Perovskite Solar Cell Encapsulation Patent Landscape
Perovskite Solar Cell Encapsulation Patent Landscape in 2026
The perovskite solar cell encapsulation space is in a rapid-growth phase, with filings accelerating sharply since 2022 and Chinese manufacturers dominating the field. Trina Solar holds the largest position among ranked filers, while the top five collectively account for nearly a quarter of the top hundred filers’ combined output, signalling a concentrated but still-contested competitive structure.
Trina Solar leads a China-heavy field with growing competition from energy and battery incumbents
Trina Solar Co. Ltd holds the top position with 94 patent families among the ranked applicants, followed by Xian TJ-Solar New Energy (50 patent families) and Wuxi Utmost Light Tech (49 patent families). The top tier is composed predominantly of Chinese solar manufacturers, though Hanwha Solutions from South Korea also appears in the top ten.
The top five filers — Trina Solar, Xian TJ-Solar, Wuxi Utmost Light Tech, Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute, and Contemporary Amperex Technology — together account for 24% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total. This level of concentration is notable but leaves meaningful room for challengers, particularly given that all tracked momentum leaders entered recently.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trina Solar Co. Ltd | 94 | |
| 2 | Xian TJ-Solar New Energy Co. Ltd | 50 | |
| 3 | Wuxi Utmost Light Tech Co. Ltd | 49 | |
| 4 | Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute | 45 | |
| 5 | Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd (CATL) | 43 | |
| 6 | Tongwei Solar Energy (Chengdu) Co. Ltd | 31 | |
| 7 | Chint New Energy Technology Co. Ltd | 30 | |
| 8 | Northwestern Polytechnical University | 25 | |
| 9 | Hanwha Solutions Corp | 24 | |
| 10 | Shaanxi Normal University | 18 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Soochow University | 16 | |
| 12 | Hebei University of Technology | 16 | |
| 13 | Shenzhen Phenosolar Technology Co. Ltd | 15 | |
| 14 | Zhejiang Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co. Ltd | 14 | |
| 15 | Contemporary Amperex Technology (Hong Kong) Limited | 14 | |
| 16 | Renshuo Photovoltaic Energy (Suzhou) Co. Ltd | 14 | |
| 17 | Hangzhou Microquanta Semiconductor Co. Ltd | 14 | |
| 18 | Nankai University | 14 | |
| 19 | Southwest Petroleum University | 14 | |
| 20 | Tianjin Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co. Ltd | 13 |
The presence of Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute alongside pure-play solar firms indicates that energy storage and state-owned power groups are positioning encapsulation as a strategic capability — not merely a manufacturing process — signalling that competitive dynamics may intensify as commercialisation accelerates.
The most recent 18–24 months of filing data are subject to publication lag and likely understate true activity; 2025 and 2026 figures should be treated as provisional minimums. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filings have surged since 2022, dominated by perovskite device and organic semiconductor classes
The filing trend and technology composition charts together reveal both the pace of activity and the technical routes being pursued in perovskite solar cell encapsulation.
Annual filing trend
Annual filings were minimal through 2021, then jumped sharply in 2022 and continued accelerating through 2024 — the apparent peak year in the evidence. The 2025 and 2026 counts are understated due to publication lag and should not be read as a slowdown; the overall multi-year growth rate of 2,071% confirms this remains a rapidly expanding field.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H10K (organic semiconductors, encompassing perovskite device structures) is overwhelmingly dominant in the technology mix, reflecting that most encapsulation filings are embedded within broader perovskite device patents. H01L (semiconductor devices) and H10F (photovoltaic and light-sensitive devices) appear as secondary branches, with adhesive chemistry (C09J), polymer compositions (C08L), and coating processes (C23C, B05D) representing specialised encapsulation-materials pathways at lower but technically meaningful levels.
↗ 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.
Moisture barrier film for organic-inorganic hybrid…
Disclosed is a moisture barrier film for an organic-inorganic hybrid photovoltaic cell which includes an ionic polymer. Also disclosed is an organic-inorganic hybrid photovoltaic cell including the moisture barrier film. The photovoltaic cell has a structure in which the moisture barrier film including an ionic polymer is formed on an absorber layer… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stable perovskite solar cell | 29 |
| 2 | Tandem solar cell, tanden solar cell module compri… | 24 |
| 3 | Tandem solar cell, tanden solar cell module compri… | 21 |
| 4 | Perovskite solar cell module and fabrication metho… | 20 |
| 5 | 一种低损伤钙钛矿太阳能电池及其封装方法 | 18 |
| 6 | 一种薄膜光伏组件封装结构 | 15 |
| 7 | 一种防水有机/无机杂化钙钛矿太阳能电池的制备方法 | 15 |
| 8 | Perovskite solar cell using diffusion barrier film… | 14 |
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 and technical structure means for R&D investment decisions
Four structural observations — maturity, concentration, collaboration, and geography — shape where new entrants can create differentiated positions versus where incumbents already hold durable advantages.
