Radiative Cooling Patent Landscape 2026
Radiative Cooling Patent Landscape in 2026
Radiative cooling IP is concentrated among university and deep-tech spinout filers, with Korea University Research & Business Foundation holding the largest single portfolio among the top hundred filers. Annual volume peaked in 2020 and has eased since, though publication lag means the most recent two years remain under-counted.
University-led, moderately concentrated, with a clear Korean-American axis at the top
Korea University Research & Business Foundation leads all filers, followed by Fractal Heatsink Technologies LLC and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. The top five filers collectively account for 25% of the combined output of the hundred largest filers, signalling meaningful but not extreme concentration.
A two-tier structure is visible: the top four applicants each hold more than 22 patent families, while the remainder of the top twenty drops off more gradually. No single commercial incumbent dominates; the field is instead anchored by university technology-transfer offices and specialist startups.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KOREA UNIV RES & BUSINESS FOUND | 32 | |
| 2 | Fractal Heatsink Technologies LLC | 26 | |
| 3 | Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation | 23 | |
| 4 | The Regents of the University of Colorado | 23 | |
| 5 | University of Wyoming | 22 | |
| 6 | SkyCool Systems Inc | 20 | |
| 7 | The Research Foundation for the State University of New York | 19 | |
| 8 | 3M Innovative Properties Co | 13 | |
| 9 | Solvcor Technologies LLC | 12 | |
| 10 | Solcold Ltd | 12 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Lotte Chemical Corporation | 12 | |
| 12 | Ningbo Ruiling Advanced Energy Materials Institute Co Ltd | 11 | |
| 13 | Ningbo Radi-Cool Advanced Energy Technologies Co Ltd | 11 | |
| 14 | Hyundai Motor Company | 10 | |
| 15 | The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University | 10 | |
| 16 | FAIN ROMY M | 9 | |
| 17 | Daikin Industries Ltd | 9 | |
| 18 | KOREA ADVANCED INST OF SCI & TECH | 8 | |
| 19 | Sunovate Pty Ltd | 7 | |
| 20 | Tokitae LLC | 7 |
The dominance of research foundations implies that licensing and spin-out formation are the primary commercialisation routes. Industrial players such as 3M Innovative Properties, Hyundai Motor, and Daikin Industries appear mid-table, suggesting that large corporations are still in early IP-building mode rather than asserting broad blocking positions.
Filing counts for 2024–2026 are subject to standard publication lag and should be treated as lower bounds; the apparent trough in those years does not necessarily reflect a real-terms contraction in inventive activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2020 peak, a broad technology base, and growing interest in thermal systems integration
The filing trend and IPC composition together reveal a field that burst out of academic proof-of-concept around 2019–2020 and is now consolidating, while the technology mix shows radiative cooling cutting across refrigeration, heat-exchange, solar, and materials science.
Annual filing trend
Filings climbed sharply from 26 in 2017 to a peak of 75 in 2020, then eased to the low-40s to low-50s range through 2022–2024. The 2025–2026 bars are substantially under-counted due to publication lag and should not be read as a real continuation of decline.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
F25B (Refrigeration & heat pumps) is the dominant IPC class by a wide margin, reflecting the core mechanism of sub-ambient radiative cooling. F28F (Heat-exchanger details) and F28D (Heat-exchange apparatus) rank second and third, confirming that hardware integration—rather than materials alone—is the dominant engineering challenge. F24S (Solar heat collectors), F24F (Air conditioning), and B32B (Layered products) round out the top tier, illustrating how radiative cooling is being embedded into solar thermal, HVAC, and film/laminate product lines.
↗ 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.
