Lithium-Ion Battery State Estimation Patent Landscape
Lithium-Ion Battery State Estimation Patent Landscape in 2026
Lithium-ion battery state estimation is a concentrated, growth-stage field with 42 patent families in scope, dominated by Nucleus Scientific Inc, which holds a commanding lead over all other filers. The field expanded sharply from 2020 onward, and while annual volume has eased from its 2021 peak, the multi-year trajectory remains positive and the most recent periods are further understated by publication lag.
Nucleus Scientific dominates a small but growing applicant pool
Nucleus Scientific Inc sits at the top of the top five filers together account for 62% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, signaling a highly concentrated competitive structure.
Below Nucleus Scientific, a second tier of academic and institutional filers — including the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt, and the Regents of the University of California — each hold five to seven patent records. The gap between the leader and this tier is substantial, leaving meaningful room for challengers to build differentiated positions.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nucleus Scientific Inc | 32 | |
| 2 | French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) | 7 | |
| 3 | Université Libre de Bruxelles | 5 | |
| 4 | Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt | 5 | |
| 5 | Regents of the University of California | 5 | |
| 6 | Regents of the University of Michigan | 4 | |
| 7 | Lafontaine Serge R | 2 | |
| 8 | Indigo Technologies Inc | 2 | |
| 9 | LG Energy Solution Ltd | 1 | |
| 10 | Nanjing Forestry University | 1 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | State Grid Sichuan Economic Research Institute | 1 | |
| 12 | Harbin Panlian Electric Technology Co Ltd | 1 | |
| 13 | China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) | 1 | |
| 14 | Hohai University | 1 | |
| 15 | Harbin Institute of Technology | 1 | |
| 16 | Emuron Technologies Pvt Ltd | 1 | |
| 17 | Jilin University | 1 | |
| 18 | California Institute of Technology | 1 | |
| 19 | Southwest Jiaotong University | 1 | |
| 20 | Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology | 1 |
Nucleus Scientific’s dominance, combined with the academic character of the second tier, suggests that the commercial patent space is still relatively open. Challengers with strong measurement or AI-based estimation approaches could establish positions without directly colliding with the leader’s core charging-system portfolio.
Filing counts for 2024 and 2025 are likely understated due to patent publication lag of 18–24 months and should not be read as a slowdown. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2021 activity surge with broad power-systems and measurement coverage
The filing trend and technology-branch mix together reveal when competitive attention intensified and where the technical work is concentrated across IPC classes.
Annual filing trend
Filings were negligible before 2020, then surged to 11 records in 2021 before easing. The multi-year window shows 31% recent growth over the prior period. Years 2024–2026 are understated by publication lag and should not be interpreted as a decline.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H02J (power supply and grid systems) and H01M (batteries and cells) are the dominant branches, reflecting the field’s core focus on charging and electrochemical systems. G01R (electrical measurement) is the third-largest branch, confirming that measurement and sensing methods underpin most state-estimation approaches. Smaller branches — G06F (digital data processing) and G06N (AI models) — represent lower-volume but technically adjacent areas.
↗ 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.
