Manganese-Rich Battery Cathode Material Patent Landscape
Manganese-Rich Battery Cathode Material Patent Landscape in 2026
The manganese-rich cathode material space is in a clear growth phase, with annual filings expanding sharply and GEM Co. Ltd holding the largest position among the top-ranked applicants. Activity is heavily concentrated in China, and the field is led by a small cluster of materials specialists and battery manufacturers with a growing university presence.
GEM Co. leads a China-centric, moderately concentrated field
GEM Co. Ltd holds the top position with 124 patent families, followed by LG Energy Solution with 90 and Jingmen GEM New Material with 77. The top five applicants together account for 25% of the combined output of the hundred largest filers, signalling moderate-to-high concentration at the apex.
A clear three-tier structure is visible. GEM Co. and LG Energy Solution form a lead tier separated from the mid-pack by a meaningful gap, while a dense cluster of Chinese manufacturers and universities occupies ranks three through twenty. Below rank ten, counts compress quickly toward the low-to-mid twenties.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GEM Co. Ltd | 124 | |
| 2 | LG Energy Solution Ltd | 90 | |
| 3 | Jingmen GEM New Material Co. Ltd | 77 | |
| 4 | Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd (CATL) | 65 | |
| 5 | Central South University | 41 | |
| 6 | Xi’an Technological University | 40 | |
| 7 | Beijing Institute of Technology | 36 | |
| 8 | China Automotive Battery Research Institute Co. Ltd | 35 | |
| 9 | Hefei Guoxuan High-Tech Power Energy Co. Ltd | 34 | |
| 10 | NINGBO INST OF MATERIALS TECH & ENG CHINESE ACAD O… | 32 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | TIANJIN B&M SCI & TECH LTD | 30 | |
| 12 | Ningbo Ronbay Lithium Battery Material Co. Ltd | 28 | |
| 13 | LG Chem Ltd | 27 | |
| 14 | SVOLT Energy Technology Co. Ltd | 26 | |
| 15 | Guangdong Brunp Recycling Technology Co. Ltd | 25 | |
| 16 | Hunan Brunp Recycling Technology Co. Ltd | 25 | |
| 17 | GEM (Shenzhen) Super Green Technology Research Center Co. Ltd | 25 | |
| 18 | Ningbo Fuli Battery Material Technology Co. Ltd | 25 | |
| 19 | Ningxia Hanyao Fuli Technology Co. Ltd | 24 | |
| 20 | Beijing University of Technology | 24 |
GEM Co.’s dominance, reinforced by its affiliate Jingmen GEM New Material (rank three), means the GEM group collectively controls a disproportionate share of the indexed corpus. LG Energy Solution is the sole non-Chinese entity in the visible top tier, signalling a structural geographic imbalance that R&D planners outside. China should weigh when benchmarking freedom-to-operate.
The most recent 18–24 months of data are under-counted due to patent publication lag; rankings and totals for 2025–2026 will increase as those applications publish. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filings accelerated sharply after 2021; electrochemical IP dominates technology mix
Two charts together reveal both the pace of field expansion and the degree to which activity is anchored in core battery electrochemistry, with a long tail of adjacent processing and materials classes.
Annual filing trend
Activity was steady in 2017–2018 before accelerating in 2019–2020, dipping slightly in 2021, then surging from 2022 onward. The 2025 and 2026 bars understate true activity owing to publication lag and should not be read as a reversal; the field’s lifecycle stage is confirmed as Growth with a 213% increase over the recent window.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01M (batteries, cells and fuel cells) is the dominant class by a wide margin. C01G (compounds of other metals, covering the manganese-transition-metal precursor chemistry) is the second-largest branch, reflecting the upstream synthesis focus of many applicants. Nanotechnology applications (B82Y), non-metallic inorganic compounds (C01B), alkaline-earth and rare-earth compounds (C01F), and crystal growth (C30B) each occupy a much smaller share, together pointing to specific but under-populated adjacent routes.
↗ 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.
Cathode active material for lithium ion battery co…
One embodiment of the present invention provides a lithium-rich layered oxide-based cathode active material comprising M1 that is a Group 1 or Group 2 metal, M2 that is a Group 14 and Group 15 element excluding non-metals, and a fourth periodic transition metal. Another embodiment of the present invention provides a lithium-rich layered oxide-based cathode… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 富锂锰基正极材料及其制备方法 | 99 |
| 2 | 一种核壳结构的尖晶石镍锰酸锂、层状富锂锰基复合正极材料及其制备方法 | 89 |
| 3 | 一种锂离子电池 | 78 |
| 4 | 一种锂离子电池正极材料层状富锂锰基氧化物的制备方法 | 65 |
| 5 | 一种富锂锰基固态电池电极和二次电池 | 64 |
| 6 | 一种以富锂锰基材料为正极的锂离子电池及其制备方法 | 59 |
| 7 | 锂离子电池复合正极及柔性锂电池、固态锂电池制备方法 | 54 |
| 8 | 一种无钴富锂锰基正极材料及其制备方法和应用 | 52 |
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 dimensions — maturity, concentration, collaboration, and geography — shape the risk and opportunity profile for any entrant or incumbent deciding where to allocate manganese-rich cathode R&D resources.
