Li-Ion Formation & Aging Patent Landscape 2026
The Li-Ion Formation & Aging patent space spans 2,334 patent families and is concentrated among a small number of battery specialists, medical-device makers, and materials firms, with Contemporary Amperex entities holding a commanding combined lead. The field reached its annual peak in 2022 and has since eased, though multi-year growth remains positive at 4% over the recent window.
CATL entities lead a moderately concentrated field with a visible tier gap
Contemporary Amperex Technology (Hong Kong) Limited ranks first with 213 patent families, well ahead of second-placed Medtronic Inc at 95 patent families. The CATL corporate family—spanning the Hong Kong holding entity, the mainland operating company, and Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd—collectively accounts for a dominant share of top-ranked output.
The top five filers (CATL Hong Kong, Medtronic, CATL mainland, Sila Nanotechnologies, and Zhuhai CosMX) together represent 22% of the combined total among the hundred largest filers, indicating moderate overall concentration with a clear tier gap between the front runner and the rest of the pack.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Contemporary Amperex Technology (Hong Kong) Limited | 213 | |
| 2 | Medtronic Inc. | 95 | |
| 3 | Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL) | 90 | |
| 4 | Sila Nanotechnologies Inc. | 79 | |
| 5 | Zhuhai CosMX Battery Co., Ltd. | 79 | |
| 6 | Robert Bosch GmbH | 78 | |
| 7 | Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA) | 76 | |
| 8 | Toyota Motor Corporation | 72 | |
| 9 | Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd. (ATL) | 72 | |
| 10 | Hydro-Québec | 70 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | A123 Systems LLC | 69 | |
| 12 | I-TEN | 68 | |
| 13 | Shenzhen Capchem Technology Co., Ltd. | 64 | |
| 14 | BYD Co., Ltd. | 50 | |
| 15 | Boston-Power Inc. | 45 | |
| 16 | Honeycomb Battery Company | 38 | |
| 17 | GRST International Ltd. | 35 | |
| 18 | Graphenix Development Inc. | 34 | |
| 19 | GM Global Technology Operations LLC | 33 | |
| 20 | Regents of the University of California | 32 |
The leader’s position reflects both deep electrochemistry expertise and scale in cell manufacturing R&D; Medtronic’s second-place ranking signals that implantable-device battery longevity remains a distinct and active sub-domain alongside consumer and EV applications.
Figures for 2024–2026 are subject to publication lag and are expected to rise as pending applications are published; treat recent-year counts as underestimates. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filings peaked in 2022 and the technology base is overwhelmingly anchored in H01M
The annual filing trend and technology composition charts together show a field that built momentum through 2022 and is now consolidating, with the core electrochemistry class accounting for the large majority of activity and a long tail of adjacent branches signaling expanding application scope.
Annual filing trend
Annual filings climbed from 213 in 2017 to a peak of 340 in 2022, then eased to 308 in 2023 and 243 in 2024. The 2025 and 2026 figures (165 and 20 respectively) are heavily affected by publication lag and should not be read as a continued decline. The overall multi-year growth rate stands at 4% over the recent window.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01M (Batteries, cells & fuel cells) dominates the technology mix by a wide margin, reflecting the core cell-chemistry focus of the corpus. The next largest branches—C01B (Non-metallic elements & inorganic compounds) and C01G (Compounds of other metals)—are substantially smaller, pointing to selective but meaningful activity in precursor and active-material chemistry adjacent to the core cell work.
↗ 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.
Dynamic formation protocol for lithium-ion battery
A dynamic formation protocol for a lithium-ion battery cell. An “SEI formation end voltage” is identified, which is the voltage reached during formation at which the SEI layer is substantially formed. Charge rates are selected for the formation, with a first charge current rate to be used until the SEI formation end voltage is reached, and a second charge… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cathode materials for secondary (rechargeable) lit… | 1,119 |
| 2 | Cathode materials for secondary (rechargeable) lit… | 516 |
| 3 | Medical device having lithium-ion battery | 468 |
| 4 | Materials for solid state electrolytes and protect… | 399 |
| 5 | Cathode compositions for lithium-ion batteries | 374 |
| 6 | Cathode compositions for lithium-ion batteries | 292 |
| 7 | Radio frequency identification tag with thin-film … | 259 |
| 8 | Flotation method for recovering lithium-ion batter… | 256 |
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 a maturing filing curve, moderate concentration, active cross-sector collaboration, and U. S.-centric jurisdiction coverage shapes where differentiated R&D effort is most and least likely to encounter crowded prior art.
