Lithium-Ion Battery Current Collector Patent Landscape
Lithium-Ion Battery Current Collector Patent Landscape in 2026
JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corporation holds a commanding lead in this field, accounting for the largest single-applicant share among the top hundred filers. Overall annual filing volume has eased from its 2018 peak, placing the field in a declining phase, though a pocket of collaboration between Japanese industrial and research institutions signals continued targeted activity.
JX Nippon Mining & Metals leads a concentrated, Japan-and-China-anchored field
JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corporation sits at the top of the top five applicants together account for 42% of the combined total of the hundred largest filers, signalling a moderately concentrated competitive structure.
A clear tier gap separates the leading Japanese materials specialist from challengers. Kawasaki Heavy Industries and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) each hold 10–11 patent records, followed by Tsinghua University and Zhuhai CosMX Battery, both at 8 patent records. Below that, no single filer reaches double digits, indicating a long, thin tail of smaller participants.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JX NIPPON MINING & METALS CORP | 34 | |
| 2 | Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. | 11 | |
| 3 | National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) | 10 | |
| 4 | Tsinghua University | 8 | |
| 5 | Zhuhai CosMX Battery Co., Ltd. | 8 | |
| 6 | South China University of Technology | 5 | |
| 7 | APB Corporation | 5 | |
| 8 | Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (Foxconn) | 4 | |
| 9 | Hefei Guoxuan High-Tech Power Energy Co., Ltd. | 4 | |
| 10 | Gree Altairnano New Energy Inc. | 3 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | CoreShell Technologies Inc. | 3 | |
| 12 | Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. | 3 | |
| 13 | Huafu (Jiangsu) Lithium Battery New Technology Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 14 | Taizhou Beilaisi E-Commerce Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 15 | Nanjing Tech University | 2 | |
| 16 | SHAANXI UNIV OF SCI & TECH | 2 | |
| 17 | Qujing Faymo Technology Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 18 | Zhejiang Godsend Power Technology Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 19 | Shenzhen Faymo Technology Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 20 | Kawasaki Motors, Ltd. | 2 |
JX Nippon Mining & Metals’ focus on copper foil and related electrode substrate processing gives it a defensible material-science moat. Challengers such as Kawasaki Heavy Industries and AIST have built their positions through a joint fiber-electrode programme, while Chinese industrial filers like Zhuhai CosMX and Hefei Guoxuan represent the cell-maker perspective on collector design.
The most recent 18–24 months of data are subject to publication lag and will undercount actual recent filings; trend readings for 2024–2026 should be treated as provisional. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2018 filing peak followed by easing volume; electrode cell chemistry dominates the branch mix
The annual trend chart shows how activity evolved from a 2018 high and then eased back, while the technology composition chart reveals that H01M (batteries, cells & fuel cells) overwhelmingly defines the corpus, with a set of smaller adjacent branches filling out the remainder.
Annual filing trend
Filings rose sharply to a 2018 peak of 20 records, then trended down through the early 2020s before a partial recovery in 2023 (11 records). The 2024 and 2025 figures should be read as provisional given typical 18–24 month publication lag; they do not yet reflect the full volume of activity in those years.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01M (batteries, cells & fuel cells) accounts for the dominant share of IPC classifications, confirming that most innovation targets cell-level current collector design. The next-largest branches — H01G (capacitors), B21B (metal rolling), C22C (alloys), and C23C (coating and surface deposition) — each represent a far smaller slice, pointing to secondary innovation in manufacturing process and material composition.
↗ 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.
Lithium ion battery current collector, production …
A lithium ion battery current collector which is used in a lithium ion battery in contact with an electrode active material at one principal surface, characterized in that the current collector is provided with a surface layer on the principal surface in contact with the electrode active material, and an uneven structure is provided on a surface in which… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electrical storage device including fiber electrod… | 46 |
| 2 | Copper foil for lithium ion battery current collec… | 35 |
| 3 | Fiber electrode and fiber battery, method of fabri… | 33 |
| 4 | 表面含有导电聚合物膜的锂离子电池集流体处理工艺 | 32 |
| 5 | 锂离子电池集流体预涂层及其制备方法 | 23 |
| 6 | 一种超轻锂离子电池集流体及其制备方法 | 22 |
| 7 | 锂离子电池集流体及其制备方法 | 20 |
| 8 | Method for making lithium ion battery | 20 |
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 competitive and technological structure of this corpus has direct implications for teams considering entry, partnership, or differentiation strategies. Four dimensions — maturity, concentration, collaboration, and geography — frame the key decision points.
Field is in decline from a 2018 peak
Annual filings have eased back from the 2018 peak of 20 records, placing the field in a declining lifecycle stage. This suggests that foundational current collector architectures are maturing and that incremental improvements are being absorbed into standard practice. R&D investment is most defensible in technically differentiated sub-segments rather than broad collector design.
Lifecycle: DeclineTop-five filers hold 42% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total
The top five applicants — JX Nippon Mining & Metals, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, AIST, Tsinghua University, and Zhuhai CosMX Battery — collectively represent 42% of the top-hundred filers’ combined patent records. This level of concentration means new entrants face established IP positions in the most direct technology paths. Differentiation through adjacent branches or novel materials is a more viable route than head-on replication.