Growth stage with accelerating annual filings
The field is in a confirmed Growth lifecycle stage. Annual filing volume has expanded 213% over the recent multi-year window, with the peak recorded in 2024. The apparent step-down in 2025–2026 reflects publication lag, not a reversal. Entrants face a field that is still being actively shaped, so early IP positioning in emerging sub-routes retains strategic value.
Growth stageModerate apex concentration with a long competitive tail
The top five filers account for 25% of the hundred largest filers’ combined output — a meaningful but not impenetrable lead. GEM Co. and its affiliate Jingmen GEM hold a combined structural advantage, while LG Energy Solution is the primary non-Chinese counterweight. Below rank five, counts compress rapidly, leaving room for targeted entrants to establish credible positions in specific sub-technologies.
Moderate HHIGEM group dominates co-filing; university–industry links are active
The most active co-filing pair is GEM Co. Ltd and Jingmen GEM New Material, with 70 jointly filed patent families, followed by GEM Co. and GEM (Shenzhen) Super Green Technology Research Center with 25. Beijing Institute of Technology and its Chongqing Innovation Center co-filed 19 families, illustrating a university hub-and-spoke model. LG Energy Solution co-filed with Tianmu Lake Institute of Advanced Energy Storage Technology. The collaboration network is largely GEM-centric, with secondary nodes in academic institutions.
GEM-centric networkChina commands filing volume; international protection is sparse
China is the lead office, followed by WIPO PCT filings, the European Patent Office, and the United States. South Korea and India rank fifth and sixth. The concentration of filings in a single national office, combined with limited PCT conversion visible so far, means international freedom-to-operate for non-Chinese entities may be less constrained than the raw family count implies — though PCT and EPO numbers will grow as recent applications mature.
China-dominantGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| GEM Co. Ltd | Jingmen GEM New Material Co. Ltd | 70 |
| GEM Co. Ltd | GEM (Shenzhen) Super Green Technology Research Center Co. Ltd | 25 |
| Beijing Institute of Technology | Beijing Institute of Technology Chongqing Innovation Center | 19 |
| GEM Co. Ltd | Qingmei Bang New Energy Materials Co. Ltd | 4 |
| GEM Co. Ltd | GEM (Indonesia) New Energy Materials Co. Ltd | 4 |
| GEM Co. Ltd | PT QMB NEW ENERGY MATERIALS | 4 |
| GEM Co. Ltd | PT GEM INDONESIA NEW ENERGY MATERIALS | 4 |
| LG Energy Solution Ltd | Tianmu Lake Institute of Advanced Energy Storage Technology Co. Ltd | 4 |
| China Automotive Battery Research Institute Co. Ltd | General Research Institute for Nonferrous Metals (GRINM) Group Co. Ltd | 4 |
| Central South University | Shenzhen Guotuo Intelligent Machinery Co. Ltd | 3 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
GEM Co. and LG Energy Solution lead, with CATL accelerating as a fast challenger
The two leading applicants differ in strategic emphasis: GEM Co. covers the full cathode value chain from precursor chemistry through cell design, while LG Energy Solution’s focus is weighted toward electrochemical cell engineering. Both entered the recent filing window as new entrants in the momentum data, reflecting how recently the high-volume surge began.
GEM Co. Ltd
GEM Co. holds 124 patent families, the largest position in the corpus. Its technology emphasis spans electrode materials (H01M 4), cell systems (H01M 10), and metal compound synthesis (C01G 53), reflecting end-to-end cathode value chain coverage. Momentum is classified as a new entrant in the recent window — consistent with the field’s sharp post-2021 ramp — with 75 families filed in the recent period. Its affiliate Jingmen GEM New Material (77 families) and GEM (Shenzhen) Research Center (25 families) amplify the group’s collective footprint substantially.
