RO Energy Recovery & Lifecycle Analysis Patent Landscape
The reverse osmosis energy-recovery and lifecycle-analysis space is moderately concentrated, with Fluid Equipment Development Company holding a clear lead and the top five filers accounting for 28% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total. Filing activity peaked in 2021 and has since eased, placing the field in a post-peak stage where established players dominate core water-treatment and separation routes.
Fluid Equipment Development leads a moderately concentrated field
Fluid Equipment Development Company LLC holds the top position with 97 patent records, followed by Ebara Corporation (60), IDE Water Technologies (57), Hitachi (57), and Toray Industries (44). The top five filers together represent 28% of the hundred largest filers’ combined output, signalling moderate but not extreme concentration.
A clear tier gap separates the top four applicants from the mid-tier cluster (Veolia, Water Standard, Desalitech, Tianjin Sea Water Desalination) that ranges from 36 to 43 patent records each. Below that, a long tail of single-digit to low-double-digit filers extends the competitive landscape.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fluid Equipment Development Company LLC | 97 | |
| 2 | Ebara Corporation | 60 | |
| 3 | IDE Water Technologies Ltd. | 57 | |
| 4 | Hitachi Ltd. | 57 | |
| 5 | Toray Industries Inc. | 44 | |
| 6 | VEOLIA WATER SOLUTIONS & TECHNOLOGIES SUPPORT SAS | 43 | |
| 7 | Water Standard Co. LLC | 41 | |
| 8 | Desalitech | 39 | |
| 9 | TIANJIN SEA WATER DESALINATION & COMPLEX UTILIZATI… | 36 | |
| 10 | Battelle Memorial Institute | 28 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Tianjin Blue Cross Membrane Technology Co. Ltd. | 27 | |
| 12 | General Electric Company | 21 | |
| 13 | Nanyang Technological University | 19 | |
| 14 | Purdue Research Foundation | 19 | |
| 15 | Oneka Technologies | 19 | |
| 16 | IDE Technologies Ltd. | 19 | |
| 17 | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. | 17 | |
| 18 | City of Long Beach | 15 | |
| 19 | Fluence Water Israel Ltd. | 14 | |
| 20 | Synauta Inc. | 13 |
The leaders’ positions are anchored in the dominant water-treatment (C02F) and separation-process (B01D) branches, suggesting that further differentiation will require moves into adjacent mechanical or energy-systems classes where coverage is thinner.
The most recent 18–24 months of data are subject to publication lag and likely undercount actual filings; the apparent decline in 2024–2026 should not be interpreted as a structural withdrawal. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Activity has eased from its 2021 peak; water-treatment classes dominate the mix
The annual filing trend and technology composition charts together show where momentum has been and where the technical frontier currently sits. Core water-treatment and separation classes absorb the vast majority of filings, while mechanical-energy and renewable-integration classes remain comparatively thin.
Annual filing trend
Filings rose from 90 in 2017 to a peak of 109 in 2021, then stepped down to the 60–70 range in 2022–2025. The 2026 figure of 6 reflects incomplete publication and should be disregarded for trend purposes. The multi-year window still shows activity, but annual volume has clearly eased from the 2021 peak.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
C02F (water and wastewater treatment) and B01D (separation processes) dominate the technology mix by a wide margin. Mechanical energy classes — F04B (positive-displacement pumps), F03B (hydraulic machines), and F15B (fluid-pressure systems) — are present but at a fraction of the volume, pointing to an asymmetry between process chemistry and mechanical energy-recovery engineering within this corpus.
↗ 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.
Membrane seawater desalination pressurization and …
A membrane seawater desalination pressurization and energy recovery integrated method. Piston rods of single-rod piston-type seawater cylinders are connected with single-rod piston-type hydraulic cylinders to form two or more than two working combined bodies which operate alternately. In a process that the hydraulic cylinders drive the seawater cylinders to… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maritime power plant system with processes for pro… | 360 |
| 2 | Desalination method and apparatus utilizing nanofi… | 191 |
| 3 | Apparatus and method for multistage reverse osmosi… | 169 |
| 4 | Method of recovering energy from reverse osmosis w… | 164 |
| 5 | Reverse osmosis with free rotor booster pump | 126 |
| 6 | Rotary shaft driven reverse osmosis method and app… | 124 |
| 7 | Method of providing a supply of water of controlle… | 122 |
| 8 | Apparatus for improving efficiency of a reverse os… | 119 |
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 patent structure means for R&D investment decisions
Four structural factors — lifecycle stage, competitive concentration, collaboration patterns, and geographic spread — shape where new R&D investment is most and least likely to find open ground. Each is grounded in the filing evidence.