Structures for passive radiative cooling
Passive radiative cooling structures and apparatus manufactured with such cooling structures conserve energy needs. A flexible film transparent to visible light incorporates particles at a volume percentage larger than 25% so as to absorb and emit infrared radiation at wavelengths where Earth’s atmosphere is transparent. Another film transparent to visible… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thermal energy storage heat exchanger | 179 |
| 2 | Latent heat storage and transfer system and method | 140 |
| 3 | Infrared radiation cooler for producing physiologi… | 121 |
| 4 | Temperature conditioning system suitable for use w… | 89 |
| 5 | Radiative cooling structures and systems | 76 |
| 6 | Refractory-composite/heat-pipe-cooled leading edge… | 75 |
| 7 | Systems and methods for radiative cooling and heat… | 71 |
| 8 | Uniform heat dissipating and cooling heat sink | 58 |
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 IP structure means for R&D investment decisions
Four structural observations—maturity stage, competitive concentration, collaboration patterns, and geographic spread—shape where new entrants can most efficiently deploy R&D resources.
Past-peak but not mature: consolidation phase underway
The lifecycle evidence places this field in Decline—annual filings have eased back from the 2020 peak. However, the underlying technology is not commodity: key materials and system-integration challenges remain unsolved, and several applicants listed as ‘new entrants’ in recent momentum data are still building their initial portfolios. Teams entering now face a less crowded annual-filing environment than in 2019–2021 but must contend with an established prior-art base.
Past-peak · 2020 peakModerate concentration with no single dominant commercial blocker
The top five filers hold 25% of the hundred largest filers’ combined output, and the leader (Korea University Research & Business Foundation at 32 patent families) is not a product company with freedom-to-operate constraints over an entire market. This leaves space for industrial entrants to build differentiated positions, particularly in application-specific integration such as vehicle thermal management or building envelope systems. Mid-table industrial names like Hyundai Motor and Daikin have ten or fewer families, indicating early-stage corporate IP activity.
Top-5 share: 25%Two strong bilateral clusters anchor the co-filing network
The most active co-filing pair is the University of Wyoming and the Regents of the University of Colorado, with 20 jointly filed patent families. Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and The Research Foundation for the State University of New York form a second cluster with 18 joint families. Korea University Research & Business Foundation and POSTECH Academy-Industry Foundation have co-filed 4 families, reflecting a Korean university alliance. Lotte Chemical and Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology have one joint family, representing the field’s limited industry-academia bridge in materials.
University-led alliancesUS-centric filings with meaningful PCT and Korean coverage
The United States is the leading filing jurisdiction, followed by WIPO (PCT), South Korea, Europe (EPO), and China. The strong PCT volume indicates applicants are actively seeking broad multi-jurisdictional protection rather than home-market-only strategies. India and Japan appear in the mid-tier, and Australia is notable given the presence of Sunovate Pty Ltd. Gaps are evident in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East—regions with high cooling demand but low current IP density.
Lead office: United StatesGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| University of Wyoming | The Regents of the University of Colorado | 20 |
| Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation | The Research Foundation for the State University of New York | 18 |
| Korea University Research & Business Foundation | 浦项工科大学校产学协力团 | 4 |
| Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation | The Research Foundation for the State University of New York | 4 |
| University of Wyoming | RGT UNIV OF COLORADY A BODY CORP | 2 |
| Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation | THE RES FOUNDFOR THE STATE UNIV OF NEW YORK | 1 |
| Lotte Chemical Corporation | Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Korea University leads on volume; Fractal Heatsink is the fastest-rising hardware specialist
The top two applicants represent contrasting archetypes: a university IP engine with a broad thermal-materials portfolio, and a hardware-focused deep-tech firm that entered recently but is filing at pace.
Korea University Research & Business Foundation
Holds 32 patent families, the largest portfolio among all filers. Technology focus centres on F25B (Refrigeration & heat pumps), F28F (Heat-exchanger details), and C08K (Polymer additives), spanning both systems and materials. Recent momentum shows a –58% trend versus the prior period, suggesting the most intensive filing phase has passed and the foundation is in portfolio consolidation mode.
families: 32Fractal Heatsink Technologies LLC
Holds 26 patent families and is classified as a new entrant in recent momentum data, meaning its filing activity began or substantially increased in the recent window. Focus is hardware-intensive: F28F (Heat-exchanger details), F28D (Heat-exchange apparatus), and F28G (Cleaning heat-exchange surfaces) dominate its portfolio, distinguishing it from the materials-and-systems approach of the university leaders. This makes it the most IP-active purely hardware-focused entity in the field.
