Smart Grid Management for EV Charging Patent Landscape
Smart Grid Management for EV Charging Patent Landscape in 2026
The smart grid management for EV charging field is in a growth phase, with H02J power supply and grid systems dominating the technology mix and NIO Tech Anhui leading a relatively fragmented applicant field. Activity has accelerated sharply in the most recent multi-year window, with the United States as the primary filing jurisdiction.
NIO Tech Anhui leads a fragmented but consolidating field
NIO Tech Anhui Co Ltd holds the top position among ranked applicants, followed closely by RESTORE and Torus Inc. The top five filers together account for 33% of the combined total of the hundred largest filers, signalling meaningful but not dominant concentration at the head of the field.
The gap between the leader and the second-ranked applicant is narrow — NIO Tech Anhui holds 12 patent records versus RESTORE’s 11 — indicating that no single player has established an insurmountable lead. A tier of mid-range filers (Torus Inc, Aartech Solonics UK, Centrica Business Solutions Belgium) clusters closely behind, keeping the competitive structure open.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NIO Tech Anhui Co Ltd | 12 | |
| 2 | RESTORE | 11 | |
| 3 | Torus Inc | 8 | |
| 4 | Aartech Solonics UK Ltd | 6 | |
| 5 | Centrica Business Solutions Belgium NV | 5 | |
| 6 | SR University | 3 | |
| 7 | The Regents of the University of California | 3 | |
| 8 | Saveetha Engineering College | 2 | |
| 9 | Oxto Ltd | 2 | |
| 10 | Mr Devesh Jaiswal | 1 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Sindhu T V | 1 | |
| 12 | Mr Nellore Manoj Kumar | 1 | |
| 13 | Ms Harini B | 1 | |
| 14 | Mr Prathanya Kumar P | 1 | |
| 15 | Mr Gughanathan G | 1 | |
| 16 | Ms Renuka M | 1 | |
| 17 | Mr Chrisvin R V | 1 | |
| 18 | Mr Ashwin A | 1 | |
| 19 | Dr P Upendra Kumar | 1 | |
| 20 | Subbaratnam B | 1 |
This fragmented top tier suggests that the field has not yet undergone the consolidation typical of maturing technology areas, leaving meaningful room for challengers and new entrants to establish differentiated positions, particularly in adjacent technology branches.
Filing counts for the most recent 18–24 months are understated due to standard patent publication lag and should be interpreted as lower bounds rather than indicators of a slowdown. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filings are accelerating and power-grid fundamentals dominate the technology mix
The annual filing trend and technology composition together reveal a field that is growing on a multi-year basis with a clear concentration around grid-interface and power-management disciplines.
Annual filing trend
Filing activity was modest and uneven through 2022, then rose sharply from 2023 onward, with 2024 and 2025 recording the highest annual volumes in the dataset. The 83% recent-window growth rate confirms a genuine acceleration. Note that 2025 and 2026 figures are understated by publication lag and will increase as pending applications publish.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H02J (power supply and grid systems) is the dominant branch by a wide margin, reflecting the core grid-integration challenge. B60L (electric vehicle propulsion) and G06Q (business and commerce data processing) form a secondary tier, while G06N (AI models), H02M (power conversion), and H04L (digital transmission) represent meaningful but smaller shares — pointing to emerging cross-disciplinary work in intelligent control and communications.
↗ 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.
Fast electric vehicle charging and distributed gri…
A system and method for providing extreme fast charging of electric vehicles that mimics the typical gas station experience while also supporting local grid energy management using a distributed network of extremely fast charging stations to form a large virtual resource for the grid. The system consists of a controller unit responsible for system operation… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Communications between vehicle and charging system | 75 |
| 2 | Fast electric vehicle charging and distributed gri… | 69 |
| 3 | Battery energy storage control systems and methods | 64 |
| 4 | System and Method for Dispatching an Operation of … | 39 |
| 5 | Micro-grid, energy management system and method | 34 |
| 6 | Floating armature | 33 |
| 7 | Deployable safety shield for charging | 32 |
| 8 | Charging devices within wheel portions | 27 |
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 competitive structure means for R&D investment decisions
The combination of a growth-stage lifecycle, moderate concentration, a single documented collaboration pair, and U. S.-led jurisdiction coverage creates a specific opportunity profile for new and existing participants.
Growth stage with accelerating annual filings
The field is classified as Growth, with annual filings still rising and the most recent years understated by publication lag. The 83% recent-window growth rate indicates that foundational IP positions are still being established rather than consolidated, making this an active window for staking claims in core and adjacent branches.
Growth stageFragmented top tier; no dominant incumbent
The top five filers hold 33% of the combined total of the hundred largest filers, and the leader-to-second gap is only one patent record. This fragmentation means that a focused filing programme in underserved branches could realistically place a challenger within the top five. The long tail of individual inventors and academic institutions further dilutes concentration below the top tier.
