PEM Green Hydrogen Patent Snapshot 2026
The PEM green hydrogen corpus is small and highly concentrated, with Siemens AG and its energy spin-off Siemens Energy Global GmbH & Co KG together holding the majority of patent records across this 7-family scope. Activity peaked in 2017, has eased considerably since, and the field sits in a decline stage — though the most recent filings may still be working through publication lag.
Siemens entities dominate a compact, highly concentrated field
The PEM green hydrogen evidence snapshot in this scope is led by SIEMENS AG with 3 patent records, followed by SIEMENS ENERGY GLOBAL GMBH & CO KG with 2 patent records — together they account for the bulk of the top-ranked filers’ combined output.
The top five filers hold 80% of the combined patent records among the ranked applicants visible in this query, reflecting an extremely tight concentration. Below the Siemens tier, each remaining applicant — including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Hoeller Electrolyzer GmbH, Sany Hydrogen Energy, Vellore Institute of Technology, and Vallurupalli Nageswara Rao Vignana Jyothi Institute — holds a single patent record, forming a flat challenger tier with no clear second-tier cluster.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Siemens AG | 3 | |
| 2 | SIEMENS ENERGY GLOBAL GMBH & CO KG | 2 | |
| 3 | Vallurupalli Nageswara Rao Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology | 1 | |
| 4 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 1 | |
| 5 | Vellore Institute of Technology | 1 | |
| 6 | Sany Hydrogen Energy Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 7 | Hoeller Electrolyzer GmbH | 1 |
Siemens AG’s position implies that core PEM electrolyzer architecture and system integration IP is largely controlled by one industrial group. Challengers entering this space face a well-defined incumbent rather than a fragmented field, which shapes both freedom-to-operate analysis and potential licensing strategy.
Filings from approximately 2024–2026 are subject to standard publication lag and may be under-represented; the recent-period figures should be treated as provisional. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Activity peaked in 2017 and has eased; C25B electrolytic production dominates the technology mix
The annual filing trend and technology composition charts together show both the temporal trajectory of innovation and the degree to which the field is anchored in core electrolytic chemistry versus adjacent enabling technologies.
Annual filing trend
Filings peaked at 2 records in 2017, then dropped to zero for several years before a cluster of 3 records appeared in 2025 and 1 in 2026. The 2025–2026 uptick should be read cautiously given publication lag; it does not yet confirm a structural reversal of the broader declining trend.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
C25B (electrolytic production of compounds) is visible in with 10 IPC-level records, confirming that core electrolyzer chemistry and cell architecture is the primary focus. Five adjacent branches — B01D (separation), C01B (inorganic compounds), C10G (hydrocarbon refining), F17C (gas storage), and G06N (AI/computing) — each carry only 1 record, signaling that downstream processing, storage, and digital integration remain comparatively underdeveloped in this corpus.
↗ 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.
Decentralized sorption-based atmospheric water-hyd…
A unified, modular system designed for decentralized, off-grid hydrogen production is provided. The system can include a device that integrates photovoltaic (PV) generation, atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) using a hydrogel sorbent, and a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer into a single architecture for simultaneously harvesting water and… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electrolyzer for low pressure PEM electrolysis | 24 |
| 2 | Energy management system, industrial plant compris… | 10 |
| 3 | Hydrogen filling station system and method of oper… | 5 |
| 4 | Electrolyzer for low pressure PEM electrolysis | 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.
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.
Siemens AG
Siemens AG holds 3 patent records, the highest in the corpus, with technology emphasis concentrated in C25B15 (electrolyzer processes), C25B1 (electrolytic hydrogen production), and C25B9 (electrolyzer cell components). Applicant momentum data is not available in this evidence set for trend confirmation.
patent records: 3Siemens Energy Global GmbH & Co KG
Siemens Energy Global GmbH & Co KG holds 2 patent records, filing as the energy-focused entity spun off from Siemens AG. Its technology profile mirrors the parent’s C25B focus, suggesting coordinated or transferred IP rather than a divergent research direction. Applicant momentum data is not available in this evidence set for trend confirmation.
patent records: 2Frequently asked questions
The corpus contains 7 patent families in scope. This is a compact dataset and conclusions should be read in that context — the field’s competitive dynamics are clear but individual filing events have outsized statistical weight.
SIEMENS AG leads with 3 patent records. Its affiliated spin-off, SIEMENS ENERGY GLOBAL GMBH & CO KG, holds 2 patent records. Together they account for the visible share of the top-ranked filers’ combined output.
The field is assessed as being in a decline stage, with annual filing volume having eased back from its peak in 2017. A small cluster of records appears in 2025–2026, but these are subject to publication lag and do not yet confirm a structural recovery.
The United States leads with 3 patent records, followed by Europe (EPO) and India with 2 each. Canada, China, and WIPO (PCT) each carry 1 record. India’s representation is notable given the corpus size, linked to academic institutions filing there.
Five branches each carry only 1 patent record: B01D (separation), C01B (inorganic compounds), C10G (hydrocarbon refining), F17C (pressure vessels and gas storage), and G06N (AI and computing). F17C and G06N stand out as having the clearest technical connection to PEM system operation with minimal incumbent coverage in this corpus.
No co-applicant filings are recorded in this corpus. All participants appear to have filed independently. This may reflect the early proprietary positioning common in a concentrated, declining-activity field, or simply the small scale of the dataset.
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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.
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.