Solid-State Battery Formation Patent Landscape 2026
Solid-state battery formation IP is highly concentrated, with Toyota Motor Corporation holding the largest position among 1,289 patent families in scope, though LG Energy Solution is closing the gap rapidly. The field has plateaued near its peak annual volume, signalling a maturing but still intensely contested space where process and materials differentiation will determine leadership.
Toyota leads a tightly held field, but LG Energy Solution is the fastest-rising challenger
Toyota Motor Corporation ranks first among all applicants, followed by LG Energy Solution in second place and Murata Manufacturing in third. The top five filers together account for 42% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, indicating a concentrated but not monopolistic competitive structure.
A clear tier gap separates Toyota and LG Energy Solution from the rest of the field. Hyundai Motor and Samsung SDI anchor a second tier, while a long tail of specialists, startups, and universities fills positions further down the ranking.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toyota Motor Corporation | 207 | |
| 2 | LG Energy Solution | 184 | |
| 3 | Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | 76 | |
| 4 | Hyundai Motor Company | 60 | |
| 5 | Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. | 37 | |
| 6 | Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc. | 36 | |
| 7 | I-TEN | 28 | |
| 8 | National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) | 26 | |
| 9 | Honda Motor Co., Ltd. | 24 | |
| 10 | Terawatt Technology, Inc. | 23 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Regents of the University of California | 23 | |
| 12 | Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. | 22 | |
| 13 | Hitachi Zosen Corporation | 22 | |
| 14 | Maxell, Ltd. | 21 | |
| 15 | Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd. | 21 | |
| 16 | Solid Power Operating, Inc. | 19 | |
| 17 | GS Yuasa International Ltd. | 17 | |
| 18 | The Japan Steel Works, Ltd. | 17 | |
| 19 | Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. | 17 | |
| 20 | Ensurge Micropower ASA | 17 |
The leaders’ scale implies deep freedom-to-operate constraints for new entrants in core cell-assembly and electrode-formation routes. Challengers seeking differentiation will need to identify sub-routes where incumbent density is lower.
Filing counts for 2025 and 2026 are materially under-counted due to the standard 18-month patent publication lag and should not be interpreted as a slowdown. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Annual volume has plateaued near its 2024 peak; H01M dominates but adjacent materials classes are growing
Two views illuminate the field’s trajectory: the annual filing trend reveals a maturing activity curve, while the technology composition chart shows how heavily the corpus is anchored in core battery electrochemistry versus adjacent enabling sciences.
Annual filing trend
Filings climbed sharply from 2017 through 2019, then held broadly stable through 2021 before moderating. The 2024 data point represents the most recent fully published cohort and sits near the multi-year high. 2025 and 2026 counts are suppressed by publication lag and do not reflect true activity levels.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01M (batteries, cells, and fuel cells) dominates the technology mix by a wide margin, reflecting the field’s tight focus on electrochemical cell design and manufacturing. Adjacent classes — including C01B (non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds), H01B (conductors and insulators), and C01G (compounds of other metals) — each hold small but non-trivial shares, pointing to active but sparse work on solid electrolyte materials chemistry and current-collector engineering.
↗ 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.
Adhesive film for metal terminal of all-solid-stat…
An adhesive film for a metal terminal of an all-solid-state battery effectively inhibits hydrogen sulfide generated inside an all-solid-state battery containing a sulfide solid electrolyte material from leaking outside. An adhesive film for a metal terminal of an all-solid-state battery, which is to be interposed between a metal terminal electrically… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Integrated thin film batteries on silicon integrat… | 145 |
| 2 | Solid-state battery and method for manufacturing e… | 90 |
| 3 | Solid-state battery and methods of fabrication | 65 |
| 4 | Anodeless coating layer for all-solid-state batter… | 64 |
| 5 | Solid-state battery-powered devices and manufactur… | 60 |
| 6 | Electrolyte for a solid-state battery | 56 |
| 7 | Solid-state battery | 55 |
| 8 | All solid-state battery and method of manufacturin… | 55 |
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 high concentration, a maturing filing curve, active cross-sector collaboration, and US-led jurisdictional coverage shapes where incremental IP investment will generate the most defensible return.
Field has plateaued near peak — process differentiation now matters more than volume
The lifecycle evidence places solid-state battery formation at a Maturity stage, with annual filings having plateaued near their peak. This means foundational cell-assembly claims are largely staked; R&D teams should focus on process-level differentiation — formation cycling protocols, pressure management, and interface engineering — rather than broad claims that will face dense prior art.
Lifecycle: MaturityTop five hold 42% of the hundred largest filers’ total — entry requires a targeted niche
Toyota Motor Corporation and LG Energy Solution together dominate the first tier, with Murata Manufacturing, Hyundai Motor, and Samsung SDI forming a second tier. The concentration level makes broad freedom-to-operate filings expensive and risky; new entrants and smaller players are better positioned by targeting specific sub-processes or materials routes where incumbent density is lower.
High concentrationIndustry-university partnerships are structurally important, especially in Korea and Japan
The most active co-filing pair is Hyundai Motor Corporation and Kia Corporation with 51 joint families, reflecting a tightly integrated OEM strategy. Mitsubishi Gas Chemical and Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology co-filed 22 families, and LG Energy Solution co-filed 14 families with the Regents of the University of California — a notable industry-academia bridge. Teams planning collaborative R&D should be aware that these alliances already cover significant ground in their respective sub-fields.