families: 26| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Korea University Research & Business Foundation | 10 | ▼ -58% |
| University of Wyoming | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| Fractal Heatsink Technologies LLC | 9 | ▲ new entrant |
| The Regents of the University of Colorado | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| SkyCool Systems Inc | 5 | ▼ -58% |
| 3M Innovative Properties Co | 2 | ▼ -82% |
| Solcold Ltd | 8 | ▲ new entrant |
| Lotte Chemical Corporation | 3 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served adjacent branches worth monitoring
Several IPC classes appear in the radiative cooling corpus at relatively low share, yet connect to high-value application domains where passive cooling could deliver material performance or cost benefits.
F24F · Air conditioning & ventilation
F24F accounts for 81 patent records—4% of the IPC distribution—despite HVAC being the most commercially obvious application for sub-ambient radiative cooling. The gap between radiative cooling’s thermodynamic potential and the low filing density in mainstream HVAC integration suggests that system-level work (coupling radiative panels to existing chiller and AHU architectures) is under-protected. An entrant with HVAC integration expertise and access to rooftop or facade real estate could find relatively sparse prior art in this junction zone.
Search this in Eureka →B32B · Layered products & laminates
B32B appears at 74 patent records (4% share), covering film and laminate constructions that embed radiative cooling function into flexible or deployable surfaces. This branch sits at the intersection of advanced materials and mass-manufacture, with potential applications in building wraps, vehicle films, and textile substrates. The sparse coverage relative to the thermal-systems branches indicates that scalable, roll-to-roll manufacturable radiative cooling laminates remain an under-protected design space, with a plausible entry path through polymer coating or nonwoven processing capabilities.
Search this in Eureka →How the leading filers differ by IPC technology route
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | F25B 23 · Refrigeration & heat pumps | F28F 13 · Heat-exchanger details | F24F 5 · Air conditioning & ventilation | F24S 70 · Solar heat collectors | F28D 15 · Heat-exchange apparatus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Korea University Research & Business Foundation | Strong · 34 | Strong · 26 | Emerging · 5 | Absent | Absent |
| SkyCool Systems Inc | Strong · 19 | Strong · 19 | Absent | Moderate · 6 | Absent |
| University of Wyoming | Strong · 19 | Strong · 21 | Emerging · 4 | Absent | Absent |
| The Regents of the University of Colorado | Strong · 18 | Strong · 20 | Emerging · 3 | Absent | Absent |
| FAIN ROMY M | Strong · 10 | Strong · 10 | Strong · 8 | Strong · 9 | Absent |
| Fractal Heatsink Technologies LLC | Absent | Strong · 20 | Absent | Absent | Moderate · 10 |
| Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation | Strong · 14 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 13 | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus contains 441 patent families in scope. Filing counts for 2024 and 2025 are subject to publication lag and represent lower bounds.
Korea University Research & Business Foundation leads with 32 patent families, followed by Fractal Heatsink Technologies LLC with 26 and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and the Regents of the University of Colorado both with 23.
The United States is the leading filing jurisdiction, followed by WIPO (PCT), South Korea, Europe (EPO), and China. India and Japan are active in the mid-tier.
Annual filings peaked in 2020 at 75 patent families, up from 26 in 2017. Since then, annual volume has eased, consistent with a post-peak consolidation phase. The lifecycle evidence classifies the field as in Decline, though publication lag means 2024–2026 figures are under-counted.
F25B (Refrigeration & heat pumps) is the dominant class, followed by F28F (Heat-exchanger details), F28D (Heat-exchange apparatus), and F24S (Solar heat collectors). This reflects a field centred on thermal systems integration as much as on novel materials.
Yes. The University of Wyoming and the Regents of the University of Colorado have co-filed 20 patent families together, the most active pairing in the corpus. Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and The Research Foundation for the State University of New York form the second-largest cluster with 18 joint families.
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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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