Microgrid Control for Agricultural Irrigation Patent Landscape
Microgrid Control for Agricultural Irrigation Patent Landscape in 2026
This is a nascent, highly concentrated field with 24 patent families in scope, dominated by a handful of industrial and academic filers led by Helmerich & Payne Technologies LLC. Activity peaked sharply in 2021 and has since eased, signaling a field that has not yet attracted broad competitive entry.
A concentrated, early-stage field with two co-leading filers
Helmerich & Payne Technologies LLC and Unirac Inc. share the top position in the with 3. The top five filers together account for 49% of the combined total across the hundred largest filers, indicating a moderately concentrated but lightly contested space.
This fragmentation below the top tier suggests no challenger has yet mounted a sustained filing campaign.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HELMERICH & PAYNE TECH LLC | 6 | |
| 2 | Unirac Inc. | 6 | |
| 3 | SunPower Inc. | 3 | |
| 4 | Indian Institute of Technology | 2 | |
| 5 | Enphase Energy Inc. | 2 | |
| 6 | K SHUBIKSHA | 1 | |
| 7 | SHIVPAL RAMTIRTH VERMA | 1 | |
| 8 | S PRAGALYA | 1 | |
| 9 | A SWATHI | 1 | |
| 10 | RVS COLLEGE OF ENG & TECH | 1 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | MAKARAND SUDHAKAR BALLAL | 1 | |
| 12 | G SEKAR | 1 | |
| 13 | MR M MURUGAN | 1 | |
| 14 | Lyten Inc. | 1 | |
| 15 | ROHIT RAJKUMAR DESHMUKH | 1 | |
| 16 | DR D X TITTU GEORGE | 1 | |
| 17 | T REENA | 1 | |
| 18 | V THIREKA | 1 | |
| 19 | A MADHUMITHRA | 1 | |
| 20 | SARVESH ASHOK WAKODE | 1 |
The leaders’ positions should be interpreted with caution given the field’s small absolute scale. Helmerich & Payne’s portfolio emphasis on power-grid systems alongside drilling-related classifications suggests the filing may reflect adjacent IP rather than a dedicated agricultural irrigation program.
Patent publication typically lags filing by 18–24 months, so 2024–2026 activity is likely under-represented in the current corpus. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A single-year surge in 2021 dominates an otherwise sparse filing history
The annual trend chart and the technology composition breakdown together reveal a field defined by a brief burst of activity and a dominant single IPC class, with several adjacent branches remaining very lightly covered.
Annual filing trend
Filings were zero from 2017 through 2020, then jumped to 14 patent records in 2021 before falling sharply. The most recent years (2024–2026) show modest low-single-digit activity, but publication lag means these figures are almost certainly incomplete and should not be read as the final count for those years.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H02J (power supply and grid systems) dominates the technology mix with 24 patent records, reflecting the core power-management focus of the field. G06Q (business and administrative data processing) and H02S (photovoltaic/solar power generation) are secondary clusters, while AI-computing, pump technology, and variable electrical control branches each have only one or two records, marking them as structurally sparse.
↗ 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.
Microgrid system for solar water pumps
A microgrid system for water pumps is provided herein and includes a solar array comprising three independent branches and a first pair of photovoltaic modules and a second pair of photovoltaic modules on each of the three independent branches, each of the first pair photovoltaic modules and the second pair of photovoltaic modules connected by a… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Systems and techniques for power management | 33 |
| 2 | Microgrid system for solar water pumps | 3 |
| 3 | Systems and techniques for power management | 3 |
| 4 | Methods and systems for integrating energy control… | 2 |
| 5 | Microgrid system for solar water pumps | 1 |
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 field structure means for R&D investment decisions
The combination of small corpus size, a single dominant technology branch, and a post-peak filing trajectory creates a distinctive risk-opportunity profile for teams considering entry or expansion in this area.
Post-peak decline following a single 2021 surge
The lifecycle evidence places this field in a Decline stage, with annual filings easing back from the 2021 peak. The surge appears to have been a concentrated burst rather than the start of a sustained growth wave. Teams entering now face a thin prior-art landscape, which lowers freedom-to-operate risk but also signals limited commercial validation to date.
Lifecycle: DeclineTwo co-leaders, then a long tail of single-record filers
The top five filers hold 49% of the combined total across the hundred largest filers, and all filers beyond the top three hold exactly one patent record each. This structure suggests the field has not attracted systematic IP-building programs from large agricultural or energy-infrastructure players, leaving the competitive map unusually open for a focused entrant.
Moderate concentrationLimited co-filing activity, centered on a single academic cluster
Three co-filing pairs are evident in the evidence: V Thireka with KK Manthrini, T Reena with KK Manthrini, and S Pragalya with KK Manthrini — all appearing to originate from the same academic group. No cross-institutional or industry-academia co-filing is recorded, indicating the collaborative ecosystem is embryonic and concentrated in one node.