Post-peak field: core routes are well-covered
The lifecycle stage is Decline, driven by annual filings easing back from the 2021 peak. Core reverse osmosis process patents in C02F and B01D are heavily populated, making incremental me-too filings in those classes difficult to defend. New entrants are better served targeting adjacent mechanical or renewable-integration branches where density is lower.
Post-peak · 2021 peakModerate concentration with a clear leader tier
The top five filers hold 28% of the hundred largest filers’ combined patent records. Fluid Equipment Development’s 97-record lead is significant but not insurmountable for a focused challenger. The mid-tier cluster (Veolia, Water Standard, Desalitech, Tianjin Sea Water) is active enough that any new entrant must differentiate on technology route rather than volume alone.
Top-5 share: 28%Tianjin Sea Water Desalination anchors the most active co-filing network
The Tianjin Sea Water Desalination & Comprehensive Utilization Research Institute co-filed with Tianjin Blue Cross Membrane Technology on 22 occasions — the single strongest dyadic partnership in the corpus. It also maintains ties with the Weihai Seawater Comprehensive Utilization Industry Technology Research Center (6 co-filings), Weihai Lanlv Marine Equipment (3), and Jiangsu Fa’er Machinery Manufacturing (2). This cluster points to a coordinated Chinese national-research ecosystem around seawater desalination that international players would need to engage or compete against.
22 co-filings · CN ecosystemUS and China lead; Middle East markets are underweighted relative to deployment
The United States (389 patent records) and China (363) are the primary filing jurisdictions, followed by Europe via EPO (178) and PCT (165). Israel (82) reflects the presence of IDE. Australia (105) stands out given its desalination infrastructure. Gulf Cooperation Council (GC) coverage (11 records) appears thin relative to the region’s large-scale RO deployment, suggesting either strategic non-filing or a gap that could be exploited.
US · CN · AU dominantGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tianjin Sea Water Desalination & Comprehensive Utilization Research Institute (MNR) | Tianjin Blue Cross Membrane Technology Co. Ltd. | 22 |
| Tianjin Sea Water Desalination & Comprehensive Utilization Research Institute (MNR) | Weihai Seawater Comprehensive Utilization Industry Technology Research Center | 6 |
| IDE Water Technologies Ltd. | IDE Technologies Ltd. | 3 |
| Tianjin Sea Water Desalination & Comprehensive Utilization Research Institute (MNR) | Weihai Lanlvqing Marine Equipment Technology Engineering Co. Ltd. | 3 |
| Tianjin Sea Water Desalination & Comprehensive Utilization Research Institute (MNR) | Jiangsu Fa’er Machinery Manufacturing Co. Ltd. | 2 |
| Tianjin Sea Water Desalination & Comprehensive Utilization Research Institute (MNR) | Jiangsu University | 2 |
| Tianjin Sea Water Desalination & Comprehensive Utilization Research Institute (MNR) | Tsinghua University | 1 |
| Tianjin Sea Water Desalination & Comprehensive Utilization Research Institute (MNR) | China Ocean Engineering Research Institute (Qingdao) | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Fluid Equipment Development leads on separation and treatment; Battelle is the only growing entrant
The top two applicants by patent-record count are both specialized engineering firms with deep coverage in separation (B01D) and water treatment (C02F). Among the broader ranking, Battelle Memorial Institute stands out as the sole applicant with an upward recent trajectory.
Fluid Equipment Development Company LLC
The corpus leader with 97 patent records, concentrated heavily in B01D 61 (separation processes, 93 records) and C02F 1 (water treatment, 74 records). Its recent momentum is sharply negative at –89% versus the prior three-year period, consistent with the field’s post-peak lifecycle stage and suggesting the core portfolio is maturing rather than expanding.
