Photovoltaic Power Optimizer Patents: Top Companies & Trends 2026
- Top-heavy field. the five leading assignees combine for 74.2% of all 66 records in scope, with a long tail of single- and double-digit filers behind them.
- Filing still climbing. activity rose from 10 filings in 2021 to 14 in 2024, a 40% increase over that span, before the expected 18-month publication lag thins out 2025-2026 counts.
- Claims cluster in two classes. H02S (photovoltaic generation) and H02J (power supply/grid systems) cover 53.0% and 42.4% of records respectively, while measurement and semiconductor-device classes stay under 8%.
Filing growth compares 2021 (10 records) with 2024 (14) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 66 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
Photovoltaic power optimizers and module-level power electronics (MLPE) sit between the solar module and the inverter, recovering energy lost to shading and mismatch by tracking maximum power point at the panel or sub-string level. This landscape draws on 66 published records filed between 2015 and 2026 whose title or claims reference photovoltaic power optimizers or MLPE, narrowed to documents discussing mismatch loss recovery, maximum power point tracking, conversion efficiency, bypass operation, communication protocol or reliability. Patent families, not raw document counts, are the more reliable unit here because they neutralise continuation filings and multi-jurisdiction duplicates.
The scope spans six receiving offices, with China accounting for the largest single share of filings ahead of Europe and the United States, and WIPO, Australia and Japan making up the remainder. Because publication trails filing by roughly 18 months, counts for 2025 and 2026 will continue to rise as more applications clear examination and publish.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 66-record set: how filing activity has moved year over year, and how those records distribute across IPC subclasses. Because a single record can carry several IPC codes, the class shares below sum to more than 100% of the record total.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Filings moved from 5 in 2017 to a peak of 14 in 2024, with 2021-2024 alone showing a 40% increase. The 2025 and 2026 figures are still incomplete due to normal publication lag and should not be read as a slowdown.
IPC subclass composition
H02S (photovoltaic/solar power generation) appears in 53.0% of the 66 records and H02J (power supply and grid systems) in 42.4%, confirming that most claims are anchored in generation and grid-interface hardware rather than in downstream measurement or semiconductor-device detail, where G01R (4.5%) and H01L (7.6%) sit thin.
Shares are the percentage of the 66 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Photovoltaic Power Optimizers with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about photovoltaic power optimizers and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaMost-cited records in this dataset
Module level power electronics, diagnosis management system, and diagnosis management method (US20260229887A1)
A module level power electronics (MLPE) unit runs a self-diagnosis mode triggered by a signal received while the connected inverter is operating or stopped. The processor detects either an installation error between the photovoltaic module and the MLPE or a component error within the MLPE itself, then transmits the diagnosis result to a separate diagnosis management system.Filed by Hanwha Solutions Corporation, published 2026-08-06.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CN107565600A | 光伏功率优化器及其控制方法、装置、光伏发电系统 | 33 |
| 2 | CN102237823A | 一种光伏功率优化器 | 32 |
| 3 | CN203326921U | 一种新型光伏功率优化器 | 19 |
| 4 | US20220038052A1 | Method For Controlling Operation Of MLPE Device, Method For Controlling MLPE Devices, and Photovoltaic System | 13 |
| 5 | US20200185923A1 | Photovoltaic power optimizer and method and apparatus for controlling same, and photovoltaic power generation… | 13 |
| 6 | CN202004692U | 一种光伏功率优化器 | 12 |
| 7 | CN107508543A | 特性失配光伏组串的标准结构及其功率优化方法 | 8 |
| 8 | CN105846773A | 基于两步功率追踪的DMPPT光伏功率优化器 | 8 |
| 9 | CN105245101A | 高效光伏功率优化器串联拓扑电路及其控制方法 | 8 |
| 10 | US20220147090A1 | MLPE photovoltaic system and method for photovoltaic string control in MLPE photovoltaic system | 7 |
Citation counts reflect influence within this searched corpus and skew toward older filings; they are not a measure of current commercial importance.
Patent titles are shown in the language they were filed in, not translated, so that each record stays verifiable against the original filing — a translated title will not match in Eureka or in any national register. Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Put your own technology through the same analysis
Eureka on the web
When you want the answer in the next five minutes.
The agent works the prompt against patents and technical literature, citing every source.
Run your analysis now →MCP server & REST API
When it has to run inside your own pipeline.
Patent search, landscape analysis and assignee resolution as MCP tools. Drop them into any agent framework, or call REST directly.
Browse MCP servers →What the numbers say about this field
Three patterns stand out once filing volume, technology class and citation data are read together.
Filing sits with a small group, not one dominant player
The leading assignee holds 16 of the 66 records in scope, but the next four together close most of the remaining gap to reach 74.2% combined. The top 10 extend that to 86.4%, leaving fewer than 10 records spread across the remaining 19 ranked companies.
