MSR Core Design Patent Landscape 2026
MSR core design is a growth-stage field with rising annual filings and a moderately concentrated competitive structure: the top five filers account for 41% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, led by Terrestrial Energy Inc. The United States is the primary filing jurisdiction, and an active U.S. university consortium is reshaping the collaboration landscape.
Terrestrial Energy leads a moderately concentrated, growth-stage field
Terrestrial Energy Inc holds the top position in the applicant ranking, followed closely by Abilene Christian University, TerraPower LLC, inventor Scott Ian Richard, and Copenhagen Atomics. The top five filers together represent 41% of the hundred largest filers’ combined patent records, indicating meaningful but not overwhelming concentration.
The first tier — Terrestrial Energy (67 patent records), Abilene Christian University (58), and TerraPower (57) — is tightly bunched, with a modest gap to the fourth-ranked filer (52 records). Below the top five the field disperses across startups, independent inventors, universities, and national laboratories, suggesting the competitive landscape is still being formed.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terrestrial Energy Inc | 67 | |
| 2 | Abilene Christian University | 58 | |
| 3 | TerraPower LLC | 57 | |
| 4 | Scott Ian Richard | 52 | |
| 5 | Copenhagen Atomics | 39 | |
| 6 | Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 29 | |
| 7 | Georgia Tech Research Corporation | 28 | |
| 8 | Transatomic Power Corporation | 26 | |
| 9 | Ian Richard Scott | 25 | |
| 10 | TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY | 24 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Saltfoss Energy ApS | 24 | |
| 12 | Board of Regents, The University of Texas System | 21 | |
| 13 | Metatomic Inc | 17 | |
| 14 | ALEXANDRE & GAVRILOFF | 15 | |
| 15 | U.S. Department of Energy | 14 | |
| 16 | Terrestrial Energy USA Inc | 14 | |
| 17 | Natura Resources LLC | 14 | |
| 18 | Thorizon Holding BV | 13 | |
| 19 | Elysium Industries Ltd | 10 | |
| 20 | Curio Solutions LLC | 9 |
The leaders’ positions imply that both vertically integrated developers (Terrestrial Energy, TerraPower) and university research programs (Abilene Christian, Georgia Tech, Texas. A&M) are staking out core IP simultaneously. No single incumbent commands a dominant share that would close out new entrants.
The most recent 18–24 months of filings are understated due to publication lag; apparent filing volumes for 2025 and 2026 should be treated as preliminary. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Annual filings are rising and the technology mix is overwhelmingly reactor-core focused
The filing trend and the IPC composition together show a field accelerating into its growth phase, concentrated almost entirely in nuclear reactor classification but with a long tail of adjacent branches that remain sparsely covered.
Annual filing trend
Filings rose from the high 30s in 2017–2018, dipped in 2019, then recovered strongly through 2020–2024, reaching a visible peak in 2024. The 2025 and 2026 bars are materially understated by publication lag and should not be read as a slowdown. The 33% recent growth figure confirms the multi-year upward trajectory.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
G21C (Nuclear reactors) dominates the IPC mix by a wide margin, reflecting the reactor-core focus of the corpus. G21D (Nuclear power plants) and G21F (Radiation protection and shielding) are the next largest branches but at a fraction of the G21C count. A long tail of process and materials classes — including C01G, G01N, F28D, and B01J — signals incremental coverage of fuel chemistry, heat exchange, and instrumentation, but each remains sparsely populated relative to the core reactor class.
↗ 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.
A molten salt reactor
The present invention relates to a molten salt reactor comprising a core comprising an assembly of graphite moderator elements, the core dimensions are defined by: – the core height, defined as the height of the assembly of the graphite moderator elements, and – the core breadth, defined as the equivalent diameter of the outline of the assembly of graphite… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nuclear reactors and related methods and apparatus | 122 |
| 2 | Nuclear reactors and related methods and apparatus | 117 |
| 3 | Molten salt nuclear reactor | 105 |
| 4 | Molten nuclear fuel salts and related systems and … | 81 |
| 5 | Heat pipe molten salt fast reactor with stagnant l… | 77 |
| 6 | Molten salt reactor | 76 |
| 7 | A practical molten salt fission reactor | 73 |
| 8 | A molten salt fission reactor | 72 |
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 features — lifecycle stage, concentration, collaboration networks, and geographic spread — shape where R&D investment is likely to yield freedom to operate or differentiation.
