Pumped-Storage Hydropower Patents: Top Companies & Trends 2026
- 27.7% of all 1,026 records sit with the five leading assignees, while the ranked field runs to 100 companies with a long tail behind them.
- Filings grew 36% from 2021 to 2024 (77 to 105 records), with 2024 the peak year on record so far in this dataset.
- Power-supply and grid-systems claims (H02J) lead at 21.4% narrowly ahead of hydraulic machinery (F03B) at 19.7%, showing the field is as much about grid integration as about turbines.
Filing growth compares 2021 (77 records) with 2024 (105) — 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 1,026 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What the pumped-storage hydropower patent record shows
Pumped-storage hydropower sits at the intersection of civil hydraulic engineering and grid-scale power electronics. The 1,026 records captured here span 2015 through the 2026 data cut-off and mix classic pump-turbine mechanics with control, scheduling and market-participation software — a reminder that a modern pumped-storage claim is as likely to describe a dispatch algorithm as a penstock. Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the most recent one or two years in any trend understate real filing activity.
Assignee concentration is moderate rather than extreme: the leader holds 97 records, but the field flattens quickly after the top ranks, and the ranked list runs a full 100 companies deep. That shape points to a technology still being claimed from multiple directions — hydraulic hardware, grid software, and adjacent thermal and wind plant integration — rather than one that has settled around a handful of dominant designs.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 1,026-record corpus: filing activity by year, and the IPC subclasses those records fall under. Because a single record can carry several classes, the class shares below sum to well over 100% of the record total — that is expected and is the same denominator the chart uses.
Filing trend, 2017–2026
Filings rose from 30 in 2017 to a peak of 105 in 2024, with growth of 36% between 2021 (77) and 2024 (105). The 2025 and 2026 figures (down to 10 by 2026) reflect publication lag rather than a genuine drop in filing — treat only 2024 and earlier as settled.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
H02J (power supply and grid systems) and F03B (hydraulic machines and engines) are the two largest subclasses, at 21.4% and 19.7% of the 1,026 records respectively. F01K (steam and thermal plants), F03D (wind motors) and F02C (gas-turbine plants) each appear in a meaningful share of records too, showing pumped storage is frequently claimed alongside other generation types rather than in isolation.
Shares are the percentage of the 1,026 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Pumped-Storage Hydropower Patent Landscape with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about pumped-storage hydropower patent landscape and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative filing and most-cited records
Pumped storage hydropower system (US20190170109A1)
A pumped storage hydropower apparatus with a housing and at least one pump that operates in a first or second mode based on an operating condition such as time or price of electrical power from a remote source. In the first mode it moves water from a first to a second storage unit and generates power for transmission to the grid; the second mode reverses that flow.Filed by Littoral Power Systems Inc., published 2019-06-06.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20100332373A1 | System and method for participation in energy-related markets | 1,024 |
| 2 | US20100217550A1 | System and method for electric grid utilization and optimization | 775 |
| 3 | US20150094968A1 | Comfort-driven optimization of electric grid utilization | 494 |
| 4 | US20100218108A1 | System and method for trading complex energy securities | 480 |
| 5 | US20100217642A1 | System and method for single-action energy resource scheduling and participation in energy-related securities | 442 |
| 6 | US20100217651A1 | System and method for managing energy resources based on a scoring system | 420 |
| 7 | US20110040666A1 | Dynamic pricing system and method for complex energy securities | 366 |
| 8 | US20100217452A1 | Overlay packet data network for managing energy and method for using same | 317 |
| 9 | US20100217549A1 | System and method for fractional smart metering | 310 |
| 10 | US6107691A | Methods for utilizing the electrical and non electrical outputs of fuel cell powered vehicles | 237 |
Citation counts reflect influence within the searched corpus and skew toward older records; they are not a measure of current commercial importance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for filing strategy
Three patterns stand out once the concentration, growth and class figures are read together: the leadership gap is real but not closing off the field, growth is genuine through the last complete year, and the technology mix confirms grid software is now a first-class claim area alongside hydraulic hardware.
Leadership is real but the field stays open
The five leading assignees hold 27.7% of all 1,026 records, and the top ten hold 40.7%. That leaves close to 60% of filings spread across a ranked list that runs 100 companies deep, with a fifth-place holder at 38 records and a tenth-place holder at only 23 — a steep drop-off that signals room for new entrants below the leadership tier.
Growth is real through the last complete year
Filings rose from 77 in 2021 to 105 in 2024, the peak year on record. Years after 2024 show fewer published records, but that reflects the roughly 18-month lag between filing and publication, not a slowdown — any read of recent momentum should stop at 2024.