Field is at plateau after a 2022 peak
Annual filing volume has eased from its 2022 peak of 340 families, consistent with a field entering maturity. The multi-year growth rate remains positive at 4%, suggesting sustained but decelerating investment rather than decline. New entrants face a well-populated prior-art landscape in core H01M subclasses, making differentiation through adjacent material chemistries or novel aging diagnostics more tractable.
Lifecycle: MaturityModerate concentration with a pronounced leader gap
The top five filers hold 22% of the hundred largest filers’ combined output, and the leading applicant (213 patent families) is more than twice the size of the second-ranked player. This creates a meaningful but not impenetrable moat: mid-tier players such as Sila Nanotechnologies (79 families, momentum at +126%) and Zhuhai CosMX (79 families, 3.0× recent growth) are closing ground through focused portfolio expansion.
Concentration: ModerateIndustry–academia partnerships anchor the co-filing network
The most active co-filing pair is Sila Nanotechnologies and Georgia Tech Research Corporation with 10 joint patent families, reflecting a structured materials-development alliance. The French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is the most networked institutional filer, co-filing with Grenoble INP (5 families), Umicore (5 families), and Joseph Fourier University (4 families). Robert Bosch and Samsung SDI share 2 co-filed families, indicating selective supplier-OEM collaboration. These partnerships concentrate in advanced materials and solid-state electrolyte directions.
Collaboration: ActiveU.S. filings dominate; Asian manufacturing hubs are underweighted
The United States leads all jurisdictions with 1,637 patent records, followed by Europe (EPO) at 827 and WIPO (PCT) at 339. China and South Korea—major Li-ion manufacturing centers—appear lower in the filing count at 148 and 11 records respectively, which may reflect strategic choices to file primarily in export markets or to pursue domestic filings through separate national channels not fully captured here. India at 166 records is a notable outlier, suggesting growing domestic filing activity.
Geography: U.S.-ledGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sila Nanotechnologies Inc. | Georgia Tech Research Corporation | 10 |
| Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA) | Grenoble INP (Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble) | 5 |
| Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA) | Umicore (Belgium) | 5 |
| Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd. (ATL) | Dongguan Amperex Technology Ltd. (ATL Dongguan) | 5 |
| Zhuhai CosMX Battery Co., Ltd. | Zhuhai CosMX New Materials Co., Ltd. | 4 |
| Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA) | Joseph Fourier University (Université Grenoble Alpes) | 4 |
| Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA) | Umicore AG & Co. KG | 2 |
| Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA) | JNC Corporation | 2 |
| Robert Bosch GmbH | Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. | 2 |
| Sila Nanotechnologies Inc. | Battelle Memorial Institute | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
CATL leads on cell chemistry breadth; Medtronic anchors the medical sub-domain
The two largest single-entity filers illustrate the field’s dual character: one is a pure-play battery manufacturer scaling formation and aging IP, the other is a medical-device firm protecting battery longevity for implantable applications.
Contemporary Amperex Technology (Hong Kong) Limited
Ranked first with 213 patent families, CATL Hong Kong focuses heavily on H01M 10 (secondary battery systems) and H01M 4 (electrode materials), with additional coverage in H01M 50 (battery accessories). The broader CATL corporate family—including Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (90 families) and Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd (72 families)—reinforces this dominance. The mainland operating entity shows a recent-window trend of –48%, suggesting portfolio consolidation or a shift in filing strategy toward the Hong Kong holding entity, while the Ningde subsidiary shows +41% recent growth.
patent families: 213Medtronic Inc
Ranked second with 95 patent families, Medtronic’s portfolio spans H01M 10, H01M 4, and A61N 1 (electrotherapy/implantable devices), confirming that its battery IP is purpose-built for the medical-device reliability and longevity requirements that differ fundamentally from consumer or EV applications. Momentum data for Medtronic is not separately broken out in the recent-window analysis, but its sustained second-place ranking reflects a long-term, consistent filing program rather than a recent surge.