families: 124LG Energy Solution
LG Energy Solution holds 90 patent families and is the highest-ranked non-Chinese applicant. Its focus is concentrated in electrode (H01M 4) and cell-system (H01M 10) classes, with comparatively limited coverage of upstream metal compound synthesis (C01G 53, 12 records), suggesting a cell-integration rather than precursor-chemistry strategy. Momentum is also classified as a new entrant in the recent window, with 69 families in the recent period, placing it close behind GEM Co. in recent activity pace. A co-filing relationship with Tianmu Lake Institute of Advanced Energy Storage Technology indicates selective academic partnerships.
families: 90| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| GEM Co. Ltd | 75 | ▲ new entrant |
| LG Energy Solution Ltd | 69 | ▲ new entrant |
| Jingmen GEM New Material Co. Ltd | 47 | ▲ new entrant |
| Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd (CATL) | 64 | ▲ new entrant |
| Central South University | 13 | ▼ -19% |
| China Automotive Battery Research Institute Co. Ltd | 13 | ▲ new entrant |
| Xi’an Technological University | 26 | ▲ new entrant |
| Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 9 | ▼ -10% |
Under-served adjacent branches worth monitoring
Several IPC classes appear at low share relative to the dominant H01M and C01G branches. These represent areas of relative sparsity; three have plausible technical relevance to manganese-rich cathode performance and may warrant closer attention.
C30B · Crystal Growth
Crystal growth techniques (C30B) appear in 35 records, representing roughly 1% of IPC-level activity. Controlled crystallographic engineering of layered lithium-manganese-oxide phases is directly relevant to voltage fade and cation ordering — two persistent challenges in manganese-rich cathodes. The sparse filing count suggests this route is not yet systematically claimed, and entry could be pursued through single-crystal or gradient-composition synthesis approaches that complement existing H01M and C01G positions.
Search this in Eureka →C01F · Alkaline-Earth, Al & Rare-Earth Compounds
Rare-earth and aluminium compound classes (C01F) account for 40 records, about 1% of IPC activity. Rare-earth doping and aluminium surface modification are established strategies for suppressing surface degradation and improving cycle life in lithium-rich manganese oxides. The low count relative to the overall corpus volume suggests these dopant-chemistry routes are under-patented, offering a potential entry path for applicants with rare-earth processing or surface-engineering expertise.
Search this in Eureka →How leading applicants differ across technology routes
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | H01M 4 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | H01M 10 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | C01G 53 · Compounds of other metals | C01G 45 · Compounds of other metals | B82Y 30 · Nanotechnology applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEM Co. Ltd | Strong · 122 | Strong · 113 | Strong · 97 | Emerging · 10 | Emerging · 4 |
| Jingmen GEM New Material Co. Ltd | Strong · 76 | Strong · 68 | Strong · 61 | Emerging · 8 | Emerging · 3 |
| LG Energy Solution Ltd | Strong · 86 | Strong · 84 | Emerging · 12 | Absent | Absent |
| Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd (CATL) | Strong · 75 | Strong · 54 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Central South University | Strong · 45 | Strong · 37 | Moderate · 12 | Emerging · 6 | Emerging · 3 |
| Xi’an Technological University | Strong · 39 | Strong · 32 | Strong · 20 | Moderate · 9 | Absent |
| Beijing Institute of Technology | Strong · 36 | Strong · 35 | Moderate · 12 | Emerging · 6 | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 1,773 patent families in scope globally. This total reflects the deduplicated family count and does not double-count filings made in multiple jurisdictions for the same invention.
GEM Co. Ltd is the top-ranked applicant with 124 patent families, followed by LG Energy Solution with 90 and Jingmen GEM New Material with 77. The GEM group’s affiliated entities collectively hold a substantially larger combined position.
The field is in a Growth lifecycle stage. Annual filing volume increased 213% over the recent multi-year window. The apparent decline in the 2025–2026 data bars is attributable to patent publication lag and should not be interpreted as a slowdown.
China is the lead jurisdiction by a wide margin. WIPO PCT, the European Patent Office, and the United States rank second, third, and fourth. South Korea and India are the next most active offices. The heavy China concentration means international IP coverage beyond China is limited for most applicants.
H01M (batteries, cells and fuel cells) is by far the largest IPC class, reflecting the core electrochemical focus. C01G (compounds of other metals, covering precursor and active material synthesis) is the second-largest branch. Nanotechnology applications (B82Y), non-metallic inorganic compounds (C01B), and rare-earth compounds (C01F) are present but at much lower share.
The most active co-filing pair is GEM Co. Ltd and Jingmen GEM New Material with 70 jointly filed patent families. GEM Co. and GEM (Shenzhen) Super Green Technology Research Center co-filed 25 families. Beijing Institute of Technology and its Chongqing Innovation Center co-filed 19 families. LG Energy Solution and Tianmu Lake Institute of Advanced Energy Storage Technology co-filed 4 families.
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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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