Activity is still building through the last complete year
Filings rose from 10 in 2021 to 14 in 2024, the peak year in the dataset. Because publication lags filing by about 18 months, 2025-2026 totals are undercounts and should not be read as a decline.
Claims cluster around generation and grid interface
H02S and H02J together dominate the classification profile, while G01R (electric/magnetic measurement) and H01L (semiconductor devices) each stay under 8% of records, suggesting the diagnostic and device-level layers are comparatively open.
Early Chinese filings anchor the citation graph
The most-cited records in this set are earlier Chinese-origin filings on power optimizer control methods, a pattern consistent with citation counts favouring age over current relevance in a searched corpus.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to photovoltaic power optimizers, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing and where the gaps sit
The ranked assignee list covers 29 companies across all 66 records. Filing is led by a single company holding 16 records, with a steep drop to fifth place at 2 and tenth place at just 1, meaning the bulk of the ranking is single- or double-digit filers rather than a second tier of comparable scale.
One company holds close to a quarter of the field
The top-ranked assignee's 16 records is more than three times the fifth-place count of 2, an unusually steep drop-off that signals a genuine leader rather than a crowded top tier.
Most ranked filers hold only a handful of records
Beyond the top 10, which together account for 86.4% of the 66 records, the remaining ranked companies each contribute small numbers, consistent with a field still attracting new entrants rather than one locked up by incumbents.
China leads receiving offices, Europe and the US close behind
China accounts for the largest share of receiving-office activity at 20 filings, with Europe and the United States each at 13 and WIPO, Australia and Japan filling out the remainder, pointing to genuinely multi-jurisdiction interest rather than a single-market technology.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Hanwha Solutions Corporation | 0 | — |
| Sungrow Power Supply Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Huawei Digital Power Technology Co., Ltd. | 0 | -100% |
| Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Gao Hailing | 0 | — |
| Changyuan Feilun IoT Technology (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Shenzhen Zhongxu New Energy Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| North China University of Technology | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a concentrated top tier, a technology mix weighted toward generation and grid-interface classes, and several thinner sub-areas worth a closer look before committing claim strategy.
Check freedom-to-operate against the leading assignee
With one company holding 16 of 66 records, any new filing in core MLPE control or optimizer topology should be checked against that portfolio specifically, not just the field average.
Run a freedom-to-operate search in EurekaMap the diagnostic and semiconductor-layer white space
G01R and H01L each sit under 8% of records, suggesting device-level and measurement-integration claims face thinner prior art than generation or grid-interface claims.
Explore white space in EurekaCommon questions on PV power optimizer patents
Within this 66-record dataset, one assignee leads with 16 records, well ahead of the fifth-ranked company at 2 records. The top 5 assignees combined hold 74.2% of all records in scope, and the top 10 extend that to 86.4%, so filing activity is concentrated at the top even though 29 companies appear in the ranking overall. This concentration means a freedom-to-operate check should weight the leader's portfolio heavily rather than treating all 29 ranked filers as equally significant.
Yes, based on complete-year data: filings rose from 10 in 2021 to 14 in 2024, a 40% increase over that span, and 2024 is the peak year recorded so far. Counts for 2025 and 2026 appear lower, but that reflects the roughly 18-month lag between filing and publication rather than an actual slowdown. Anyone tracking momentum should treat the two most recent years as provisional and revisit the trend once those cohorts finish publishing.
The dataset's records fall mainly under H02S (photovoltaic and solar power generation, 53.0% of records) and H02J (power supply and grid systems, 42.4%), with H02M (power conversion) at 24.2% and G05F (electric/magnetic variable control) at 19.7%. Semiconductor devices (H01L), printed circuits (H05K) and electric measurement (G01R) each cover less than 8% of records. Because a single record can carry multiple IPC codes, these shares add up to more than 100% and should not be read as mutually exclusive segments.
China is the largest single receiving office in this dataset with 20 filings, followed by Europe and the United States at 13 each, then WIPO (PCT) at 6, and Australia and Japan at 4 apiece. This spread indicates the technology is being protected across multiple major markets rather than concentrated in one jurisdiction, which matters for anyone assessing where a competitor's coverage actually extends.
Module level power electronics (MLPE) is the broader category that includes photovoltaic power optimizers as well as microinverters and related per-module control hardware; the search scope for this landscape explicitly includes both terms. MLPE devices manage maximum power point tracking, bypass operation and mismatch loss recovery at the individual panel or sub-string level rather than across an entire array, which is why records in this space frequently cite conversion efficiency and communication protocol claims alongside core power electronics classes like H02M and H02S.
Research Photovoltaic Power Optimizers in depth with Eureka
Go past this page: query the whole photovoltaic power optimizers corpus yourself, in your own scope.
Every answer comes back with patent numbers you can open.
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.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.