Moderate HHIRESTORE and Centrica Business Solutions Belgium are the only documented co-filers
Evidence shows a single co-filing relationship: RESTORE and Centrica Business Solutions Belgium NV, with two jointly filed patent records. This is notably sparse for a field that spans grid operations, automotive systems, and digital communications — domains that typically attract multi-party consortia. The thin collaboration network suggests that cross-sector partnership strategies remain largely unexploited and could represent a differentiation lever.
Thin ecosystemU.S. and India lead; Europe and PCT active but smaller
The United States is the primary filing jurisdiction, followed by India. Europe (EPO) and WIPO (PCT) each hold a meaningful share, with Germany, Canada, and a cluster of smaller jurisdictions rounding out coverage. China holds only one patent record in the dataset, which is striking given its EV market scale and may reflect corpus scope rather than actual filing behaviour — this warrants independent verification.
U.S.-ledGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| RESTORE | Centrica Business Solutions Belgium NV | 2 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
NIO Tech Anhui and RESTORE lead on volume; DG Matrix and Torus Inc emerge as momentum players
The top of the ranking is anchored by established corporate filers, while new entrants identified by applicant-momentum analysis signal that the competitive set is still expanding.
NIO Tech Anhui Co Ltd
NIO Tech Anhui holds the top position with 12 patent records, concentrated in H02J (power supply and grid systems), B60L (EV propulsion), and H02J 50 (wireless power transfer), reflecting its vertically integrated EV-charging focus. Its technology profile aligns with its parent brand’s vehicle-charging ecosystem ambitions. Momentum data is not separately listed for this applicant in the evidence, so trajectory is characterized by its leading rank rather than a recent-window trend figure.
12 patent recordsDG Matrix
DG Matrix is flagged as a new entrant with 7 recent patent records, making it one of the most active momentum players in the dataset. Its technology focus is strongly concentrated in H02J 3 (grid systems) and H02M (power conversion — both H02M 1 and H02M 7), signalling a hardware-level power electronics strategy that differentiates it from software- and AI-oriented rivals. As a new entrant from a small prior base, its trajectory warrants monitoring.
7 patent records| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Torus Inc | 7 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches in AI, power conversion, and communications
Several IPC branches are present in the corpus but hold small shares relative to the dominant H02J class, suggesting areas where filing density is lower and where technically motivated entries could face less prior-art congestion.
G06N · AI and machine-learning models
G06N accounts for 13 patent records — roughly 5% of IPC-level records — despite AI-driven load forecasting, demand-response optimization, and vehicle-to-grid scheduling being active research topics. Torus Inc (new entrant) already combines H02J with G06N 20, demonstrating a plausible entry path. Engineers working on predictive charging algorithms or reinforcement-learning-based grid control would encounter relatively sparse prior art in this branch compared to core H02J filings.
Search this in Eureka →H04L · Digital information transmission and cybersecurity
H04L holds 10 patent records — approximately 4% of IPC-level records — even though secure, low-latency communication between charging stations, grid operators, and vehicles is a recognized system requirement. The branch is technically adjacent to both H02J grid management and G06Q billing/management applications, and the scarcity of H04L filings in this corpus points to an under-served area for applicants with strengths in EV-charging communication protocols or cybersecurity.
Search this in Eureka →How leading applicants differ by technology route
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | H02J 3 · Power supply & grid systems | H02J 7 · Power supply & grid systems | G06Q 50 · Business, commerce & admin data processing | B60L 53 · Electric vehicle propulsion | H02M 1 · Power conversion (AC/DC etc.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RESTORE | Strong · 15 | Absent | Emerging · 2 | Absent | Absent |
| NIO (NextEV USA Inc) | Absent | Strong · 12 | Absent | Emerging · 2 | Absent |
| Torus Inc | Strong · 7 | Absent | Strong · 5 | Absent | Absent |
| The Regents of the University of California | Strong · 2 | Strong · 3 | Absent | Strong · 2 | Absent |
| SR University | Strong · 3 | Absent | Strong · 3 | Absent | Absent |
| Oxto Ltd | Strong · 5 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The analysis covers 72 patent families in the smart grid management for EV charging space, drawn from a global multi-jurisdiction corpus.
NIO Tech Anhui Co Ltd holds the top position with 12 patent records among the ranked applicants, followed by RESTORE with 11 and Torus Inc with 8.
The United States is the leading filing jurisdiction, followed by India. Europe (EPO) and WIPO (PCT) each hold a smaller but meaningful share of filings.
H02J (power supply and grid systems) is the dominant IPC class by a wide margin. B60L (electric vehicle propulsion) and G06Q (business and commerce data processing) form the secondary tier.
Yes. The field is classified as Growth, with an 83% recent-window growth rate. Annual filing volumes in 2024 and 2025 are the highest recorded in the dataset, though 2025 and 2026 figures are understated by publication lag.
The most-cited works in the corpus address communications between vehicles and charging systems (75 citations), fast EV charging and distributed grid integration (69 citations), battery energy storage control systems (64 citations), and micro-grid energy management methods (34 citations).
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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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