Solid-State Transformer for Marine Power Patent Landscape
Solid-State Transformer for Marine Power Patent Landscape in 2026
The solid-state transformer for marine power patent space comprises just 12 patent families, dominated almost entirely by GE-affiliated entities and EPFL, making it one of the most concentrated emerging niches in marine power electronics. Activity peaked in 2020–2021 and has since eased, signalling that the foundational IP layer is largely set but the field remains early-stage and open to new technical entrants.
GE and EPFL together hold the entire top tier of a 12-family corpus
With only 12 patent families in scope, solid-state transformers for marine power is a nascent field. GE Energy Power Conversion Technology Ltd (GB) leads with 7 patent families, followed by EPFL with 4, and General Electric Co with 1, accounting for the complete top-100 ranked applicant pool.
The top five filers account for 100% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total — an extreme concentration level that leaves virtually no independent mid-tier. There is no second tier: the three ranked applicants hold all activity.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GE Energy Power Conversion Technology Ltd (GB) | 7 | |
| 2 | École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) | 4 | |
| 3 | General Electric Company | 1 |
GE’s dominance, spread across its power-conversion and marine-electrification subsidiaries, implies that any challenger entering this space will compete directly against an integrated IP portfolio covering core AC/DC conversion architectures relevant to shipboard distribution.
Filing counts for 2023 onward reflect publication lag and likely understate true recent activity; the apparent absence of filings after 2022 should not be read as a cessation of R&D. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Activity peaked in 2020–2021 across a single dominant technology class
The filing trend and technology composition charts together reveal a field that mobilised quickly around 2020 and has since settled, with all activity concentrated in one IPC branch.
Annual filing trend
Filings were negligible before 2020, surged to 5 families each in 2020 and 2021, then fell to 2 in 2022 and zero thereafter in the recorded data. The post-2022 zeros reflect publication lag rather than confirmed inactivity; the overall multi-year window still shows a meaningful build-up from a zero baseline, though annual volume has eased from its 2020–2021 peak.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
All 12 patent families fall within H02M (Power Conversion — AC/DC), with no recorded coverage of adjacent classes such as propulsion control, grid interconnection standards, or fault-protection schemes. This single-class concentration reflects the field’s focus on core converter topology rather than system-level integration.
↗ 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.
Multiple-Switch Types Hybrid PEBB Power Converter
A multi-switch types hybrid power electronics build block (MST HPEBB) least replaceable unit converter employs a first low voltage side (for example, 1000 volt power switches) and a second high voltage side (for example, 3000 volt power switches). The MST HPEBB LRU employs multiple bridge converters connected in series and/or in parallel, and coupled in… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Multiple-Switch Types Hybrid PEBB Power Converter | 15 |
| 2 | Power electronics building blocks (PEBBS) with enh… | 2 |
| 3 | A DC/DC converter and a method for operating a DC/… | 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 IP structure means for R&D investment decisions
A 12-family corpus with a single technology class and two dominant filers creates a clear strategic picture: the core converter IP is largely claimed, but system-level and integration layers remain open.
Field in decline from a 2020–2021 surge
The lifecycle stage is assessed as Decline: annual filings eased back from the 2020 peak, and the multi-year recent-window growth is negative at –80%. The field mobilised rapidly around 2020, likely driven by marine electrification programmes, but foundational converter topologies appear largely codified. New entrants should expect to innovate at the system-integration or application-specific layer rather than in basic H02M converter architectures.
Lifecycle: DeclineExtreme top-tier lock by GE entities and EPFL
The top five filers account for 100% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total across only three ranked applicants. GE’s 7 patent families and EPFL’s 4 leave no mid-tier. Any organisation entering without a differentiated technical angle risks building directly on or around GE’s core conversion portfolio, requiring careful freedom-to-operate analysis before prototyping.
High concentrationCo-filing links GE entities internally, not with external partners
The most active co-filing relationships recorded are between General Electric Co and GE Energy Power Conversion Technology Ltd (GB), and between GE Energy Power Conversion Technology Ltd (GB) and GE Energy Power Conversion Tech Limited — each pairing sharing 2 co-filed families. These are intra-GE relationships rather than cross-industry alliances. EPFL appears to file independently. No university–industry or shipbuilder–technology-firm collaborations are evidenced in this corpus.
Intra-GE co-filingEurope and the United States lead; Asia absent
Patent records are most concentrated in Europe (EPO) and the United States, with 4 records each, followed by Australia and WIPO (PCT) with 2 each. The absence of filings in major Asian shipbuilding jurisdictions — notably South Korea, Japan, and China — is a notable gap given those nations’ dominant share of global vessel construction. This may represent either a deliberate geographic strategy by GE or an unprotected window for regional entrants.
