Solid-State Battery Recycling Patent Landscape 2026
Solid-State Battery Recycling Patent Landscape in 2026
Solid-state battery recycling remains an extremely nascent patent space, with a small corpus highly concentrated among a handful of Chinese industrial filers and one US university. The field peaked in 2020 and activity has since eased, leaving broad technical territory open for differentiated R&D investment.
A handful of filers dominate an early-stage, highly concentrated field
The top five filers account for 91% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, signalling extreme concentration for a field this young. Jiangxi Ruida New Energy Tech and the Regents of the University of California share the leading position, each with 3 patent records, followed by Jiangxi University of Science and Technology with 2.
The tier gap between the top cluster and the remaining applicants is sharp: four of the six ranked filers hold only 1 patent record each. There is no established second tier — the field is effectively a two-node cluster flanked by isolated single-filing entrants.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jiangxi Ruida New Energy Tech Co., Ltd. | 3 | |
| 2 | Regents of the University of California | 3 | |
| 3 | JIANGXI UNIV OF SCI & TECH | 2 | |
| 4 | China Automotive Innovation Corp | 1 | |
| 5 | Jiangxi Longkai Pilot Platform Circular Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 6 | Shenzhen Jiecheng Nickel Cobalt New Energy Tech Co., Ltd. | 1 |
The leaders’ positions imply that recycling know-how currently sits primarily with a regional Chinese industrial ecosystem (Jiangxi province) and a single US academic institution. Neither position appears deeply entrenched given the small absolute counts, leaving room for well-resourced new entrants to build a comparable footprint quickly.
The most recent filing years are subject to publication lag and likely under-represent current activity; treat late-period counts as a lower bound rather than a ceiling. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2020 spike, a long quiet period, and a renewed pulse in 2025
The annual filing trend reveals an isolated burst in 2020, followed by near-zero activity through 2023, and a renewed uptick in 2025. The technology composition is anchored in battery chemistry but touches waste disposal, inorganic chemistry, and materials extraction.
Annual filing trend
Three filings appeared in 2020, representing the corpus’s first meaningful activity. Years 2021–2023 recorded zero filings. A single record appeared in 2024, four in 2025, and one in 2026 — though 2025 and 2026 counts should be treated as lower bounds due to publication lag. The pattern is consistent with a field in early, intermittent development rather than sustained momentum.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01M (batteries, cells and fuel cells) covers all 9 patent records, confirming that battery-level process claims dominate. B09B (solid waste disposal) appears in 4 records, reflecting end-of-life handling claims. Inorganic chemistry branches — C01B, C01G, and C01D — each cover 2–3 records, pointing to material-recovery chemistry. C22B (metal extraction and refining), B65G (conveying and material handling), B65H (web, sheet and filament handling), and C07C (acyclic and carbocyclic compounds) each appear in only 1–2 records, marking the sparse periphery of the current technology map.
↗ 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.
Recycling all solid state battery technology
In a method for recycling all solid-state batteries, spent battery cells are dissolved in anhydrous ethanol. The resulting solution is separated into solids and supernatants which are separately processed to regenerate the solid electrolyte and the solid electrode materials. The supernatant is subjected to vacuum evaporation to precipitate an electrolyte… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Recycling all solid-state battery technology | 11 |
| 2 | Recycling all solid state battery technology | 3 |
| 3 | 一种全固态电池的回收方法 | 1 |
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 and competitive strategy
With fewer than ten families in scope and a lifecycle reading of decline from a 2020 peak, the field offers more open territory than risk of blocking positions — but also limited prior art to build on.
Decline from a 2020 peak — not an established field
The lifecycle stage is classified as Decline, driven by annual filing volume easing back from the 2020 peak. This is not a maturing, crowded space; it is an area where early exploratory activity stalled. The 2025 uptick may signal renewed interest, but publication lag prevents a firm conclusion. Engineers entering now face sparse prior art, which cuts both ways: freedom to operate is relatively high, but there is little published process knowledge to build on.
Early / DecliningTop five filers hold 91% share among the hundred largest filers
The top five filers account for 91% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, an unusually high figure for a corpus of any size. In absolute terms the counts are tiny, so this concentration reflects a near-empty field rather than entrenched dominance. A single well-funded programme filing 5–10 families could immediately reorder the competitive ranking. The absence of large battery OEMs or major recyclers from the applicant list is a structural observation, not a validated gap.
Highly ConcentratedOne documented co-filing pair: Jiangxi Ruida and Jiangxi University of Science and Technology
Evidence shows a single collaboration link: Jiangxi Ruida New Energy Tech and Jiangxi University of Science and Technology have co-filed 2 patent records together. This industry–university pairing within the same province suggests that the Jiangxi ecosystem is developing recycling IP through coordinated academic-industrial effort. No other co-filing relationships appear in the evidence.
Limited Co-filingChina leads filing; US and PCT coverage is thin
China accounts for 6 of the patent records across jurisdictions, the United States for 2, and WIPO (PCT) for 1. The concentration of filing in China aligns with the Jiangxi-based applicant cluster and with China’s broader position in battery manufacturing. US coverage comes primarily from the University of California filings. PCT coverage is minimal, meaning most IP in this space has not been pursued internationally — another indicator of early-stage development.