Growth stage: filings still rising on a multi-year basis
The lifecycle evidence classifies MSR core design as a Growth-stage field, with annual filings still rising and recent-year counts understated by publication lag. The 33% recent growth rate confirms momentum. Entering now means competing against established but not yet entrenched IP positions — defensible differentiation is still achievable, particularly in sub-domains beyond the dominant G21C reactor-core class.
Growth stageModerate concentration: top five hold 41% among the hundred largest filers
The top five applicants — Terrestrial Energy Inc, Abilene Christian University, TerraPower LLC, Scott Ian Richard, and Copenhagen Atomics — collectively account for 41% of the hundred largest filers’ combined patent records. The first tier is closely bunched with no single player holding more than 67 records, leaving meaningful room for challengers. The presence of multiple universities and startups in the top ten suggests the field has not yet consolidated around one or two dominant owners.
Moderate concentrationA dense U.S. university consortium drives co-filing activity
The most active co-filing relationships are between Abilene Christian University and Texas A&M University (23 joint records), Abilene Christian University and Georgia Tech Research Corporation (22), and Georgia Tech Research Corporation and Texas A&M University (18). The University of Texas System Board of Regents participates in four of the top seven collaboration pairs. Copenhagen Atomics and Saltfoss Energy represent a separate, smaller European co-filing cluster. Any entrant seeking academic IP partnerships in this space will find the leading U.S. universities already cross-licensed within the consortium.
University-led consortiaU.S.-centric filing with solid PCT and EPO coverage
The United States is the primary filing jurisdiction with 146 patent records, followed by the EPO and WIPO (PCT) at 89 each. Canada (59) and China (50) round out the top five, reflecting both proximity to the leading applicants and the importance of those energy markets. The United Kingdom (34) and Australia (22) have meaningful coverage. Jurisdictions such as Japan (10), South Korea (8), and India (14) show limited but non-trivial filing activity, indicating that MSR IP protection remains concentrated in Western and anglophone markets with selective Asian coverage.
U.S.-led, PCT/EPO 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Abilene Christian University | Texas A&M University | 23 |
| Abilene Christian University | Georgia Tech Research Corporation | 22 |
| Georgia Tech Research Corporation | Texas A&M University | 18 |
| Abilene Christian University | Board of Regents, The University of Texas System | 17 |
| Texas A&M University | Board of Regents, The University of Texas System | 17 |
| Georgia Tech Research Corporation | Board of Regents, The University of Texas System | 12 |
| Seaborg Technologies | Saltfoss Energy ApS | 2 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Terrestrial Energy and Abilene Christian University lead with distinct technology emphases
The top two ranked filers approach MSR core design from complementary angles — one as a commercial reactor developer, the other as an academic research program — and both show recent momentum classified as new-entrant trajectories within the evidence window.
Terrestrial Energy Inc
Terrestrial Energy Inc leads the ranking with 67 patent records and concentrates its filings across G21C subclasses covering reactor design, fuel elements, and instrumentation/control. Its applicant momentum is flagged as a new entrant trend in the recent window with 2 recent records, suggesting its current position was built in an earlier burst of activity. The company also files separately through Terrestrial Energy USA Inc (14 records), extending total portfolio reach.
67 patent recordsAbilene Christian University
Abilene Christian University ranks second with 58 patent records and emphasizes G21C subclasses covering fuel handling and processing (G21C 19), fuel elements (G21C 3), and reactor design (G21C 1). Its momentum is classified as a new entrant in the recent window with 52 recent records — the highest recent-period count among all tracked applicants — indicating its portfolio is being built actively right now. It sits at the center of the U.S. university collaboration network alongside Texas A&M and Georgia Tech.