一种基于光纤光栅传感器的锂离子电池荷电状态估计方法
一种基于光纤光栅传感器的锂离子电池荷电状态估计方法，方法包括：选取型号已知的锂离子电池，基于设置在锂离子电池上的光纤布拉格光栅传感器，采集测试参数(S100)；根据锂离子电池的型号信息，得到与型号信息对应的已知参数(S200)；根据测试参数建立时间序列测试数据集，以及根据已知参数建立时间序列目标数据集，对时间序列测试数据集进行归一化处理，并基于上下界算法，删除时间序列测试数据集中不匹配的时间序列，得到处理好的时间序列测试数据集(S300)；基于处理好的时间序列测试数据集训练动态时间规整模型，得到电池荷电状态估计模型，并根据电池荷电状态估计模型，得到电池荷电状态的估计数据(S400)。有效提高了电池荷电状态的估计精度。 (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apparatus and Method for Rapidly Charging Batteries | 97 |
| 2 | 为电池快速充电的设备和方法 | 21 |
| 3 | Apparatus and method for rapidly charging batteries | 19 |
| 4 | Interval estimation for state-of-charge and temper… | 16 |
| 5 | 基于比例积分H∞观测器的锂离子电池剩余电量估计方法 | 11 |
| 6 | 基于PINN的锂离子电池健康状态与剩余寿命联合估计方法 | 8 |
| 7 | バッテリを急速充電するための装置および方法 | 8 |
| 8 | 一种锂电池SOC和SOH联合估计方法 | 7 |
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 decisions
Four structural observations — maturity, concentration, collaboration, and geography — shape where new entrants face friction and where room exists.
Growth stage, past 2021 peak
The field is classified as Growth stage: the recent three-year filing window sits well above the prior three-year window, reflecting 31% growth. Annual volume peaked in 2021 and has eased since, but the overall multi-year trajectory is still expanding. The most recent filing years carry additional undercount due to publication lag, so the field should not be read as maturing prematurely.
Growth · eased from 2021 peakOne dominant commercial filer, a secondary academic tier
Nucleus Scientific Inc accounts for 32 of the top-ranked patent records, and the top five filers hold 62% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total. The second tier is composed almost entirely of universities and public research bodies. This structure implies that a commercially focused challenger entering with novel estimation algorithms or sensor fusion methods faces limited direct competition at the patent level.
High concentrationUniversité Libre de Bruxelles and UC Berkeley co-file most actively, with TotalEnergies as industry partner
The most active co-filing pair is the Université Libre de Bruxelles and UC Berkeley (Campus) with 5 joint records. Both institutions also co-file with TotalEnergies SE (3 records each) and with TotalEnergies Ioniq Technologies (2 records each), forming a three-party academic-industry consortium. A separate pair, Serge R. Lafontaine and Nucleus Scientific, accounts for 2 collaborative records. The TotalEnergies-university axis is the clearest evidence of structured industry-academia co-development in this space.
Academic-industry consortiaChina leads filing jurisdictions; Europe and US follow
China is the leading jurisdiction by patent records, followed by EPO (Europe), the United States, and Israel. PCT and national filings in New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Japan, and Singapore indicate that key applicants are pursuing broad international protection. The China lead reflects both domestic filers and foreign applicants seeking protection in the largest battery-manufacturing market.
China-led, globally spreadGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Université Libre de Bruxelles | University of California, Berkeley (Campus) | 5 |
| Université Libre de Bruxelles | TotalEnergies SE | 3 |
| University of California, Berkeley (Campus) | TotalEnergies SE | 3 |
| Université Libre de Bruxelles | TotalEnergies Ioniq Technologies | 2 |
| University of California, Berkeley (Campus) | TotalEnergies Ioniq Technologies | 2 |
| Lafontaine Serge R | Nucleus Scientific Inc | 2 |
| Université Libre de Bruxelles | Regents of the University of California | 1 |
| University of California, Berkeley (Campus) | Regents of the University of California | 1 |
| TotalEnergies Ioniq Technologies | Regents of the University of California | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Nucleus Scientific leads on power-system IP; CEA enters with cell-focused portfolio
The two most prominent applicants differ in technical emphasis: Nucleus Scientific concentrates on charging and power-supply methods, while the CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission) has emerged as a new entrant with a cell-chemistry and battery-system focus.
