Repowering & Module Reliability Patents: Who Leads, Gaps 2026
- 77.4% concentration. The top five assignees combined account for 24 of the 31 records in scope, and the ranked ten cover all 31 — this is a field with almost no unclaimed filer base left outside a small group.
- Filing has cooled from its peak. Activity peaked at 6 records in 2022; the comparable complete-year window shows filings falling from 2 in 2021 to 1 in 2024, a -50% move, though later years are still filling in under publication lag.
- Measurement and data-processing classes rival the hardware classes. G01R, G06F and G06Q each sit at 22.6% of the 31 records, nearly matching H01L's 35.5% — reliability assessment here is as much a software and instrumentation problem as a semiconductor one.
Filing growth compares 2021 (2 records) with 2024 (1) — 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 31 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This dataset tracks patent activity at the intersection of plant repowering and module field-reliability assessment — filings that combine language on degradation rate measurement, light-induced degradation, cell crack propagation, flash-test comparison, statistical sampling and end-of-life module replacement. It spans records published between 2015 and mid-2026, with 31 records meeting the search criteria across that window.
The scope is narrow by design: it isolates the assessment and replacement layer of PV plant operations rather than module manufacturing or general PV system claims. That narrowness shows up in the assignee list, which mixes semiconductor-test and enterprise-IT firms alongside grid and asset-management players, and in an IPC spread where measurement and data-processing classes carry nearly as much weight as the semiconductor hardware class.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 31-record dataset: the year-by-year filing count, and the IPC subclasses those records fall into.
Filing trend, 2017–2026
Filings were at 0 in 2017, rose to a peak of 6 in 2022, and the last complete comparison window shows a drop from 2 filings in 2021 to 1 in 2024 (-50%). 2025 and 2026 are shown but understated, since publication typically lags filing by around 18 months.
IPC subclass composition
H01L (semiconductor devices) leads at 35.5% of the 31 records. G01R, G06F and G06Q each hold 22.6%, and B23K, H01R and H05K each sit at 12.9%, with G11C at 9.7%. Records can carry more than one class, so these shares sum to well over 100%.
Shares are the percentage of the 31 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Repowering and Module Reliability Assessment with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about repowering and module reliability assessment and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative and most-cited filings
System and method for design and optimization of grid connected photovoltaic power plant with multiple photovoltaic module technologies (US9300140B2)
A system and method of using one or more DC-DC/DC-AC converters and/or alternative devices allows strings of multiple module technologies to coexist within the same PV power plant. A computing (optimization) framework estimates the percentage allocation of PV power plant capacity to selected PV module technologies. The framework and its supporting components considers irradiation, temperature, spectral profiles, cost and other practical constraints to achieve the lowest levelized cost of electricity, maximum output and minimum system cost.Filed by GE Grid Solutions, granted 2016-03-29 — a claim scope built around mixed-technology plant optimization rather than single-module reliability testing.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US7457725B1 | Electronic component reliability determination system and method | 33 |
| 2 | US4632294A | Process and apparatus for individual pin repair in a dense array of connector pins of an electronic packaging… | 29 |
| 3 | US20140005845A1 | System and method for design and optimization of grid connected photovoltaic power plant with multiple photov… | 28 |
| 4 | US20130151308A1 | Lifecycle Obsolescence Forecasting Tool | 26 |
| 5 | US20140081583A1 | Method for deterministic stress based risk reduction | 12 |
| 6 | US20260123620A1 | Laser – based targeting and object detection system | 11 |
| 7 | US20160190382A1 | Amorphous silicon based laser doped solar cells | 7 |
| 8 | US9002722B2 | Lifecycle obsolescence forecasting tool | 7 |
| 9 | US11734110B1 | Storage device reclassification system | 6 |
| 10 | US20260075043A1 | QR-Code-Based Authentication for Closed Mesh Networks | 4 |
Citation counts favour older records in any searched corpus — read them as a signal of influence, not of current commercial weight.
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Read together, the concentration, trend and citation data point to a field that consolidated early and has not reopened.
A small group already owns most of the claim space
With the top five assignees combined holding 24 of the 31 records in scope (77.4%) and the ranked ten covering all 31, a new entrant is filing directly against a field where almost every record traces back to a handful of organisations.
