Black Mass Processing Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
- 56.4% of all 204 records sit with just five assignees, and 81.4% with ten — this field is concentrated at the top with a long tail below rank ten.
- Filings grew 35% from 17 in 2021 to 23 in 2024, the last year the data can be treated as complete before publication lag thins later years.
- H01M and C22B dominate at 77.5% and 63.2% of records respectively, while magnetic/electrostatic separation (B03C) appears in only 6.9% — a narrow, underused branch.
Filing growth compares 2021 (17 records) with 2024 (23) — 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 204 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This landscape maps 204 published patent records filed between 2015 and mid-2026 that combine black mass processing terms — recovery, mechanical pretreatment, graphite separation, impurity control — with recycling-route language such as direct recycling, lithium recovery rate and electrolyte handling. It captures the intersection of battery recycling chemistry and the mechanical/hydrometallurgical processing steps that turn shredded battery scrap into a sellable cathode feedstock, rather than cell design or upstream collection logistics.
Filing activity was negligible before 2017 and built steadily to a peak of 57 records in 2023, tracking the commercial ramp of black mass recyclers and integrated metals groups. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the most recent one to two years in the trend understate real filing activity and should not be read as a slowdown.
Let an AI agent run this analysis on your own technology
Pick a task. Every answer cites the patents behind it.
Filing trends and technology composition
Two views of the same 204 records: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses the claims actually sit in.
A decade of ramp, then a 2023 peak
Filings rose from a standing start in 2017 to a peak of 57 in 2023, with the 2021-to-2024 span alone showing +35% growth (17 to 23 records). Treat 2025 and 2026 figures as provisional given the roughly 18-month publication lag.
Battery and metal-extraction classes dominate
H01M (batteries, cells & fuel cells) appears on 77.5% of the 204 records and C22B (metal extraction & refining) on 63.2%, confirming that most claims sit at the intersection of cell-level material recovery and metallurgical processing. Mechanical steps — crushing/grinding (B02C, 29.4%) and wet separation (B03B, 19.6%) — are well represented, while magnetic/electrostatic separation (B03C, 6.9%) and non-metallic compound recovery (C01B, 8.8%) are comparatively thin.
Shares are the percentage of the 204 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Lithium Battery Black Mass Processing with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about lithium battery black mass processing and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaMost-cited records and a representative filing
US20230287538A1 — Reactive phase separation of black mass
Methods for processing black mass material from lithium-ion battery recycling processes include fractionating the black mass into a lithium fraction, a graphite fraction, and a concentrated metal powder fraction. This is accomplished using a multiphase liquid blend of nonpolar hydrophobic solvent and water to dissolve the lithium and produce a multiphase admixture which, upon gravity separation, produces a graphite layer in the hydrophobic solvent and a mixed metal powder layer that sinks to the bottom of the aqueous layer.Filed by Comstock IP Holdings LLC, published 2023-09-14.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20200078796A1 | Process, apparatus, and system for recovering materials from batteries | 68 |
| 2 | WO2018218358A1 | A process, apparatus, and system for recovering materials from batteries | 58 |
| 3 | CN105742744A | 一种从废旧锂离子电池回收过程产生的含锂废液中提取锂的方法 | 34 |
| 4 | US20210078013A1 | Process, apparatus, and system for recovering materials from batteries | 25 |
| 5 | CN113151680A | 一种废旧锂电池回收再利用的方法 | 18 |
| 6 | CN113086996A | 一种废旧三元掺氟电池正极材料的回收利用方法 | 12 |
| 7 | CN111926191A | 一种回收磷酸铁锂电池的方法 | 12 |
| 8 | US20200407225A1 | Preparation method for lithium phosphate, preparation method for lithium hydroxide, and preparation method fo… | 12 |
| 9 | US20200331003A1 | Process, apparatus, and system for recovering materials from batteries | 11 |
| 10 | US20230340635A1 | Method for recovering lithium from lithium iron phosphate waste and application thereof | 9 |
Citation counts favour older filings that have had more time to accumulate citations within the searched corpus — read them as a signal of influence, not of current technical importance.
Patent titles are shown in the language they were filed in, not translated, so that each record stays verifiable against the original filing — a translated title will not match in Eureka or in any national register. Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Put your own technology through the same analysis
Eureka on the web
When you want the answer in the next five minutes.
The agent works the prompt against patents and technical literature, citing every source.
Run your analysis now →MCP server & REST API
When it has to run inside your own pipeline.
Patent search, landscape analysis and assignee resolution as MCP tools. Drop them into any agent framework, or call REST directly.
Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for strategy
Reading the concentration, growth and classification figures together points to where filing decisions matter most.
A small group holds most of the claim space
Five assignees account for 56.4% of all 204 records and ten account for 81.4%, leaving 61 ranked companies in total. New entrants should expect to file around, not through, positions already staked out by the leaders.
Momentum is real but recent years are undercounted
Filings rose from 17 in 2021 to 23 in 2024, a 35% increase over three years, with 2023 the peak year at 57 records. Because publication lags filing by about 18 months, 2025-2026 figures will keep rising as more filings publish.
