Microgrid Control Patent Landscape 2026
Microgrid Control Patent Landscape in 2026
The microgrid control patent field spans 2,404 patent families and is led by State Grid Corporation of China, with the top five filers holding nearly a quarter of the largest hundred filers’ combined output. The field peaked in 2020 and annual volume has since eased, though recent-window figures remain subject to publication lag.
State Grid leads a moderately concentrated field with a clear Chinese institutional anchor
China heads the top five filers collectively account for 23% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, indicating a moderate rather than extreme concentration.
A clear two-tier structure is visible: the leading trio — State Grid, Dynapower, and Hitachi Energy — each exceed 90 patent families, while the remainder of the top ten fall in the 29–57 family range. This gap separates established platform builders from focused specialists.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | State Grid Corporation of China | 131 | |
| 2 | Dynapower Company | 95 | |
| 3 | Hitachi Energy Ltd | 91 | |
| 4 | ABB (Schweiz) AG | 57 | |
| 5 | Caterpillar Inc | 46 | |
| 6 | Siemens AG | 43 | |
| 7 | China Electric Power Research Institute Co Ltd | 40 | |
| 8 | Huawei Digital Power Technologies Co Ltd | 38 | |
| 9 | Enphase Energy Inc | 33 | |
| 10 | Gree Electric Appliances Inc of Zhuhai | 29 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Indian Institute of Technology | 28 | |
| 12 | King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals | 28 | |
| 13 | Hyosung Heavy Industries Corporation | 27 | |
| 14 | Beijing Etechwin Electric Co Ltd | 26 | |
| 15 | North China Electric Power University | 25 | |
| 16 | General Electric Co | 24 | |
| 17 | Bloom Energy Corporation | 24 | |
| 18 | Shanghai University of Electric Power | 22 | |
| 19 | NGK Insulators Ltd | 21 | |
| 20 | State Grid Shanghai Municipal Electric Power Co | 20 |
The dominance of a state-owned utility (State Grid) and a national research institute (China Electric Power Research Institute) alongside Western industrial players (ABB, Siemens, Caterpillar, Hitachi Energy) signals that microgrid control IP is contested across both government-backed and commercially driven R&D programmes.
Filings in the most recent 18–24 months are systematically under-counted due to patent publication lag; apparent declines in 2025 and 2026 data should not be interpreted as a real reduction in activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filings peaked in 2020 and have moderated; power-grid systems dominate the technology mix
The annual filing trend reveals a field that surged to a 2020 peak and has since eased, while the technology composition chart shows an overwhelming concentration in power-supply and grid-system patents alongside a meaningful secondary cluster in power conversion and data-processing.
Annual filing trend
Annual filings rose from 262 in 2017 to a peak of 358 in 2020, then declined to the 196–268 range through 2024. The 2025 and 2026 bars are materially under-counted due to publication lag and should not be read as a continuation of the post-peak decline. The multi-year window remains elevated relative to the 2017 starting point.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H02J (Power supply and grid systems) dominates with 3,086 records, dwarfing all other branches. The next-largest clusters — H02M (Power conversion), G06Q (Business and admin data processing), and G05B (Control and regulating systems) — each hold a 5–7% share of the top-branch records, pointing to secondary activity in converter design, energy-market software, and general control logic.
↗ 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 control system
The present invention relates to a system for controlling microgrid facilities. In particular, the microgrid control system provided is capable of controlling multiple facilities according to characteristics of the facilities in order to achieve economic efficiency, environmental friendliness, and continued operability. The microgrid control system for… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Systems and methods for advanced energy settlement… | 481 |
| 2 | Modular microgrid unit and method of use | 194 |
| 3 | Control of small distributed energy resources | 161 |
| 4 | Ac connected modules with line frequency or voltag… | 150 |
| 5 | 微电网系统计算机监控方法 | 131 |
| 6 | 微电网能量智能控制系统 | 130 |
| 7 | 基于主从策略的微网系统协调控制方法 | 125 |
| 8 | 基于MAS的多微电网能量管理系统仿真方法 | 120 |
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 stage, concentration, co-filing ecosystems, and geographic exposure — shape the strategic context for any new entrant or incumbent seeking to position in microgrid control.
