Photobioreactor gas transfer patents: who holds the gas holdup and mass-transfer claims
26.9% concentration at the top. The five most active filers together hold 104 of the 387 records in scope, but the remaining share is spread across a long tail of single- and few-filing entrants. Filings rose from 10 in 2017 to a peak of 24 in 2022, then grew 47% from 15 in 2021 to 22 in 2024 — the last year with a reasonably complete publication record. The 2025 and 2026 figures, including the 4 recorded so far in 2026, understate actual filing activity because of the publication lag.
- 1HELIAE DEVELOPMENT LLC35
- 2MICROPHYT24
- 3BRISA INT LLC17
- 4POND BIOFUELS INC14
- 5PHYCO2 LLC14
See the full photobioreactor gas transfer analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Common questions on this landscape
Who holds the most patents on photobioreactor gas transfer?
One assignee leads the ranked list with 35 records, well ahead of the fifth-place filer at 14 and the tenth-place filer at 10. The top five filers together account for 104 of the 387 records in scope, or 26.9%, which means leadership is real but far from a monopoly. The remaining 73.1% of records are spread across a long tail of smaller and single-filing entrants, so a freedom-to-operate review should not assume one company controls the space.
Is photobioreactor gas transfer patent filing still growing?
Yes, based on the last fully complete filing years: activity rose from 15 records in 2021 to 22 in 2024, a 47% increase, with a peak of 24 filings already reached in 2022. Figures for 2025 and 2026 look lower, but that reflects the roughly 18-month lag between filing and publication rather than declining interest. Anyone reading a recent dip in this field should discount the last one to two years accordingly.
What patent classes cover photobioreactor gas transfer technology?
The dominant class is C12M, covering bioreactors and enzyme apparatus, which appears in 82.4% of the 387 records in scope. C12N (microorganisms and genetic engineering) appears in 43.7% of records, often layered on top of C12M apparatus claims. Smaller shares fall under B01D separation processes (19.1%), A01G horticulture (14.0%), C12P fermentation (12.4%), and C02F wastewater treatment (11.6%), with F23J combustion-residue handling at just 3.9% — one of the more open branches.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Photobioreactor Gas Transfer covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.