Grid and control claims now outweigh pure hydraulics
H02J (power supply and grid systems) leads the technology breakdown at 21.4% of records, just ahead of F03B hydraulic machinery at 19.7%. The presence of G06F and G06Q classes at meaningful shares confirms scheduling, optimisation and market-participation logic is a substantial, separately claimable layer on top of the physical plant.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to pumped-storage hydropower patent landscape, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the claim space is thinner
The leadership tier is followed by a long, active tail rather than a settled duopoly. Co-assignee activity is limited to a handful of pairs, suggesting most work here is filed independently rather than through joint ventures.
A clear top filer, not a runaway monopoly
The leading assignee holds 97 records against a fifth-place figure of 38 and a tenth-place figure of 23 — a sharp early drop that flattens into a long tail across the rest of the 100-company ranking.
Co-filing is rare and concentrated
Only eight co-assignee pairs appear in the corpus, with one pairing far stronger than the rest. Most other filers appear to prosecute independently rather than through joint filings.
Several leading names show no latest-year filings
A number of assignees tracked for recent-year momentum, including some with strong historical counts, show zero filings in the latest year and year-over-year declines of up to -100%. Given the 18-month publication lag, this is as likely to reflect pending applications not yet published as an actual pullback.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| CALMWAVE INC | 0 | -100% |
| Siemens AG | 0 | — |
| Energy Dome SpA | 0 | — |
| Enphase Energy Inc | 0 | -100% |
| NEW WAY MACHINE COMPONENTS | 0 | — |
| V Squared Wind | 0 | — |
| Air Products and Chemicals Inc | 0 | — |
| HYLAND BRENDAN | 0 | -100% |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to three practical next steps for a team deciding where to file or where to watch.
Map the grid-software layer separately from hydraulics
Because H02J and G06F/G06Q classes sit at meaningful shares alongside F03B, treat scheduling and market-participation claims as their own freedom-to-operate question rather than folding them into a hydraulic-plant search.
Explore technology clustering in EurekaWatch the tail, not just the leader
With 100 companies in the ranking and a steep drop after the top ten, new entrants are more likely to compete against the tail than to displace the leader outright. Track filers just below the tenth-place mark for early signals.
Track assignee momentum in EurekaTreat 2025-2026 counts as provisional
Given the ~18-month publication lag, re-run the trend view in six to twelve months before drawing conclusions about a slowdown from the most recent years.
Set up a filing alert in EurekaFrequently asked questions
The assignee ranking in this dataset runs 100 companies deep, with the leading assignee holding 97 records out of 1,026 total. The top five combined hold 27.7% of all records and the top ten hold 40.7%, but the drop from fifth place (38 records) to tenth place (23 records) is steep, meaning the middle and lower ranks are closely bunched rather than dominated by one or two firms. This is a moderately concentrated field, not a monopoly, and new filers continue to enter below the leadership tier.
Filings grew from 77 records in 2021 to 105 in 2024, a 36% increase, and 2024 is the peak year in the dataset so far. Counts for 2025 and 2026 appear lower, but that is expected: publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so the most recent one to two years are always undercounted at the point of measurement. Based on the complete-year data through 2024, the trend is one of sustained growth, not decline.
Power supply and grid-systems claims (IPC class H02J) appear in 21.4% of the 1,026 records, narrowly ahead of hydraulic machines and engines (F03B) at 19.7%. Steam and thermal plants (F01K), wind motors (F03D) and gas-turbine plants (F02C) also appear at meaningful shares, showing pumped storage is frequently claimed in combination with other generation technologies rather than as a standalone hydraulic system. Software-oriented classes covering data processing and business logic also register solid shares, reflecting the growing role of dispatch and market-participation claims.
The technology mix shows dense claiming around core hydraulic machinery and grid integration, but adjacent areas such as variable-speed pump-turbine control tuning, underground or disused-mine reservoir conversion, and hybrid pumped-storage/wind dispatch coupling carry comparatively few dedicated claims relative to the core clusters. These sit at the intersection of well-covered classes, which is often where enforceable claim space still exists. A freedom-to-operate search focused specifically on these intersections, rather than on the core hydraulic or grid classes alone, is likely to be more productive.
With the top five assignees holding 27.7% of the 1,026 records in scope and the top ten holding 40.7%, this field sits at moderate concentration: notable leadership at the top, but far from the near-total control seen in some narrower energy niches. The ranked list of 100 companies and the presence of only eight co-assignee pairs suggest most participants file independently, and the long tail below the top ten indicates a field that remains accessible to new entrants rather than gated by a small cartel of incumbents.
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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.
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.