patent families: 95| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL) | 77 | ▼ -48% |
| Zhuhai CosMX Battery Co., Ltd. | 48 | ▲ 3.0× vs prior 3-yr |
| Sila Nanotechnologies Inc. | 43 | ▲ +126% |
| Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd. (ATL) | 24 | ▲ +41% |
| I-TEN | 8 | ▼ -86% |
| A123 Systems LLC | 16 | ▬ 0% |
| Shenzhen Capchem Technology Co., Ltd. | 22 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches adjacent to the core cell-chemistry domain
Several IPC branches sit adjacent to the dominant H01M core but carry substantially lower filing density, making them worth monitoring as potential areas where differentiated work faces less crowded prior art.
G01R · Electric & Magnetic Measurement
With 56 patent records and a 1% share among the top branches, electrical-measurement methods applied to Li-ion formation and aging diagnostics remain sparsely covered relative to the core cell-chemistry work. Techniques such as in-situ impedance spectroscopy, formation-step monitoring, and aging-state estimation via electrical signatures have clear technical value for both manufacturing quality control and field prognostics. Entry paths include sensor integration at the cell or module level and algorithm-hardware co-design for formation-line instrumentation.
Search this in Eureka →H02J · Power Supply & Grid Systems
H02J appears at 81 patent records and a 2% share, indicating that charging-protocol design and grid-interface management as tools for controlling formation quality and managing long-term aging remain under-patented relative to cell-level chemistry. Adaptive charging algorithms that tailor current profiles to minimize SEI growth or lithium plating during formation represent a plausible technical entry point, particularly for OEMs and charging-infrastructure players seeking differentiation without competing directly in electrode-material chemistry.
Search this in Eureka →How leading filers differ across technology routes
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | H01M 10 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | H01M 4 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | H01M 50 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | H01M 2 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | H01M 6 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL) | Strong · 267 | Strong · 181 | Emerging · 25 | Absent | Absent |
| Medtronic Inc. | Strong · 94 | Strong · 92 | Moderate · 19 | Absent | Emerging · 8 |
| Zhuhai CosMX Battery Co., Ltd. | Strong · 79 | Strong · 63 | Moderate · 20 | Absent | Absent |
| Sila Nanotechnologies Inc. | Strong · 78 | Strong · 64 | Emerging · 11 | Absent | Absent |
| A123 Systems LLC | Strong · 66 | Strong · 64 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd. (ATL) | Strong · 69 | Strong · 37 | Moderate · 17 | Emerging · 6 | Absent |
| Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA) | Strong · 75 | Strong · 41 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 2,334 patent families in scope globally. The United States is the leading filing jurisdiction with 1,637 patent records, followed by Europe (EPO) at 827 and WIPO (PCT) at 339.
Contemporary Amperex Technology (Hong Kong) Limited ranks first with 213 patent families. When the broader CATL corporate family is considered—including Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (90 families) and Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd (72 families)—the group’s combined output is substantially larger than any single competing entity.
The field is assessed as being at maturity. Annual filings peaked at 340 in 2022 and have since eased, though the multi-year growth rate over the recent window remains positive at 4%. This pattern is consistent with a field that has moved past its rapid-growth phase but continues to attract sustained investment.
Among tracked applicants with available momentum data, Sila Nanotechnologies shows the strongest growth at +126% in the recent three-year window versus the prior period. Zhuhai CosMX Battery has grown at 3.0× its prior three-year rate. Shenzhen Capchem Technology is a new entrant in the recent window. By contrast, the CATL mainland entity shows a -48% recent trend, and I-TEN shows -86%, suggesting either portfolio shifts or consolidation.
The most active co-filing partnership is Sila Nanotechnologies and Georgia Tech Research Corporation with 10 jointly filed patent families. The French CEA (Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives) is the most networked institutional co-filer, with partnerships including Grenoble INP (5 families), Umicore (5 families), and Joseph Fourier University (4 families). Robert Bosch and Samsung SDI share 2 co-filed families.
G01R (Electric & Magnetic Measurement) at 56 patent records and H02J (Power Supply & Grid Systems) at 81 patent records are among the lower-density branches adjacent to the dominant H01M core. These represent areas where diagnostic instrumentation and adaptive charging-protocol work for formation and aging control have received comparatively less patent coverage, though they carry plausible technical and commercial value.
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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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