Post-peak field: annual volume has eased from the 2020 high
The lifecycle evidence places microgrid control in a decline stage, with annual filings easing back from the 2020 peak of 358 families. The multi-year window still shows overall positive volume relative to 2017, but the directional signal is that the first wave of platform-level IP has largely been filed. New entrants face an increasingly dense prior-art landscape in core grid-interface claims.
Post-peak · 2020 highModerate concentration with a visible leader-challenger gap
The top five filers hold 23% of the hundred largest filers’ combined output — moderate rather than monopolistic. However, the three-family lead tier (State Grid, Dynapower, Hitachi Energy) is meaningfully ahead of the next cluster. Challengers in the 29–57 family range — ABB, Caterpillar, Siemens, China Electric Power Research Institute — have meaningful positions but would need substantial acceleration to close the gap with the top three.
Moderate HHITwo distinct co-filing clusters: Chinese state network and the ABB/Hitachi transition cluster
The most active co-filing pair is State Grid Corporation of China with China Electric Power Research Institute (24 joint families), reflecting the Chinese national utility’s reliance on its affiliated research arm. A second dense cluster connects ABB (Schweiz), Hitachi Energy Ltd, Hitachi Energy Switzerland AG, and ABB Power Grids Switzerland AG with 10–17 joint families per pair — a direct artefact of the ABB Power Grids divestiture to Hitachi and subsequent entity renaming. State Grid also co-files with State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power and State Grid Beijing Electric Power (10 each), and with Xu Ji Group (9).
Two co-filing clustersChina is the primary filing jurisdiction; the US and India are the largest non-Chinese markets
China accounts for the largest share of filing records, followed by the United States, India, and Europe (EPO). South Korea and Australia represent meaningful secondary Asian and Pacific positions. The comparatively low Japan filing count is notable given Hitachi’s and NGK Insulators’ participation, suggesting these players route international protection primarily through EPO and PCT rather than direct JP filings. Brazil and emerging markets show minimal coverage, indicating under-protected white space in those jurisdictions.
China-anchoredGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| State Grid Corporation of China | China Electric Power Research Institute Co Ltd | 24 |
| ABB (Schweiz) AG | Hitachi Energy Ltd | 17 |
| Hitachi Energy Ltd | Hitachi Energy Switzerland AG | 16 |
| ABB (Schweiz) AG | Hitachi Energy Switzerland AG | 15 |
| Hitachi Energy Ltd | ABB Power Grids Switzerland AG | 12 |
| ABB Power Grids Switzerland AG | Hitachi Energy Switzerland AG | 12 |
| State Grid Corporation of China | State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Co Ltd | 10 |
| State Grid Corporation of China | State Grid Beijing Electric Power Co | 10 |
| ABB (Schweiz) AG | ABB Power Grids Switzerland AG | 10 |
| State Grid Corporation of China | Xu Ji Group Co Ltd | 9 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
State Grid anchors Chinese institutional IP; Caterpillar is the fastest-growing Western challenger
The ranking is led by two distinct archetypes: a state-backed utility with broad grid-system coverage, and a set of industrial and energy-tech challengers with more focused converter or distributed-energy portfolios. Momentum data show diverging trajectories across the top names.
State Grid Corporation of China
State Grid leads with 131 patent families, concentrated almost entirely in H02J 3 (grid power supply systems), with secondary positions in G06Q 50 and G06Q 10 (utility data processing and energy commerce). Its recent-period momentum shows a sharp contraction (▼ –63% vs prior three years), consistent with a mature portfolio that has passed its peak filing phase. Its 24-family co-filing relationship with China Electric Power Research Institute reinforces its role as the anchor of the Chinese state microgrid IP network.
families: 131Caterpillar Inc
Caterpillar ranks fifth with 46 patent families and is the standout momentum story among the top applicants, recording ▲ +160% growth in recent filings versus the prior three-year period. Its technology focus sits in H02J 3 (grid systems), H02J 7 (battery charging), and H02J 13 (remote power-supply monitoring) — positioning it squarely in islanded and backup microgrid applications aligned with its generator and power-systems business. This acceleration distinguishes Caterpillar as the most active Western climber in the current cycle.
families: 46| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| State Grid Corporation of China | 10 | ▼ -63% |
| Dynapower Company | 2 | ▼ -80% |
| ABB (Schweiz) AG | 1 | ▼ -94% |
| Caterpillar Inc | 26 | ▲ +160% |
| Hitachi Energy Ltd | 5 | ▼ -72% |
| China Electric Power Research Institute Co Ltd | 4 | ▲ new entrant |
| Enphase Energy Inc | 8 | ▼ -68% |
Under-served adjacent branches worth monitoring in microgrid control
Relative to the dominant H02J core, several IPC branches show materially lower coverage despite clear technical adjacency to microgrid control; these represent observations of relative sparsity rather than validated commercial opportunities.