Collaborative ecosystemUS is the primary protection market; Europe and China are secondary but strategic
The United States is the leading jurisdiction by a substantial margin, followed by Europe (EPO) and then China and WIPO (PCT) at comparable levels. Japan, despite housing multiple top applicants, shows relatively few domestic filings in this corpus, suggesting those applicants prioritise export-market protection. R&D teams should ensure US prosecution is robust and treat EPO and China filings as essential second-tier coverage.
US-led, global reachGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hyundai Motor Corporation | Kia Corporation | 51 |
| Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc. | National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) | 22 |
| LG Energy Solution | Regents of the University of California | 14 |
| Toyota Motor Corporation | Panasonic Corporation | 13 |
| Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc. | Tohoku Techno Arch Co., Ltd. | 13 |
| Hyundai Motor Corporation | 汉阳大学校产学协力团 | 7 |
| Kia Corporation | 汉阳大学校产学协力团 | 7 |
| Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | Ouchi Baitaro | 5 |
| Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | Hayashi Koji | 4 |
| Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | Yoshioka Mitsuru | 4 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Toyota holds the largest position; LG Energy Solution is the fastest-accelerating challenger
The two dominant players differ in trajectory: Toyota’s filing rate has moderated recently while LG Energy Solution has grown sharply, narrowing the gap. Both concentrate their work in the H01M battery class, making sub-class and process-level differentiation the primary battleground.
Toyota Motor Corporation
Toyota holds the largest portfolio with 207 patent families, concentrated almost entirely in H01M battery and electrode sub-classes. Recent momentum shows a trend of –19% versus the prior period, suggesting the company is consolidating its existing position rather than expanding breadth. Its scale creates significant prior-art density across core solid-state cell assembly routes.
families: 207LG Energy Solution
LG Energy Solution ranks second with 184 patent families and is the fastest-growing major filer, with recent activity up +65% versus the prior period. Its technology focus mirrors Toyota’s in H01M sub-classes but its collaboration with the Regents of the University of California (14 co-filed families) adds an academic materials-science dimension that distinguishes its pipeline.
families: 184| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Toyota Motor Corporation | 55 | ▼ -19% |
| LG Energy Solution | 84 | ▲ +65% |
| Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | 26 | ▼ -37% |
| Hyundai Motor Corporation | 20 | ▼ -26% |
| Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. | 11 | ▲ new entrant |
| Hitachi Zosen Corporation | 5 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served adjacent branches in inorganic materials and conductor engineering
Outside the dominant H01M core, several IPC classes show low filing density relative to their technical relevance to solid-state battery formation, representing areas where the prior-art landscape is comparatively open.
C01B · Non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds
This branch holds only 45 patent records and a 2% share of the technology mix, yet non-metallic inorganic compounds — including sulfide and oxide solid electrolyte precursors — are foundational to formation-process outcomes. The sparse coverage relative to the field’s size suggests that upstream synthesis and purification routes for electrolyte precursors remain an open area. Teams with chemistry expertise in inorganic synthesis may find viable entry points here with lower incumbent density than in core H01M sub-classes.
Search this in Eureka →H01B · Cables, conductors and insulators
H01B accounts for 30 patent records and a 2% share, reflecting limited IP activity around current-collector design, ionic conductor packaging, and insulating interlayer engineering in solid-state cells. As formation processes increasingly require precise control of interfacial conductivity and mechanical stack integrity, conductor and insulator engineering becomes technically relevant. The low incumbent count makes this an adjacent branch worth monitoring for differentiated filings.
Search this in Eureka →How leading applicants differ in their technology-route emphasis
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | H01M 10 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | H01M 4 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | H01M 50 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | H01M 2 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | H01M 6 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota Motor Corporation | Strong · 202 | Strong · 137 | Emerging · 20 | Emerging · 7 | Emerging · 9 |
| LG Energy Solution | Strong · 151 | Strong · 92 | Moderate · 33 | Absent | Absent |
| Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | Strong · 76 | Strong · 40 | Strong · 39 | Emerging · 11 | Emerging · 3 |
| Hyundai Motor Corporation | Strong · 58 | Strong · 42 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| LG Chem, Ltd. | Strong · 42 | Strong · 23 | Moderate · 10 | Emerging · 2 | Absent |
| Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc. | Strong · 36 | Strong · 35 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 1,289 patent families in scope across a global multi-year window. The United States is the leading jurisdiction for protection filings, followed by Europe (EPO), China, and WIPO (PCT).
Toyota Motor Corporation leads with 207 patent families, followed by LG Energy Solution with 184 patent families and Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. with 76 patent families. The top five filers collectively account for 42% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total.
Among major filers, LG Energy Solution shows the strongest recent momentum with a +65% increase in filings versus the prior comparable period. Samsung SDI and Hitachi Zosen Corporation are both flagged as new entrants in the most recent window, indicating fresh strategic interest.
The evidence places the field at a Maturity stage, with annual filings having plateaued near their peak. This indicates that broad foundational claims are largely established and competitive differentiation is shifting toward process-specific and materials-specific innovations.
The most active co-filing partnership is Hyundai Motor Corporation and Kia Corporation with 51 jointly filed families. Other notable collaborations include Mitsubishi Gas Chemical with Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (22 families), and LG Energy Solution with the Regents of the University of California (14 families).
The IPC branches with the lowest filing density relative to their technical relevance are C01B (non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds, 45 records), H01B (cables, conductors, and insulators, 30 records), and C01G (compounds of other metals, 23 records). These branches sit adjacent to the dominant H01M core and represent areas where prior-art density is comparatively low.
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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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