Activity has cooled from its 2022 peak
Filings peaked at 6 records in 2022. Comparing the last two complete years shows a drop from 2 filings in 2021 to 1 in 2024. Recent years understate true activity because of publication lag, but the comparable window does not support a growth story.
Influence sits with older, broader filings
The most-cited record, US7457725B1 on electronic component reliability determination, carries 33 citations — well ahead of the field. High citation counts here reflect age and breadth of applicability more than current commercial relevance.
Reliability assessment is a data problem as much as a hardware one
H01L leads at 35.5% of the 31 records, but G01R (measurement), G06F and G06Q (data processing) each sit at 22.6% — nearly matching it. Claims built purely around semiconductor structure are competing with claims built around measurement and analytics workflows.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to repowering and module reliability assessment, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the gate sits
The assignee ranking covers 14 companies, all counted in records, and the field's leader alone holds 7 of the 31 records in scope.
One filer sits well ahead of the field
The top-ranked assignee holds 7 of the 31 records — more than double the fifth-place holder's 2 — setting the reference point that any competitive filing strategy in this space has to plan around.
A tight cluster behind the leader
Fifth place holds 2 records, and the top five combined reach 24 of 31 (77.4%). The gap between the leader and the rest is real, but the next tier is bunched rather than spread thin.
The ranking closes out fast
Tenth place holds just 1 record, and the ranked ten together account for all 31 records in scope — there is no meaningful filer activity below that line in this dataset.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| KLA Corporation | 0 | — |
| The Boeing Company | 0 | — |
| Dell Products L.P. | 0 | — |
| International Business Machines Corporation | 0 | — |
| OB Realty LLC | 0 | — |
| WADESON GRAHAM | 0 | — |
| THOMAS BEX GEORGE | 0 | — |
| MATZKIND COURTNEY LEEANNE | 0 | — |
Where to take this next
The dataset points to a consolidated field with specific gaps rather than an open frontier.
Map the leader's actual claim boundaries
Before filing near the top-ranked assignee's 7 records, get the independent claims read side by side against the under-claimed sub-areas identified here.
Explore claims in EurekaTrack the post-2024 filings as they publish
Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, 2025-2026 filings are still arriving. Re-run this landscape periodically rather than treating the -50% figure as final.
Set up monitoring in EurekaCheck citation-heavy records for expiry
The most-cited records in this set date back years; confirm current legal status before assuming they still block a design.
Check status in EurekaCommon questions on repowering and module reliability patents
Very concentrated. Of the 31 records in scope, the top five assignees combined hold 24 of them, or 77.4%, and the ranked ten assignees together account for all 31 records. Practically, that means a new filer is almost certainly filing adjacent to, or on top of, claim territory already held by one of a small number of organisations. It also means the assignee ranking here is a complete picture of active filers, not a top slice of a much larger field.
The comparable complete-year data shows a decline: filings dropped from 2 in 2021 to 1 in 2024, a -50% change, after peaking at 6 records in 2022. That said, publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so 2025 and 2026 figures are understated and should not yet be read as confirming a continued fall. The safest reading is that activity has cooled from its 2022 high, not that the field is closed.
H01L (semiconductor devices) is the largest single class, covering 35.5% of the 31 records, reflecting claims tied to the physical module and cell structure. Close behind, G01R (measurement), G06F and G06Q (data and business-process processing) each cover 22.6% of records, showing that a large share of this field is claimed through testing and analytics methods rather than hardware alone. B23K, H01R and H05K, tied to joining, connectors and circuit assembly, each sit at 12.9%.
The most-cited record in scope is US7457725B1, an electronic component reliability determination system and method, with 33 citations, followed by US4632294A on connector pin repair with 29. High citation counts in a searched corpus like this one tend to favour older, broadly written filings simply because they have had more time and more subsequent filings to accumulate citations against. Citation count is a useful signal of influence within the dataset, but it should not be read as a direct measure of current commercial importance or enforceability.
The co-assignee pairs and IPC spread suggest the field's sub-areas — cell crack propagation detection, flash-test comparison protocols, fleet-wide statistical sampling, and end-of-life replacement logistics — have activity but no single dominant claim holder, unlike the top-level field where 77.4% of records sit with five assignees. Connector and current-collector degradation, under H01R at 12.9% of records, is another branch with real but thin coverage. Anyone drafting into these areas should still check the leading assignees' broader claims for overlap before assuming the space is genuinely open.
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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.