PEM Electrolyzer Efficiency Patent Snapshot 2026
The PEM electrolyzer efficiency patent space is early-stage and growing, with 8 patent families on record and annual filings rising from a near-zero baseline since 2021. M S Sentient Engines Pte Ltd holds the leading position, and activity is concentrated among a small group of academic institutions and niche commercial players, primarily filing in India.
A nascent field led by M S Sentient Engines Pte Ltd with thin but rising competition
M S Sentient Engines Pte Ltd is the top-ranked applicant with 2 patent families, placing it ahead of six other filers who each hold 1 patent family. The top five filers collectively account for 75% of the combined output of the ranked applicants visible in this query, signaling a highly concentrated field.
The tier gap between the leader and all other filers is narrow in absolute terms but stark in relative terms: no second applicant has yet established a multi-family portfolio. This suggests a first-mover window remains open for players willing to build depth.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M S Sentient Engines Pte Ltd | 2 | |
| 2 | Vallurupalli Nageswara Rao Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology (VNRVJIET) | 1 | |
| 3 | Vellore Institute of Technology | 1 | |
| 4 | Kamfty Co Ltd | 1 | |
| 5 | Shenzhen Lishi Hydrogen Health Technology Co Ltd | 1 | |
| 6 | ZJU HANGZHOU GLOBAL SCI & TECH INNOVATION CENT | 1 | |
| 7 | Praxair Technology Inc | 1 |
The presence of academic institutions — Vallurupalli Nageswara Rao Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology and Vellore Institute of Technology — alongside commercial players indicates that foundational research is still feeding into the patent record, which is typical of a field at this stage of maturity.
Activity in the most recent 18–24 months is likely under-counted due to standard patent publication lag; the apparent surge in 2025–2026 filings should be treated as a lower-bound estimate of current activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filings accelerating from a 2021 baseline; electrolytic production dominates the technology mix
Two signals define the current structure: a clear upward filing trend beginning in 2021, and a technology composition that is overwhelmingly anchored in core electrolytic production chemistry with sparse coverage of adjacent engineering disciplines.
Annual filing trend
Zero activity was recorded from 2017 through 2020. A single filing appeared in 2021, followed by intermittent activity, before volume stepped up to 3 families in 2025 and 2 families in 2026 — the latter almost certainly understated due to publication lag. The 100% recent-window growth rate confirms the field is expanding, though the absolute base remains very small.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
C25B (Electrolytic production of compounds) is visible in with 8 records, reflecting the core hydrogen-evolution chemistry at the heart of PEM electrolysis. H02J (Power supply and grid systems) appears as the next-most-cited branch with 2 records, pointing to grid-integration work. All remaining branches — B01D, C10G, F01K, F02B, F02M, F23J, G06N, and G06Q — each carry a single record, illustrating how thinly the field has extended into adjacent engineering and digital domains.
↗ 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 flexible carbon capture and storage system for p…
The present invention relates to an integrated process that enables cost- effective low carbon power production for natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power plants utilizing the Linde-BASF advanced amine carbon capture technology and hydrogen technologies. The present invention is a flexible carbon capture and storage (FLECCS) system incorporating the NGCC… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fuel efficiency improvement device for internal co… | 3 |
| 2 | 一种低Ru载量PEM用电解水催化剂及其制备方法与应用 | 2 |
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.
Assignee snapshot from the current evidence set
The applicants below are visible in this query result. Because the evidence set is relatively small, read this section as a directional snapshot rather than a full competitive ranking.
M S Sentient Engines Pte Ltd
M S Sentient Engines Pte Ltd holds 2 patent families — the largest portfolio in this corpus — and focuses entirely on C25B subclasses covering electrolytic production of compounds, including cell design (C25B 9), electrode and membrane work (C25B 11/C25B 13 adjacent), and process optimization (C25B 15). Its concentration across all three core C25B subclasses (C25B 1, C25B 9, C25B 15) gives it the broadest technical coverage among current filers. No momentum trend data is available for this applicant, but its 2-family lead is consistent with early establishment activity.
patent families: 2Kamfty Co Ltd
Kamfty Co Ltd holds 1 patent family and is classified as a new entrant with an upward trajectory. Its technology focus mirrors the leader’s — C25B 1, C25B 9, and C25B 15 — indicating it is competing directly in the core electrolytic production space rather than differentiating into adjacent branches. As a new entrant, its prior filing base is negligible, and its current activity should be watched for whether it builds depth or remains a single-filing presence.
patent families: 1Frequently asked questions
The current corpus contains 8 patent families. This is a small but growing field; annual filings were effectively zero before 2021 and have increased in each subsequent period, with the most recent years likely understated due to publication lag.
M S Sentient Engines Pte Ltd is the top-ranked applicant with 2 patent families, placing it ahead of all other filers who each hold 1 patent family. Its focus is concentrated in C25B subclasses covering core electrolytic production processes.
India leads with 4 patent records, followed by China with 2, South Korea with 1, and WIPO (PCT) with 1. The US, Europe, and Japan are not represented in the current corpus, representing a potential gap for applicants seeking international protection.
The field is in a Growth stage. Annual filings are still rising from a near-zero baseline established in 2021, and the most recent filing years are understated by standard publication lag. The 100% recent-window growth rate confirms ongoing expansion.
No co-applicant activity has been recorded in this corpus. Academic filers and commercial filers are operating independently, suggesting that formal R&D partnerships or licensing arrangements have not yet materialized in this niche.
The most sparsely covered adjacent branches — each with a single record — include B01D (membrane separation and gas purification), G06N (AI-based control and optimization), F01K (thermal plant integration), F02B (internal-combustion engine integration), and C10G (hydrocarbon refining). B01D and G06N are the branches with the most direct technical relevance to improving PEM stack efficiency.
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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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