Minimal ecosystemUS and India are the primary filing jurisdictions
The United States leads with 9 patent records, followed by India with 5, Europe (EPO) with 4, and WIPO (PCT) with 4. Australia and Canada each have one record. The India presence reflects the academic filers active in the corpus, while US leadership aligns with the corporate filers. Europe and PCT coverage is thin, suggesting limited global protection strategies have been executed to date.
US + India leadGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| V THIREKA | KK MANTHRINI | 1 |
| T REENA | KK MANTHRINI | 1 |
| S PRAGALYA | KK MANTHRINI | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Helmerich & Payne Technologies and Unirac lead by patent records
Two corporate filers sit at the top of the ranking with equal record counts, but their technology emphases differ. Both are new entrants to this specific topic based on momentum data.
Helmerich & Payne Technologies LLC
Helmerich & Payne Technologies LLC holds 6 patent records, concentrated across H02J power-grid systems, E21B earth-drilling, and G06Q data-processing classifications. The drilling-related classification alongside grid-systems IP suggests this portfolio may span broader energy management applications rather than a pure agricultural irrigation focus. Momentum data are not available for this applicant in the evidence.
6 patent recordsEnphase Energy Inc.
Enphase Energy Inc. holds 2 patent records and is flagged as a new entrant with recent activity. Its technology emphasis spans H02J power-grid systems and F04B positive-displacement pump classifications, the latter being one of the few records touching pump technology directly relevant to irrigation. As a recognized distributed-energy systems company, its entry into this space is technically coherent and worth monitoring.
2 patent records| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| SunPower Inc. | 4 | ▲ new entrant |
| Enphase Energy Inc. | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches adjacent to the dominant grid-systems core
Several IPC branches appear in the corpus with very low record counts relative to the dominant H02J class. These observations of relative sparsity highlight areas where the technical connection to microgrid irrigation is plausible but IP coverage remains thin.
G06N · AI-based computing for microgrid control
With only 2 patent records and a 4% share within the corpus, AI-model-based computing for microgrid control is structurally sparse. The technical case for this branch is strong: machine-learning-driven load forecasting and adaptive pump scheduling could significantly improve irrigation energy efficiency. Lyten Inc. is the only corporate filer with a record in this branch, suggesting early-mover advantage is available to a focused entrant with relevant AI and power-systems capability.
Search this in Eureka →F04B · Positive-displacement pump integration
Only 1 patent record covers positive-displacement pump control within this topic, representing a 2% share — despite pumps being the core load in agricultural irrigation microgrids. Enphase Energy Inc. holds the sole record touching this branch. The entry path is technically direct: coupling pump-drive control with microgrid energy management is a natural extension for power-electronics or precision-agriculture firms, and the near-absence of prior art reduces freedom-to-operate barriers.
Search this in Eureka →How leading filers differ across technology routes
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | H02J 3 · Power supply & grid systems | G06Q 50 · Business, commerce & admin data processing | H02S 40 · Photovoltaic / solar power generation | E21B 44 · Earth & rock drilling (wells) | H02J 1 · Power supply & grid systems |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SunPower Inc. | Strong · 6 | Strong · 4 | Strong · 6 | Absent | Moderate · 3 |
| Helmerich & Payne Technologies LLC | Strong · 6 | Strong · 4 | Absent | Strong · 4 | Absent |
| Enphase Energy Inc. | Strong · 2 | Absent | Moderate · 1 | Absent | Absent |
| Indian Institute of Technology | Strong · 2 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| DR D X TITTU GEORGE | Strong · 1 | Strong · 1 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| DR S J BEN CHRISTOPHER | Strong · 1 | Strong · 1 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| A MADHUMITHRA | Strong · 1 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The current corpus contains 24 patent families in scope globally. This is a small field, and activity has been concentrated in a single year (2021), which accounts for the majority of the total.
Helmerich & Payne Technologies LLC and Unirac Inc. are co-leaders, each with 6 patent records. SunPower Inc. ranks third with 3 records, followed by Indian Institute of Technology and Enphase Energy Inc. with 2 records each.
The lifecycle evidence classifies this field as Decline, with annual filings easing back from a peak in 2021. The most recent filing years (2024–2026) show low single-digit activity, but these figures are likely under-counted due to publication lag.
The United States leads with 9 patent records, followed by India with 5, Europe (EPO) with 4, and WIPO (PCT) with 4. Australia and Canada each have 1 record. Global protection strategies are thin overall.
AI-model-based computing (G06N) and positive-displacement pump integration (F04B) are the most sparsely covered branches, each with only 1–2 patent records. Variable electrical control (G05F) also has only 1 record, indicating limited IP coverage of adaptive control hardware.
Co-filing activity is limited to three pairs — V Thireka/KK Manthrini, T Reena/KK Manthrini, and S Pragalya/KK Manthrini — all appearing to come from a single academic group. No industry-academia or cross-institutional collaborations are recorded in the evidence.
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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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