G06N · AI and machine-learning models applied to microgrid control
G06N (Computing based on AI models) accounts for 146 records — roughly 3% of the top-branch total — despite the broad industry movement toward reinforcement-learning and neural-network-based dispatch optimisation in microgrids. The branch is sparse relative to H02J, and the technical value is high: AI-driven controllers can handle multi-objective dispatch (cost, reliability, emissions) without hand-crafted rule sets. A realistic entry path exists through hybrid patent claims that combine H02J grid-interface claims with G06N model-architecture claims, a combination that few current top filers are pursuing at scale.
Search this in Eureka →H04W · Wireless communication for microgrid coordination
H04W (Wireless communication networks) appears in only 11 records in the corpus — among the lowest-coverage branches with plausible relevance. As microgrids increasingly rely on 5G, mesh radio, and low-power wide-area networks for distributed node coordination and demand-response signalling, the intersection of H04W and H02J represents a technically meaningful but currently under-populated space. Entry paths include claims covering wireless protocol stacks tailored for low-latency grid-control messaging, a niche that is adjacent to both telecoms and power-systems expertise.
Search this in Eureka →How leading filers differ by technology route across IPC sub-classes
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | H02J 3 · Power supply & grid systems | H02J 7 · Power supply & grid systems | H02J 13 · Power supply & grid systems | G06Q 50 · Business, commerce & admin data processing | H02J 9 · Power supply & grid systems |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Grid Corporation of China | Strong · 113 | Absent | Emerging · 8 | Emerging · 17 | Absent |
| ABB (Schweiz) AG | Strong · 81 | Absent | Moderate · 26 | Absent | Absent |
| Dynapower Company | Strong · 70 | Moderate · 27 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Enphase Energy Inc | Strong · 32 | Moderate · 15 | Strong · 17 | Absent | Strong · 18 |
| Caterpillar Inc | Strong · 45 | Moderate · 16 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| ABB Power Grids Switzerland AG | Strong · 39 | Absent | Moderate · 11 | Emerging · 5 | Absent |
| Siemens AG | Strong · 42 | Absent | Moderate · 12 | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 2,404 patent families. The most recent 18–24 months of data are under-counted due to patent publication lag, so figures for 2025 and 2026 will grow as pending applications are published.
State Grid Corporation of China leads with 131 patent families, primarily concentrated in H02J 3 (AC power network systems) and utility data-processing sub-classes. It co-files extensively with China Electric Power Research Institute (24 joint families).
Annual filing volume peaked at 358 families in 2020 and has eased since, placing the field in a post-peak phase. The multi-year window remains above 2017 levels, but the directional trend from 2020 onwards is downward. Recent low counts for 2025–2026 partly reflect publication lag and should not be read as a further acceleration of decline.
Caterpillar Inc is the standout, with a ▲ +160% increase in recent filings versus the prior three-year period. China Electric Power Research Institute shows a trend labelled as a new entrant in recent data. Most other top filers — including State Grid (▼ -63%), Dynapower (▼ -80%), ABB (▼ -94%), and Hitachi Energy (▼ -72%) — are filing at reduced rates relative to their earlier peaks.
China receives the largest number of filing records, followed by the United States, India, Europe (EPO), and WIPO (PCT). South Korea and Australia are the next-largest single-country jurisdictions. Japan, despite hosting active participants such as Hitachi and NGK Insulators, has a comparatively low direct-filing count, suggesting those players favour EPO and PCT routes for international protection.
Two adjacent branches stand out for their low record counts relative to technical relevance: G06N (AI and machine-learning models) with 146 records, and H04W (wireless communication networks) with only 11 records. Both are sparse relative to the dominant H02J core yet have clear applications in AI-driven dispatch optimisation and wireless-protocol coordination for distributed microgrid nodes respectively.
Map your own microgrid control patent landscape
Join 18,000+ innovators using PatSnap Eureka to map any technology landscape: search 2B+ patents and papers, surface key assignees, and generate a report like this in minutes.
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.