58 patent records| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Terrestrial Energy Inc | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Scott Ian Richard | 5 | ▼ -76% |
| Abilene Christian University | 52 | ▲ new entrant |
| Copenhagen Atomics | 28 | ▲ new entrant |
| Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 4 | ▼ -69% |
| Georgia Tech Research Corporation | 23 | ▲ new entrant |
| Texas A&M University | 20 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches adjacent to the dominant reactor-core class
Several IPC classes adjacent to the dominant G21C cluster carry low patent-record counts relative to their technical relevance to MSR development. These are observations of relative sparsity; entry viability depends on applicant-specific capabilities and regulatory context.
G21F · Radiation protection and shielding
With only 25 patent records in the corpus, radiation shielding specific to MSR geometries and operating temperatures remains a sparse branch. MSR designs differ materially from light-water reactor shielding requirements due to their liquid-fuel and high-temperature characteristics. An applicant with materials or structural engineering capabilities in high-temperature environments could find limited prior art here and build differentiated IP covering shielding solutions tailored to molten-salt thermal profiles. Entry would require coupling to the dominant G21C reactor-design work already in the corpus.
Search this in Eureka →F28D · Heat-exchange apparatus
Heat exchange is central to MSR energy conversion, yet F28D (heat-exchange apparatus) accounts for only 14 patent records in the corpus — a notable gap given the thermal engineering demands of molten-salt primary and secondary loops. The sparse coverage may reflect applicants classifying heat-exchanger innovations under G21C rather than F28D, or genuinely underdeveloped IP in salt-compatible heat-exchanger design. Applicants with expertise in high-temperature, corrosion-resistant heat-exchanger materials or geometry have a plausible entry path here, particularly if combined with the C01G (metal compounds) branch, which also shows limited coverage at 18 records.
Search this in Eureka →How leading applicants differ by G21C subclass emphasis
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | G21C 1 · Nuclear reactors | G21C 3 · Nuclear reactors | G21C 19 · Nuclear reactors | G21C 5 · Nuclear reactors | G21C 15 · Nuclear reactors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terrestrial Energy Inc | Strong · 64 | Moderate · 27 | Emerging · 7 | Strong · 39 | Emerging · 9 |
| TerraPower LLC | Strong · 39 | Strong · 48 | Moderate · 24 | Absent | Moderate · 20 |
| Scott Ian Richard | Strong · 45 | Strong · 48 | Moderate · 16 | Absent | Moderate · 14 |
| Copenhagen Atomics | Strong · 26 | Strong · 31 | Emerging · 5 | Strong · 22 | Absent |
| Abilene Christian University | Strong · 16 | Strong · 26 | Strong · 27 | Absent | Moderate · 9 |
| Transatomic Power Corporation | Strong · 22 | Strong · 16 | Moderate · 7 | Strong · 20 | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus contains 429 patent families in scope for MSR core design.
Terrestrial Energy Inc leads with 67 patent records, followed by Abilene Christian University (58 records) and TerraPower LLC (57 records).
The United States is the primary filing jurisdiction with 146 patent records, followed by the EPO and WIPO (PCT) at 89 each, and Canada at 59.
Yes. The lifecycle evidence classifies MSR core design as a Growth-stage field with a 33% recent growth rate. Annual filings rose to a visible peak in 2024, and the 2025–2026 figures are understated by publication lag, so the underlying growth trajectory remains intact.
The most active co-filing pairs are Abilene Christian University with Texas A&M University (23 joint records), Abilene Christian University with Georgia Tech Research Corporation (22), and Georgia Tech Research Corporation with Texas A&M University (18). The University of Texas System Board of Regents participates in four of the top seven collaboration pairs, anchoring a dense U.S. university consortium.
Relative to the dominant G21C reactor-core class, the branches with the lowest coverage include G21F (radiation protection and shielding, 25 records), G21G (conversion of nuclei, 20 records), C01G (compounds of other metals, 18 records), G01N (material analysis and testing, 16 records), and F28D (heat-exchange apparatus, 14 records). These represent areas of relative sparsity where novel MSR-specific work may encounter limited prior art.
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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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