Mechanical separation routes are unevenly claimed
Crushing and grinding (B02C) sits in 29.4% of records and wet separation (B03B) in 19.6%, but magnetic and electrostatic separation (B03C) is present in only 6.9%. That gap is notable given how central clean graphite separation is to downstream cathode recovery economics.
Filing partnerships cluster around a few groups
Ten co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset, with the strongest pairing recorded at 20 shared filings and others in the low teens. These pairings mostly link parent-subsidiary or joint-venture structures within the same corporate group rather than cross-industry alliances.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to lithium battery black mass processing, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and who is slowing down
The ranked leader sits well ahead of the field, but recent-year momentum shows some of the biggest historical filers pulling back while others hold steady.
One company sets the pace
The top-ranked assignee holds 30 records, roughly double the fifth-place assignee's 15 and well ahead of tenth place at 8. That gap defines the shape of the whole ranking: a steep drop after the leader, then a long, shallow tail across the remaining 61 companies.
Some early movers have gone quiet
Li Cycle Corp and Korea Zinc both show 0 filings in the latest year, a -100% year-on-year change after being active earlier in the dataset. Poscoholdings shows steadier activity at 4 filings in the latest year with 0% YoY change, while its Posco Steel affiliate is down -75% YoY.
Corporate-group filing is common at the top
The strongest co-assignee pair in the dataset shares 20 filings, and the pattern repeats with Hunan Brunp and Guangdong Brunp (13) and Li Cycle Corp with its Ontario affiliate (12). These pairings suggest filings are often coordinated within a single corporate group rather than licensed or jointly developed across separate companies.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| POSCO Holdings Inc. | 4 | 0% |
| Hunan Brunp Recycling Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | — |
| Guangdong Brunp Recycling Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | — |
| POSCO Steel Co., Ltd. | 1 | -75% |
| LI CYCLE CORP | 0 | -100% |
| Korea Zinc Co., Ltd. | 0 | -100% |
| KEMCO Co., Ltd. | 0 | -100% |
| 1001297676 ONTARIO INC | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The figures above describe the field as a whole. Turning them into a filing or freedom-to-operate decision means drilling into specific claims and assignees.
Check freedom-to-operate against the leader's claim set
With one assignee holding 30 of 204 records, any new filing in mechanical pretreatment or lithium recovery should be checked against that portfolio's independent claims before drafting.
Run a claim comparison in EurekaMap the under-claimed separation branches
B03C and C01B coverage sits well below the H01M and C22B core, suggesting room for narrowly drafted claims in magnetic separation and non-metallic compound recovery.
Explore white space in EurekaTrack momentum shifts among mid-tier filers
Several historically active assignees show sharp year-on-year drops; watching whether that reflects a strategy shift or a publication-lag artefact matters for competitive monitoring.
Set up assignee alerts in EurekaCommon questions about black mass processing patents
Black mass is the mixed powder of cathode and anode materials — lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese and graphite compounds — left after shredding and thermal or mechanical pretreatment of spent lithium-ion batteries. Patents in this space claim the downstream steps that separate and purify that mixture, including graphite separation, impurity control and lithium recovery. This dataset of 204 records covers exactly that processing layer, sitting between battery shredding and finished cathode-precursor output.
Filing is concentrated: five assignees account for 56.4% of the 204 records in scope, and ten account for 81.4%, out of 61 ranked companies overall. The top-ranked assignee alone holds 30 records, roughly double the fifth-place company's 15. Several of the most active filers are integrated metals and recycling groups with corporate-group co-filing patterns, rather than single independent inventors.
Yes, based on complete years: filings rose from 17 in 2021 to 23 in 2024, a 35% increase, with a peak of 57 records in 2023. Figures for 2025 and 2026 appear lower in the raw data, but that reflects the roughly 18-month lag between filing and publication rather than a real slowdown. Growth claims should be anchored to 2024 as the last complete year rather than to the partial later years.
Magnetic and electrostatic separation (IPC class B03C) appears in only 6.9% of the 204 records, and non-metallic compound recovery (C01B) in 8.8%, both well below the 77.5% and 63.2% coverage of the core battery and metal-extraction classes. That gap suggests separation techniques beyond wet processing and crushing are comparatively under-claimed, which is worth checking before assuming the space is crowded. High density in the core classes does not mean every processing sub-step is equally occupied.
Start with the concentration figures to identify which assignees hold the densest claim positions in the specific sub-step you plan to work on, then check the IPC composition to see whether that sub-step sits in a heavily claimed class like H01M or a thinner one like B03C. Cross-reference the most-cited records, since they mark out the claims most likely to be cited against a new application. Finally, treat the most recent one to two years of filing data as incomplete rather than as evidence the field has cooled.
Research Lithium Battery Black Mass Processing in depth with Eureka
Go past this page: query the whole lithium battery black mass processing corpus yourself, in your own scope.
Every answer comes back with patent numbers you can open.
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.