PEMFC Embedded Sensors Patent Snapshot 2026
PEMFC embedded sensors is a highly concentrated, early-stage niche with only a small cluster of applicants active after a single filing peak in 2019. SymbioFCCell leads on patent records, with the United States as the dominant filing jurisdiction and no evidence of renewed activity in recent years.
A tightly held niche: three applicants share the top of the ranking
The PEMFC embedded sensors corpus is extremely compact. SymbioFCCell, China and Audi AG rounding out the top five.
The top five filers account for 100% of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total, signalling that this sub-field has not yet attracted a broad industrial base. There is effectively no second tier: a single filing by any new entrant would materially shift the ranking.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SymbioFCCell | 3 | |
| 2 | Advanced Material Eng Pte Ltd | 3 | |
| 3 | H3 Dynamics Holdings Pte Ltd | 3 | |
| 4 | UNIV OF SCI & TECH OF CHINA | 1 | |
| 5 | Audi AG | 1 |
The leaders’ positions reflect focused, project-level activity rather than sustained platform investment. The presence of both a French fuel-cell integrator (SymbioFCCell) and Singapore-based engineering and dynamics firms suggests the niche is currently shaped by drone and portable-power applications rather than automotive-scale deployment.
Filings from 2024 onward are subject to publication lag and may be under-counted; the apparent absence of recent activity should be interpreted with caution. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A single 2019 spike followed by near-silence; fuel-cell core classes dominate
The annual filing trend and technology-composition charts together reveal both the temporal and technical footprint of this niche: activity was concentrated in a single year, and the patent content is overwhelmingly anchored in core fuel-cell classes.
Annual filing trend
Filing activity peaked sharply in 2019, with no recorded filings in the years immediately before or after that year through 2026. The 2023–2026 window should be treated as potentially under-counted due to publication lag, but the multi-year absence of filings from 2020 onward is consistent with the lifecycle assessment of decline from a 2019 peak.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01M (batteries, cells and fuel cells) is the visible IPC branch, reflecting that sensor disclosures in this corpus are embedded within broader fuel-cell system claims. C01B (non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds, covering hydrogen production and storage) represents the second-largest branch, while G01R (electric and magnetic measurement) — the branch most directly associated with sensing instrumentation — accounts for only a small share, marking it as the sparsest and most potentially under-developed area.
↗ 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.
Mitigating electrode erosion in high temperature P…
A method of operating a fuel cell power plant (<b>10</b>) including a stack (<b>11</b>) of fuel cells having an anode catalyst layer and a cathode electrode (<b>15</b>) including a catalyst layer disposed on catalyst support material is characterized by, during normal operation of said power plant, adjusting the voltage of the stack to be substantially… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A portable fuel cell apparatus and system | 19 |
| 2 | Recirculation device of a fuel cell | 14 |
| 3 | Method and apparatus of detecting proton exchange … | 3 |
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.
SymbioFCCell
SymbioFCCell holds the highest individual count in the ranking with 3 patent records, concentrated in H01M 8 (fuel cell systems) and H01M 4 (electrodes). All activity is recorded in 2019, indicating a focused burst of filing rather than a sustained programme. As a French fuel-cell system integrator, SymbioFCCell’s embedded-sensor claims are likely tied to stack diagnostics and health monitoring within integrated PEMFC modules.
patent records: 3H3 Dynamics Holdings Pte Ltd
H3 Dynamics Holdings Pte Ltd also holds 3 patent records, all co-filed with Advanced Material Eng Pte and concentrated in C01B 3 (hydrogen compounds) and H01M 8 (fuel cell systems). This pairing — an unmanned-systems company alongside a materials engineering firm — positions their sensor-related IP specifically within portable or drone-mounted hydrogen fuel-cell architectures. The Singapore and PCT filings suggest a deliberate international protection strategy for this application segment.
patent records: 3Frequently asked questions
The current evidence scope contains 4 patent families covering PEMFC embedded sensors. This is a very small corpus, indicating the sub-field has not yet attracted broad patent activity.
SymbioFCCell holds the highest individual count in the applicant ranking with 3 patent records. Advanced Material Eng Pte and H3 Dynamics Holdings Pte Ltd also each hold 3 patent records, making the top of the ranking effectively tied among three applicants.
Filing activity peaked in 2019, when 3 patent records were filed. No filings are recorded in 2017, 2018, 2020, or subsequent years through 2026, though the most recent years may be under-counted due to publication lag.
The United States is the primary filing office with 4 patent records. Singapore follows with 2 records, Europe via the EPO has 1 record, and WIPO PCT has 1 record. No filings are recorded in China, Japan, or Korea.
Yes. The only documented co-filing relationship is between Advanced Material Eng Pte and H3 Dynamics Holdings Pte Ltd, who jointly filed 3 patent records. No other collaboration links are evidenced in the corpus.
G01R (electric and magnetic measurement) is the sparsest branch, with only 1 patent record — approximately 8% of IPC-level records. This covers the measurement and instrumentation techniques most directly associated with embedded sensor design, such as impedance spectroscopy and magnetic field sensing, making it the most observably under-represented area relative to its technical relevance.
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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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