Early Growth: filings still accelerating from a near-zero base
The lifecycle evidence classifies this field as Growth, with annual filings still rising and the most recent years understated by publication lag. The surge from 5 families in 2017 to 609 in 2024 confirms the technology is transitioning from laboratory curiosity to manufacturing concern. IP positions are still being established, giving well-resourced entrants a realistic window to file foundational claims before the field matures.
Growth stageModerate concentration, but all leading filers are recent entrants
At 24% for the top five among the hundred largest filers, concentration is meaningful but not foreclosing. Critically, every applicant tracked for momentum is labelled a new entrant, meaning no incumbent has held a long-established dominant position. This makes the competitive order more fluid than headline concentration figures suggest, and portfolio differentiation by technical route remains a viable strategy.
Contested fieldHuaneng’s research network is the most active co-filing cluster
The most active co-filing pair is Contemporary Amperex Technology and its Shanghai future-energy research subsidiary with 12 joint families, followed closely by Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute co-filing with Huaneng Renewables (10 families) and Huaneng Qinghai Power (9 families). Huaneng’s institute also co-files with Tsinghua University and its own technology-innovation centre, forming a vertically integrated research cluster that links state-owned generation assets to academic materials science — a pattern that may be difficult for private firms to replicate quickly.
State-led clustersChina dominates filing volume; PCT and Western routes remain thin
China accounts for the large majority of patent records in this landscape, with WIPO PCT, the United States, South Korea, and the European Patent Office each carrying far smaller shares. This geographic imbalance means that non-Chinese firms seeking global freedom to operate, or Chinese firms aiming to protect technology in export markets, face a relatively open field in Western jurisdictions — though the low absolute counts also reflect that commercialisation outside China is still early.
China-first geographyGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd (CATL) | Contemporary Amperex Future Energy Research Institute (Shanghai) | 12 |
| Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute | Huaneng Renewables Corporation Limited | 10 |
| Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute | Huaneng Qinghai Power Generation Co. Ltd | 9 |
| Northwestern Polytechnical University | Northwestern Polytechnical University Shenzhen Research Institute | 7 |
| Tongwei Solar Energy (Chengdu) Co. Ltd | Southwest Petroleum University | 3 |
| Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute | Tsinghua University | 2 |
| Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute | Huaneng Group Technology Innovation Center Co. Ltd | 2 |
| Trina Solar Co. Ltd | Fudan University | 1 |
| Wuxi Utmost Light Tech Co. Ltd | Kunming University of Science and Technology | 1 |
| Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute | Huaneng (Jiayuguan) New Energy Co. Ltd | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Trina Solar and CATL lead on volume; both are classified as new entrants reflecting the field’s recency
The top two filers come from distinct industry segments — integrated solar manufacturing and battery/energy storage — yet both concentrate their technical activity overwhelmingly in the H10K organic-semiconductor class, reflecting that encapsulation IP is typically embedded within device-level filings rather than filed as standalone materials patents.
Trina Solar Co. Ltd
Trina Solar leads the ranked corpus with 94 patent families, concentrating heavily on H10K30 and H10K71 subclasses within the organic-semiconductor branch. Its momentum is classified as a new entrant, consistent with the field’s own recency. As the largest pure-play solar manufacturer in the top tier, Trina’s portfolio breadth across device architecture and encapsulation integration gives it a first-mover platform advantage should commercialisation accelerate.
families: 94Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd (CATL)
CATL ranks fifth overall with 43 patent families and, together with its Hong Kong affiliate and its Shanghai research institute, represents the most active corporate-research-subsidiary co-filing structure in the dataset. Its technology focus mirrors the field’s dominant H10K30 and H10K85 subclasses. CATL’s entry — also a new entrant by momentum classification — signals that battery-sector firms view perovskite encapsulation as strategically adjacent to their core cell-packaging expertise.
