chemistry (C09D, C09K, C08K, C08L) but comparatively thinner coverage in specific application contexts such as rotor and drone leading edges, hybrid electrothermal-plus-icephobic integration, and long-term erosion or UV durability testing protocols for slippery liquid-infused surfaces. These are not zero-activity areas, but they sit outside the densest claim clusters identified in the IPC breakdown. A targeted search within these narrower branches is a reasonable next step before assuming any of them is fully open.
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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.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.