Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell for Industrial Plants Patent Landscape
Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell for Industrial Plants Patent Landscape in 2026
This is a small, highly concentrated niche: the University of Southern California leads all filers by a wide margin, with academic and specialist entities dominating over large industrial incumbents. Filing activity has plateaued at a mature but low-volume level, signalling limited broad commercial race but meaningful white space for focused entrants.
University of Southern California leads a concentrated, specialist field
The University of Southern California holds the top position among ranked applicants, followed at distance by Sony Group Corporation and Rentech Inc. The top five filers account for sixty-five percent of the combined patent records held by the hundred largest filers, confirming a heavily top-loaded competitive structure.
The tier gap between the leader and the rest is pronounced: the top applicant holds more than twice the patent records of the second-ranked entity. Below the top two, the field fragments into a long tail of single- or dual-record filers, including individual inventors and small specialist firms.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Southern California | 16 | |
| 2 | Sony Group Corporation | 6 | |
| 3 | Rentech Inc. | 4 | |
| 4 | TACTICAL FUEL CELLS | 3 | |
| 5 | OLAH GEORGE A | 2 | |
| 6 | Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 7 | PRAKASH G K SURYA | 2 | |
| 8 | Chevron Technology Ventures LLC | 2 | |
| 9 | NGK Insulators Ltd. | 2 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | PAISLEY MARK A | 1 | |
| 11 | Mitsubishi Electric Corporation | 1 | |
| 12 | DR HERNG SHINN HWANG | 1 | |
| 13 | HWANG HERNG SHINN | 1 | |
| 14 | Accelleron Switzerland Ltd. | 1 | |
| 15 | U.S. Department of Energy | 1 | |
| 16 | RES USA LLC | 1 | |
| 17 | Future Energy Resources Corp. | 1 | |
| 18 | KRISHNAMURTHI GIRISH MANDAKOLATHUR | 1 |
The dominance of a university at the apex suggests the field remains strongly research-driven rather than commercially industrialised. Industrial entrants such as Sony Group Corporation, Rentech Inc., and Chevron Technology Ventures hold positions but have not accumulated portfolios that signal deep defensive intent.
Filing data for the most recent eighteen to twenty-four months is subject to publication lag and should be read as a lower bound on actual activity during that window. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Plateaued filing activity with electrochemical CO2 conversion as the dominant branch
The annual filing trend and technology composition together reveal a mature, low-volume field centred on electrochemical conversion chemistry, with several adjacent process and materials branches receiving comparatively sparse coverage.
Annual filing trend
Recorded activity shows isolated filing events in 2019 and 2024, with zero filings in all other years of the window. The lifecycle assessment places this field at maturity with annual filings plateaued near their peak. The most recent data points are subject to publication lag and should not be read as definitive endpoints.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01M (batteries, cells and fuel cells) is the dominant IPC class, reflecting the core fuel-cell subject matter. C25B (electrolytic production of compounds) is the second-largest branch, driven by USC’s CO2 electrolysis work. C07C (acyclic and carbocyclic compounds), C10J (gasification of fuels), and B01D (separation processes) form a secondary tier. Several branches — B01J, B60L, C22C — hold only two records each, marking them as comparatively 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.
Very low emission hybrid electric vehicle incorpor…
A very low emission hybrid electric vehicle incorporating an integrated propulsion system which includes a fuel cell, a metal hydride hydrogen storage unit, an electric motor, high specific power, high energy density nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, and preferably a regenerative braking system. The nickel-metal hydride battery module preferably has a… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electrolysis of carbon dioxide in aqueous media to… | 169 |
| 2 | Electrolysis of carbon dioxide in aqueous media to… | 150 |
| 3 | Integrated biomass gasification and fuel cell system | 100 |
| 4 | Electrolysis of carbon dioxide in aqueous media to… | 98 |
| 5 | Hybrid fuel cell | 63 |
| 6 | Electrolysis of carbon dioxide in aqueous media to… | 62 |
| 7 | Very low emission hybrid electric vehicle incorpor… | 55 |
| 8 | Very low emission hybrid electric vehicle incorpor… | 41 |
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
A mature, low-volume landscape dominated by one academic institution offers both a clear prior-art baseline and meaningful room for industrial applicants to differentiate through integration-focused or materials-focused filings.
Field has reached maturity with plateaued annual volume
The lifecycle assessment classifies this field as Maturity, with annual filings plateaued near their peak. The filing window shows activity concentrated in 2019 and 2024, with no filings in intervening years. This pattern suggests incremental rather than expansive innovation cycles, and new entrants should expect to work around an established but relatively thin prior-art base.
Lifecycle: MaturityOne academic leader; wide opening below the top two
The University of Southern California and Sony Group Corporation together account for the bulk of the top-five share among the hundred largest filers. Below the second rank, no single entity has accumulated a portfolio large enough to constitute a blocking position across the full technology space. This leaves room for industrial players to build differentiated clusters in adjacent branches without immediate head-on conflict with the leader.