Europe & US focusGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| General Electric Company | GE Energy Power Conversion Technology Ltd (GB) | 2 |
| General Electric Company | GE ENERGY POWER CONVERSION TECH LIMITEDU | 2 |
| GE Energy Power Conversion Technology Ltd (GB) | GE ENERGY POWER CONVERSION TECH LIMITEDU | 2 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
GE Energy Power Conversion leads; EPFL holds a distinct academic position
Two entities define the competitive landscape: a GE industrial cluster with the deepest converter-topology portfolio, and EPFL as an independent academic filer with a complementary H02M focus.
GE Energy Power Conversion Technology Ltd (GB)
Holds 7 patent families, the largest share in this corpus, with technology emphasis spread across H02M3 (DC/DC conversion) and H02M7 (AC/DC rectifier and inverter topologies). The GE industrial cluster — including General Electric Co and GE Energy Power Conversion Tech Limited as co-filers — shows a recent entrant trajectory, meaning filings concentrated in the recent window, suggesting the portfolio was built deliberately and rapidly around the 2020 marine electrification wave.
families: 7EPFL
Holds 4 patent families, with technology focus split evenly between H02M1 (general conversion circuits and components) and H02M3 (DC/DC converters), reflecting an academic research orientation toward fundamental converter design rather than application-specific marine integration. EPFL files independently with no recorded co-filing relationships in this corpus, positioning it as a potential licensing or collaboration partner for industrial entrants seeking foundational IP.
families: 4| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| General Electric Company | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| GE Energy Power Conversion Technology Ltd (GB) | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| GE ENERGY POWER CONVERSION TECH LIMITEDU | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served IPC branches adjacent to the dominant H02M core
All 12 families sit within H02M, leaving several technically relevant adjacent classes with no recorded coverage. These are observations of relative sparsity and are flagged here for engineering awareness, not as validated commercial opportunities.
H02J · Power distribution and grid management for shipboard networks
H02J covers electrical power supply and distribution networks — directly relevant to the integration of solid-state transformers into shipboard medium-voltage DC or zonal distribution architectures. No patent families in this corpus address grid-management or power-routing logic at the ship-system level. Engineers working on real-time load balancing, fault isolation, or DC zonal control for electrified vessels could find this an open technical area, though the small corpus size means absence of evidence should not be conflated with absence of broader H02J marine filings outside this specific search.
Search this in Eureka →H02P · Motor drive and propulsion control integration
H02P covers control of electric motors and drives, which are the primary load for marine solid-state transformers in propulsion applications. No families in scope bridge the converter topology (H02M) with propulsion drive control (H02P), leaving the interface between the transformer output and the propulsion inverter as an unaddressed integration layer in this corpus. Organisations with competencies in variable-speed drives for marine thrusters could explore this junction, keeping in mind that the small corpus may not represent the full state of broader marine drive IP.
Search this in Eureka →How GE and EPFL differ by technology sub-class emphasis
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | H02M 3 · Power conversion (AC/DC etc.) | H02M 1 · Power conversion (AC/DC etc.) | H02M 7 · Power conversion (AC/DC etc.) | H02M 5 · Power conversion (AC/DC etc.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Electric Company | Strong · 8 | Emerging · 1 | Moderate · 3 | Emerging · 1 |
| École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) | Strong · 4 | Strong · 4 | Absent | Absent |
| GE Energy Power Conversion Technology Ltd | Strong · 2 | Absent | Moderate · 1 | Absent |
| GE Energy Power Conversion Technology Ltd (GB) | Strong · 2 | Absent | Moderate · 1 | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus contains 12 patent families, making this a very small and nascent technology field with a defined, identifiable set of filers.
GE Energy Power Conversion Technology Ltd (GB) leads with 7 patent families. EPFL follows with 4, and General Electric Co holds 1, completing the full ranked applicant list.
Annual filing activity peaked in 2020 and 2021, with 5 patent families recorded in each of those years. Activity fell to 2 in 2022, and recorded filings are zero from 2023 onward — though this partly reflects publication lag and should not be read as confirmed inactivity.
Patent records appear in Europe (EPO) and the United States (4 records each), Australia and WIPO (PCT) (2 records each). Major Asian shipbuilding jurisdictions such as South Korea, Japan, and China are not represented in this corpus.
All 12 patent families are classified under H02M (Power Conversion — AC/DC), with sub-class emphasis on H02M3 (DC/DC converters) across GE entities and EPFL, and additional GE coverage in H02M7 (AC/DC rectifiers and inverters). No families address system-level integration classes such as H02J or H02P.
The most-cited work identified in the evidence is a patent titled ‘Multiple-Switch Types Hybrid PEBB Power Converter’ with 15 citations, followed by a patent on ‘Power electronics building blocks (PEBBs) with enhanced…’ at 2 citations, and a DC/DC converter method patent at 1 citation. Patent numbers were not provided in the evidence for these titles.
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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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