Nucleus Scientific Inc
Nucleus Scientific Inc holds 32 patent records, by far the largest position in this landscape. Its portfolio is concentrated in H02J 7 (power supply and charging systems, 34 sub-records) and H01M 10 (batteries and cells, 24), with a smaller G01R 31 (electrical measurement) component. This emphasis on charging-system IP — rather than purely algorithmic state estimation — differentiates the leader’s approach from the academic second tier.
patent records: 32CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission)
The CEA holds 7 patent records and is identified as a new entrant in the recent filing window, having added 5 records in the most recent period. Its technical focus is on H01M 10 (batteries and cells, 6), H02J 7 (power supply, 5), and H01M 50 (battery structural components, 4), suggesting a system-level rather than purely algorithmic approach. Its active collaboration with the Université Libre de Bruxelles and TotalEnergies signals a consortium-driven scaling strategy.
patent records: 7| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) | 5 | ▲ new entrant |
| Regents of the University of Michigan | 4 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches in data processing, AI models, and connectivity
Several IPC branches appear at low frequency relative to the dominant power-system and measurement classes, indicating areas where patent density is sparse and technical approaches remain less developed.
G06N · AI and machine-learning models for state estimation
G06N accounts for only 8 patent records and 5% of the branch distribution among the hundred largest filers, despite the well-established relevance of neural networks, Gaussian processes, and physics-informed machine learning to battery state-of-charge and state-of-health estimation. Entry paths include physics-informed neural networks (PINN) for joint SOC/SOH estimation — a method referenced in top-cited documents — and Bayesian interval estimation, both of which remain sparsely covered at the patent level.
Search this in Eureka →H04L · Secure and connected battery data transmission
H04L (digital information transmission) appears in only 4 patent records, making it the most sparsely covered branch with plausible near-term commercial relevance. As battery management systems migrate toward cloud-connected and fleet-level architectures, IP covering secure data communication protocols, over-the-air firmware updates, and real-time telemetry for state estimation represents an adjacent area with limited current coverage and a realistic entry path for firms with connectivity or cybersecurity expertise.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders differ across technology routes
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | H02J 7 · Power supply & grid systems | H01M 10 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | G01R 31 · Electric & magnetic measurement | G06N 3 · Computing based on AI models | G06F 21 · Electric digital data processing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nucleus Scientific Inc | Strong · 34 | Strong · 24 | Emerging · 2 | Absent | Absent |
| Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt | Absent | Strong · 4 | Strong · 5 | Strong · 3 | Strong · 4 |
| French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) | Strong · 5 | Strong · 6 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| University of California, Berkeley (Campus) | Strong · 3 | Absent | Strong · 2 | Absent | Absent |
| Université Libre de Bruxelles | Strong · 3 | Absent | Strong · 2 | Absent | Absent |
| Lafontaine Serge R | Strong · 2 | Strong · 2 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The evidence covers 42 patent families in scope for this topic globally.
Nucleus Scientific Inc leads with 32 patent records, a position that is substantially larger than all other filers. The next-largest filers — CEA, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt, and the Regents of the University of California — each hold five to seven patent records.
The field is in a Growth lifecycle stage. The recent three-year filing window shows 31% growth over the prior three-year window. Annual volume peaked in 2021 and has eased since, but the overall multi-year trajectory remains positive. The most recent years (2024–2026) are likely further understated by the 18–24 month patent publication lag.
China leads by patent records, followed by EPO (Europe), the United States, and Israel. PCT filings and national coverage in New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Japan, and Singapore indicate that leading applicants pursue international protection across multiple markets.
The most active co-filing pair is the Université Libre de Bruxelles and UC Berkeley (Campus), with 5 joint records. Both institutions also co-file with TotalEnergies SE (3 records each) and with TotalEnergies Ioniq Technologies (2 records each), forming a structured academic-industry consortium. Separately, Serge R. Lafontaine and Nucleus Scientific have 2 collaborative records.
G06N (AI and machine-learning models) accounts for only 8 patent records, despite the clear relevance of neural networks and physics-informed models to state estimation. H04L (digital information transmission) is even sparser at 4 records, which is notable given the increasing use of connected, cloud-based battery management systems. Both branches have plausible entry paths for firms with relevant technical capabilities.
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