families: 43| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Trina Solar Co. Ltd | 72 | ▲ new entrant |
| Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd (CATL) | 48 | ▲ new entrant |
| Xian TJ-Solar New Energy Co. Ltd | 48 | ▲ new entrant |
| Wuxi Utmost Light Tech Co. Ltd | 46 | ▲ new entrant |
| Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute | 31 | ▲ new entrant |
| Tongwei Solar Energy (Chengdu) Co. Ltd | 19 | ▲ new entrant |
| Chint New Energy Technology Co. Ltd | 28 | ▲ new entrant |
| Northwestern Polytechnical University | 13 | ▲ new entrant |
Semiconductor-device and adhesive-chemistry branches are under-served relative to device-level filings
The branches below carry far fewer patent records than the dominant H10K class, yet each addresses a distinct and technically plausible aspect of encapsulation. They are observations of relative sparsity; whether they represent actionable entry points depends on an organisation’s specific capabilities and freedom-to-operate position.
H01L · Semiconductor devices — encapsulation at the device-integration layer
H01L carries 154 patent records against H10K’s 1,599 — a share of approximately 7% of the branch-level corpus — making it the most populated of the adjacent classes but still modest relative to the dominant branch. This class captures encapsulation approaches framed as semiconductor-device integration challenges (hermetic sealing, barrier layers at the contact level) rather than organic-semiconductor processing. Firms with established CIGS or silicon heterojunction encapsulation know-how may find this a lower-barrier entry path, and the gap to H10K suggests that device-integration framing of perovskite encapsulation remains under-patented.
Search this in Eureka →C09J · Adhesives — encapsulant materials chemistry as a standalone discipline
C09J (adhesives) appears in only 25 patent records, a share of roughly 1% of the branch-level corpus, despite encapsulant adhesive chemistry being a critical determinant of module lifetime and moisture resistance. This sparsity suggests that most filers are embedding adhesive-formulation claims within broader device patents rather than pursuing dedicated materials IP — leaving a plausible gap for specialty-chemicals firms or materials suppliers who can file encapsulant formulations as standalone inventions. Entry would be most credible for organisations with existing polymer or EVA/POE encapsulant product lines.
Search this in Eureka →How leading applicants differ by technology subclass emphasis
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | H10K 30 · Organic semiconductors (OLED etc.) | H10K 71 · Organic semiconductors (OLED etc.) | H10K 85 · Organic semiconductors (OLED etc.) | H01L 31 · Semiconductor devices | H10K 39 · Organic semiconductors (OLED etc.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trina Solar Co. Ltd | Strong · 92 | Strong · 77 | Moderate · 30 | Absent | Emerging · 17 |
| Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd (CATL) | Strong · 51 | Strong · 32 | Strong · 30 | Emerging · 7 | Absent |
| Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute | Strong · 44 | Strong · 36 | Moderate · 22 | Emerging · 3 | Absent |
| Wuxi Utmost Light Tech Co. Ltd | Strong · 47 | Strong · 34 | Moderate · 16 | Absent | Absent |
| Tongwei Solar Energy (Chengdu) Co. Ltd | Strong · 31 | Strong · 27 | Moderate · 9 | Absent | Emerging · 5 |
| Chint New Energy Technology Co. Ltd | Strong · 30 | Strong · 24 | Strong · 16 | Absent | Absent |
| Xian TJ-Solar New Energy Co. Ltd | Strong · 49 | Moderate · 20 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 1,688 patent families globally. Filing activity was negligible before 2022 and has grown sharply since, with 2024 representing the highest annual count in the evidence.
Trina Solar Co. Ltd holds the top position with 94 patent families among the ranked applicants, followed by Xian TJ-Solar New Energy (50 patent families) and Wuxi Utmost Light Tech (49 patent families).
China is by far the dominant filing jurisdiction, followed at a considerable distance by WIPO PCT filings, the United States, South Korea, and the European Patent Office. Filings in non-Chinese jurisdictions remain thin, indicating that international IP coverage is still sparse.
The evidence classifies the field as Growth. Annual filings are still rising, and the most recent periods are understated by publication lag. The multi-year growth rate of 2,071% confirms the field is far from maturity.
The most active co-filing pair is Contemporary Amperex Technology and its Shanghai future-energy research institute (12 joint families). Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute is the most networked single organisation, co-filing with Huaneng Renewables, Huaneng Qinghai Power, Tsinghua University, and Huaneng Group’s technology-innovation centre.
Two branches stand out for their relative sparsity: H01L (semiconductor-device-level encapsulation and barrier integration, 154 patent records) and C09J (adhesive and encapsulant materials chemistry, 25 patent records). Both address technically important aspects of module durability that receive comparatively little standalone patent coverage in the current corpus.
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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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