High concentrationOne documented co-filing pair: USC and G K Surya Prakash
The only identified co-applicant relationship is between G K Surya Prakash and the University of Southern California, with two co-filed patent records. This pairing aligns with USC’s known CO2 electrolysis research group. No industrial–academic co-filing pairs appear in the evidence, suggesting that technology-transfer or joint-development partnerships with industry have not yet materialised in the patent record.
Limited co-filingUS-centric filings; modest PCT and EPO coverage
The United States is the leading filing jurisdiction by a substantial margin. Europe via the EPO, Australia, Canada, and India each show modest coverage, and WIPO PCT filings indicate some international prosecution activity. Japan holds three records despite NGK Insulators and Mitsubishi Electric being present in the applicant list. Brazil, Germany, and Austria each have a single record, suggesting limited strategic geographic broadening to date.
US-led, limited global 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 |
|---|---|---|
| PRAKASH G K SURYA | University of Southern California | 2 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
USC leads on electrochemical CO2 conversion; Sony focuses on core fuel-cell systems
The two largest filers occupy distinct technical positions: USC concentrates on electrolytic and organic-compound chemistry adjacent to CO2 utilisation, while Sony Group Corporation focuses on the H01M fuel-cell systems class.
University of Southern California
USC holds the top position with sixteen patent records, focused on C25B electrolytic production of compounds and C07C acyclic and carbocyclic compounds — reflecting a programme centred on CO2 electrolysis and methanol synthesis rather than fuel-cell hardware per se. No applicant momentum data is available for the recent period, so trajectory cannot be quantified from current evidence.
patent records: 16Sony Group Corporation
Sony Group Corporation holds six patent records, concentrated in H01M 8 (fuel cell systems) with a minor entry in G05F (electric/magnetic variable control). This positions Sony as a core fuel-cell systems filer rather than a chemistry-oriented one. As with USC, no recent momentum data is available, so filing trajectory cannot be confirmed from current evidence.
patent records: 6Under-served branches adjacent to the dominant electrochemical core
Several IPC classes appear in the corpus with very low record counts, representing areas where the existing patent base is thin relative to the technical relevance of those branches to industrial molten carbonate fuel cell integration.
B01J · Chemical and physical processes & catalysis
B01J holds only two records in the corpus, giving it a two-percent share among the hundred largest filers’ combined records. Catalytic processes are directly relevant to fuel reforming and CO2 conversion upstream of molten carbonate fuel cells in industrial plant configurations. The sparse coverage and the presence of BASF — a major catalyst manufacturer — as the sole identified filer in this branch suggests the area is technically plausible but commercially underexplored. An entrant with reforming or catalysis expertise could establish a differentiated position here.
Search this in Eureka →C22C · Alloys
C22C appears with only two records, representing a two-percent share. High-temperature alloys and corrosion-resistant materials are a known technical bottleneck for molten carbonate fuel cell stack durability in industrial environments. The thinness of the alloy-specific patent record relative to the electrochemical branches indicates that materials engineering for long-duration industrial operation is an under-documented area. Organisations with metallurgical or advanced-materials capabilities may find limited prior-art friction here.
Search this in Eureka →How leading filers differ by technology route
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | H01M 8 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | C25B 1 · Electrolytic production of compounds | C25B 3 · Electrolytic production of compounds | C07C 29 · Acyclic & carbocyclic compounds | C10J 3 · Gasification of fuels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Southern California | Absent | Strong · 12 | Strong · 12 | Strong · 9 | Absent |
| Sony Group Corporation | Strong · 8 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| NGK Insulators Ltd. | Strong · 2 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 2 | Absent |
| Rentech Inc. | Strong · 2 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Strong · 2 |
| OLAH GEORGE A | Absent | Moderate · 1 | Strong · 2 | Moderate · 1 | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The evidence shows 4 patent families in scope for this topic. This is a small corpus, reflecting the niche nature of molten carbonate fuel cell technology specifically oriented toward industrial plant applications.
The University of Southern California is the top-ranked filer with sixteen patent records, more than twice the count of the second-ranked entity, Sony Group Corporation, which holds six patent records.
USC focuses primarily on C25B electrolytic production of compounds and C07C acyclic and carbocyclic compounds, reflecting a CO2 electrolysis and methanol synthesis research programme. Sony Group Corporation concentrates on H01M 8 fuel cell systems. Rentech and Future Energy Resources Corp focus on C10J gasification of fuels.
The United States is the dominant filing jurisdiction. Europe via the EPO, Australia, Canada, and India each show moderate coverage. WIPO PCT filings indicate some international prosecution. Japan, Brazil, Germany, and Austria each have limited representation.
The field is classified as Maturity, with annual filings plateaued near their peak. The filing record shows isolated activity in 2019 and 2024 and no filings in other years of the observed window, consistent with a field that is no longer in rapid growth.
One co-filing relationship is identified: G K Surya Prakash and the University of Southern California co-filed two patent records. No industrial–academic or cross-industry co-filing pairs appear in the current evidence.
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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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