97 patent recordsBattelle Memorial Institute
Ranked tenth with 28 patent records, Battelle is the only applicant in the evidence flagged as a new entrant on recent momentum — meaning it had negligible prior-period activity and has established a measurable recent presence. Its technical focus sits in B01D 61 (separation, 28 records) and C02F 9 (integrated multi-stage water treatment, 9 records), pointing to a systems-integration angle rather than component-level work.
28 patent records| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Fluid Equipment Development Company LLC | 2 | ▼ -89% |
| IDE Water Technologies Ltd. | 1 | ▼ -98% |
| Tianjin Sea Water Desalination & Comprehensive Utilization Research Institute (MNR) | 7 | ▼ -53% |
| Battelle Memorial Institute | 5 | ▲ new entrant |
Mechanical energy-recovery and renewable-integration branches are under-served
Five branches in the corpus have low filing share relative to the dominant C02F and B01D classes. Two of these — hydraulic machinery and wind-motor integration — have plausible technical value for RO energy recovery and a realistic entry path for focused filers.
F03B · Hydraulic machines & engines
With 86 patent records and a 2% share of the corpus, hydraulic-machine patents for pressure-exchanger and turbine-based energy recovery are thinly covered relative to their role in high-efficiency RO system design. The top-cited patents in this corpus include multiple energy-recovery methods based on rotary and free-rotor hydraulic principles, confirming technical relevance. A filer with existing pump or turbine IP could extend into RO-specific pressure-exchange configurations with relatively few blocking patents to navigate.
Search this in Eureka →F03D · Wind motors (wind turbines)
The 30 patent records in F03D represent a 1% share, covering wind-powered desalination systems. Given growing interest in off-grid and island desalination powered by intermittent renewables, this branch is sparse relative to the addressable deployment scenario. Coupling RO system design with variable-speed wind-drive energy management is an area where new filings would face limited prior art within this specific corpus, though broader renewable-energy patent bodies would need to be searched separately.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders differ by technology route
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | C02F 1 · Water & wastewater treatment | B01D 61 · Separation processes (filtration etc.) | C02F 103 · Water & wastewater treatment | B01D 65 · Separation processes (filtration etc.) | C02F 9 · Water & wastewater treatment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fluid Equipment Development Company LLC | Strong · 74 | Strong · 93 | Emerging · 14 | Absent | Absent |
| IDE Water Technologies Ltd. | Strong · 49 | Strong · 38 | Strong · 42 | Absent | Absent |
| Water Standard Co. LLC | Strong · 41 | Strong · 40 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 34 |
| Ebara Corporation | Strong · 49 | Strong · 54 | Emerging · 10 | Absent | Absent |
| Toray Industries Inc. | Strong · 38 | Strong · 42 | Absent | Moderate · 20 | Moderate · 10 |
| Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies Support SAS | Strong · 41 | Strong · 41 | Emerging · 7 | Moderate · 13 | Absent |
| Hitachi Ltd. | Strong · 45 | Strong · 45 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 755 patent families in scope, spanning global filings relevant to reverse osmosis energy recovery and lifecycle analysis.
Fluid Equipment Development Company LLC leads with 97 patent records, followed by Ebara Corporation and IDE Water Technologies, each with approximately 57–60 patent records.
The evidence classifies the field as Decline, reflecting annual filings easing back from the 2021 peak of 109 filings. The multi-year corpus remains substantial, but annual volume has stepped down to the 60–70 range.
The United States (389 patent records) and China (363) are the top two filing jurisdictions, followed by Europe via EPO (178) and PCT (165). Australia (105) and Israel (82) also feature prominently.
Yes. The Tianjin Sea Water Desalination & Comprehensive Utilization Research Institute is the most active co-filer, with 22 joint filings alongside Tianjin Blue Cross Membrane Technology and additional partnerships with six other Chinese institutions, forming a coordinated national research cluster.
The hydraulic machinery branch (F03B, 86 patent records, 2% share) and the wind-motor integration branch (F03D, 30 patent records, 1% share) are the most under-served adjacent areas with plausible technical relevance to RO energy recovery. Both have significantly lower filing density than the dominant C02F and B01D classes.
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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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