Moderate concentrationKawasaki Heavy Industries and AIST form the most active co-filing pair
The most active collaborative relationship in the corpus is between Kawasaki Heavy Industries and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), with 13 joint patent records — by far the largest co-filing count. Tsinghua University and Foxconn have co-filed 3 records, and APB Corporation and Sanyo Chemical Industries have co-filed 2. These pairings suggest that fiber-electrode and all-polymer current collector research is being prosecuted through industry–academia partnerships rather than solo corporate programmes.
Industry–academia ledChina leads jurisdiction filings; Japan and the US remain key secondary markets
China is the dominant filing jurisdiction with 79 patent records, reflecting both the scale of Chinese battery manufacturing and the presence of major Chinese university and cell-maker applicants. Europe (EPO) and the United States each receive meaningful coverage (17 and 14 records respectively), followed by Japan (12) and South Korea (8). Entrants seeking broad protection should prioritise these five jurisdictions; the remaining offices represent thinner coverage.
China-led, multi-marketGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. | National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) | 13 |
| Tsinghua University | Foxconn Technology Group | 3 |
| APB Corporation | Sanyo Chemical Industries, Ltd. | 2 |
| Zhuhai CosMX Battery Co., Ltd. | Harbin Institute of Technology | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
JX Nippon Mining & Metals leads on copper foil; Kawasaki Heavy Industries challenges through fiber electrodes
The two dominant players approach current collector technology from distinct technical angles — one from advanced metal foil processing, the other from a novel fiber-based electrode architecture developed in partnership with a national research institute.
JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corporation
With 34 patent records, JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corporation holds the largest position in the corpus by a wide margin. Its technology emphasis centres on H01M 4 (electrode materials and structures) and B21B 1 (metal rolling processes), reflecting a strategy grounded in high-performance copper foil manufacturing — the material basis of most commercial current collectors. No momentum trend data is available for this filer in the evidence, suggesting an established rather than rapidly accelerating position.
patent records: 34Kawasaki Heavy Industries
Kawasaki Heavy Industries holds 11 patent records, all strongly concentrated in H01M 4, H01M 10, and H01M 2 — the same battery-cell classification cluster as its long-term co-filing partner AIST (10 patent records). The two organisations have filed 13 joint records together, indicating that Kawasaki’s position is built substantially through collaborative prosecution of fiber-electrode and structural battery technology rather than through an independent internal programme.
patent records: 11| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| APB Corporation | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches adjacent to the dominant electrode classification
Several IPC branches appear at low share relative to the dominant H01M class. These observations of relative sparsity, combined with plausible technical connections to current collector performance, identify areas where incremental IP exposure may be lower.
C23C · Coating & surface deposition
C23C accounts for only 5 patent records (2% share among the top branches), despite coating technologies being directly relevant to current collector surface engineering — for example, applying conductive carbon or corrosion-resistant layers to aluminium or copper foils. The low count suggests that thin-film and vapour-deposition approaches to collector modification are under-patented relative to their potential impact on interfacial resistance and cycle stability. Teams with thin-film deposition expertise could file in this branch with comparatively limited incumbent density.
Search this in Eureka →B21B · Metal rolling
B21B (metal rolling) appears in 8 patent records, concentrated largely in JX Nippon Mining & Metals’ own portfolio. Outside that single applicant, the branch is sparse relative to the commercial importance of roll-to-roll copper and aluminium foil production processes. Innovations in ultra-thin rolling, texture control for adhesion, or roll-surface finishing for reduced collector thickness represent plausible entry points for materials and equipment suppliers that do not already face heavy incumbent coverage.
Search this in Eureka →How leading applicants differ by technology route
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | H01M 4 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | H01M 10 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | H01M 2 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | H01M 50 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | H01M 6 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) | Strong · 13 | Strong · 11 | Strong · 11 | Strong · 9 | Strong · 10 |
| Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. | Strong · 13 | Strong · 11 | Strong · 11 | Strong · 9 | Strong · 10 |
| JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corporation | Strong · 34 | Moderate · 13 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Zhuhai CosMX Battery Co., Ltd. | Strong · 8 | Strong · 7 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Tsinghua University | Strong · 4 | Strong · 3 | Moderate · 2 | Absent | Absent |
| South China University of Technology | Strong · 5 | Moderate · 2 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corporation leads with 34 patent records, followed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries (11) and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (10). The top five applicants account for 42% of the combined total of the hundred largest filers.
China is the leading filing jurisdiction with 79 patent records. Europe (EPO) and the United States are the next most covered markets (17 and 14 records respectively), followed by Japan (12) and South Korea (8).
The field reached its annual filing peak in 2018 (20 records) and has eased back since, placing it in a declining lifecycle stage. The most recent years (2024–2026) are subject to publication lag, so provisional figures for those years should not be read as the final activity level.
The most active co-filing partnership is between Kawasaki Heavy Industries and AIST, with 13 jointly filed patent records. Tsinghua University and Foxconn have 3 joint records, and APB Corporation and Sanyo Chemical Industries have 2. Zhuhai CosMX Battery and Harbin Institute of Technology have 1 joint record.
H01M (batteries, cells and fuel cells) overwhelmingly dominates the IPC classification mix. The next-largest branches are H01G (capacitors, 11 records), B21B (metal rolling, 8 records), C22C (alloys, 5 records), and C23C (coating and surface deposition, 5 records).
C23C (coating and surface deposition) and B21B (metal rolling) are both technically adjacent to current collector manufacturing but each account for only 5 and 8 patent records respectively in the corpus. Outside JX Nippon Mining & Metals’ own B21B filings, these branches show comparatively limited incumbent density, suggesting potential entry paths for materials and process specialists.
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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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