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| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| Jiangxi Ruida New Energy Tech Co., Ltd. | Jiangxi University of Science and Technology | 2 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Jiangxi Ruida and UC Regents lead; China Automotive Innovation is a new entrant
Two applicants share the top position, each with 3 patent records, but with distinctly different technical emphases. A new institutional entrant appeared in the most recent period, signalling broadening interest.
Jiangxi Ruida New Energy Tech
Jiangxi Ruida New Energy Tech holds 3 patent records, focused primarily on H01M 10 (battery-level process claims), with secondary coverage in B09B 3 (solid waste disposal) and B65G 17 (conveying and material handling). Their filings reflect an end-to-end recycling process orientation — from battery disassembly through material handling — and were developed in collaboration with Jiangxi University of Science and Technology. No momentum trend data is available for this applicant in the evidence.
patent records: 3Regents of the University of California
The Regents of the University of California also hold 3 patent records, with a notably different technology mix: B09B 3 (solid waste disposal) and H01M 10 (battery-level processes) appear equally weighted at 3 records each, with additional coverage in C01B 25 (non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds). This academic applicant’s emphasis on inorganic chemistry suggests a materials-recovery research angle distinct from the process-engineering focus of the Jiangxi cluster. No momentum trend data is separately available for this applicant; China Automotive Innovation Corp is the only applicant flagged as a new entrant in the evidence.
patent records: 3| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| China Automotive Innovation Corp | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches in metal recovery and materials handling
Several IPC branches appear in only 1–2 patent records each, representing areas that are adjacent to the dominant battery chemistry work but where dedicated recycling IP is currently sparse. These are observations of relative sparsity; whether they represent viable entry points depends on technical fit and the specific recycling process being developed.
C22B · Metal Extraction and Refining
C22B (metal extraction and refining) appears in only 2 patent records, covering 8% of the corpus. Hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical recovery of lithium, cobalt, and other cathode metals from solid-state cells is a technically demanding step that differs from conventional lithium-ion recycling due to the absence of liquid electrolyte. The sparse coverage here suggests that specific metal-recovery process claims for solid-state chemistries have not yet been systematically filed, making this a potentially productive area for process-chemistry R&D investment.
Search this in Eureka →C07C · Acyclic and Carbocyclic Compounds
C07C (acyclic and carbocyclic compounds) appears in only 1 patent record at 4% of the corpus. In the context of solid-state battery recycling, this branch is likely relevant to solvent or reagent chemistry used in electrolyte or binder dissolution steps during disassembly. The near-absence of IP here may reflect that such chemistry is borrowed from conventional battery recycling without adaptation, or that practitioners have not yet isolated it as a distinct filing target. Researchers developing novel solvent systems for solid electrolyte separation could find this an open area.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders differ by technology route across the IPC branch map
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | H01M 10 · Batteries, cells & fuel cells | B09B 3 · Solid waste disposal | C01G 51 · Compounds of other metals | C01B 25 · Non-metallic elements & inorganic compounds | C01D 15 · Alkali-metal compounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regents of the University of California | Strong · 3 | Strong · 3 | Strong · 2 | Strong · 2 | Absent |
| Jiangxi Ruida New Energy Tech Co., Ltd. | Strong · 3 | Moderate · 1 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Jiangxi University of Science and Technology | Strong · 2 | Moderate · 1 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Shenzhen Jiecheng Nickel Cobalt New Energy Tech Co., Ltd. | Strong · 1 | Absent | Strong · 1 | Absent | Strong · 1 |
| China Automotive Innovation Corp | Strong · 1 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Strong · 1 |
| Jiangxi Longkai Pilot Platform Circular Technology Co., Ltd. | Strong · 1 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus in scope contains 9 patent families. This is an exceptionally small corpus, reflecting that solid-state battery recycling is still in early, exploratory stages of IP development globally.
Jiangxi Ruida New Energy Tech and the Regents of the University of California share the top position with 3 patent records each, followed by Jiangxi University of Science and Technology with 2 records. Four other applicants each hold 1 record.
China leads with 6 patent records across jurisdictions, followed by the United States with 2, and WIPO (PCT) with 1. The strong China weighting reflects the Jiangxi-province industrial cluster that dominates the applicant ranking.
The field is classified as Decline, with annual filing volume having eased back from a peak in 2020. A single record appeared in 2024 and four in 2025, but those recent-year counts are subject to publication lag and should be treated as lower bounds.
Yes — one co-filing relationship is evidenced: Jiangxi Ruida New Energy Tech and Jiangxi University of Science and Technology have co-filed 2 patent records, representing an industry–university collaboration within the Jiangxi provincial ecosystem. No other collaboration links appear in the evidence.
The sparsest IPC branches relative to the dominant H01M class are B65G (conveying and material handling), B65H (web, sheet and filament handling), and C07C (acyclic and carbocyclic compounds), each with only 1 patent record. C22B (metal extraction and refining) and C01D (alkali-metal compounds) each have 2 records. These represent areas where dedicated recycling IP has not yet been systematically developed.
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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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