Submarine Power Cables Patents: Top Companies & Filing Trends 2026
- 67.2% of all 195 records sit with just five assignees — this field is concentrated, not fragmented.
- Filing peaked in 2024 at 29 records then the trend is flat-to-declining through the midpoint year, not a steady climb.
- H01B insulation and conductor claims cover 64.6% of records while wind-turbine-specific classes (F03D) sit under 5%, pointing to a cable-first, turbine-adjacent filing pattern.
What this landscape covers
Submarine power cables carrying offshore wind generation to shore sit at the intersection of cable engineering and marine installation practice. The search scope tracked here centres on water treeing, insulation integrity, cable burial, dynamic cable behaviour, joints, repair and ampacity claims across submarine power cable, offshore export cable and subsea HVDC cable filings. It excludes turbine nacelle and generator patenting except where those claims intersect cable protection or installation.
195 published records fall inside this scope between 2015 and the 2026-07-31 cut-off. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the most recent year on any trend chart is understated and should be read as a floor, not a ceiling.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 195 records: how filing activity has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim weight.
Filing trend, 2017–2026
Filing rose to a peak of 29 records in 2024. The 2022 midpoint sits at 10 records, and the trajectory into the most recent partial year is flat or declining rather than accelerating — though the final year is undercounted by publication lag.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
H01B (cables, conductors and insulators) appears in 64.6% of the 195 records, and H02G (installing power and signal cables) in 32.8%. Marine and hydraulic classes — B63B, F03B, F16L — each sit in single digits, and wind-turbine-specific F03D appears in only 4.1%, indicating claims cluster on the cable and its installation rather than the generation asset.
Shares are the percentage of the 195 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Submarine Power Cables for Offshore Wind with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about submarine power cables for offshore wind and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative filing and most-cited prior art
Rigid submarine power cable joint (US20240006865A1, NKT HV Cables AB, 2024-01-04)
A rigid submarine power cable joint including: an outer casing having a first axial end face and a second axial end face at an opposite axial end of the outer casing relative to the first axial end face, wherein the first axial end face includes a single opening configured to receive a multi-core dynamic submarine power cable, and wherein the second axial end face includes two openings, each configured to receive a respective single core submarine power cable.The claim structure splits a multi-core dynamic cable into two single-core legs inside one rigid joint housing — a transition geometry relevant to array cable and inter-array-to-export-cable connections.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CN200986832Y | 光电复合型海底电缆 | 33 |
| 2 | EP2241749A1 | An enhanced method of controlling the output of a hydroelectric turbine generator | 28 |
| 3 | US20200392946A1 | Self-aligning to wind facing floating platform supporting multi-wind turbines and solar for wind and solar po… | 26 |
| 4 | JP1999111071A | Submarine power cable | 26 |
| 5 | US20070237469A1 | Electric submarine power cable and system for direct electric heating | 25 |
| 6 | US4644097A | Armored submarine power cable | 22 |
| 7 | KR1020110100475A | Joint system of submarine power cable | 21 |
| 8 | US20120175877A1 | Enhanced method of controlling the output of a hydroelectric turbine generator | 21 |
| 9 | WO2019102434A1 | Self-aligning to wind facing floating platform supporting multi-wind turbines and solar for wind and solar po… | 20 |
| 10 | EP3514488A1 | Method for monitoring a burial depth of a submarine power cable | 19 |
Citation counts favour older filings in any searched corpus; treat them as a signal of influence within this dataset, not as a measure of current commercial importance.
Patent titles are shown in the language they were filed in, not translated, so that each record stays verifiable against the original filing — a translated title will not match in Eureka or in any national register. Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for filing strategy
Three read-throughs from the concentration, trend and classification data above.
Filing sits with a small group, not a long tail
The top 5 assignees combined account for 67.2% of all 195 records in scope, and the top 10 reach 83.6%. A new entrant is filing into a field where core insulation, joint and installation claims are already densely held by a handful of cable manufacturers and grid operators.
Growth has plateaued, not accelerated
Filing rose from a low base to a peak of 29 records in 2024, with the 2022 midpoint at 10 records. That shape reads as a maturing wave of filing rather than an early-stage land grab — most of the leading assignees show no filings in the latest tracked year.
Claims cluster on the cable, not the turbine
H01B (cables, conductors and insulators) covers 64.6% of the 195 records and H02G (installation) 32.8%, while wind-turbine-specific F03D sits at just 4.1%. The commercially contested ground is the cable and its burial or joint hardware, not the generation asset it connects.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to submarine power cables for offshore wind, with the prior art for and against each one.
| Assignee | Co-assignee | Shared families |
|---|---|---|
| Zhuhai Kaluosi Engineering Consultant Co., Ltd. | WONG CARLOS | 8 |
| State Grid Corporation of China | State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Co., Ltd. Zhoushan Power Supply Company | 6 |
| State Grid Corporation of China | Zhoushan Qiming Electric Power Design Institute Co., Ltd. | 2 |
| State Grid Corporation of China | Zhejiang Zhoushan Marine Power Transmission Research Institute Co., Ltd. | 2 |
| State Grid Corporation of China | State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Co., Ltd. | 2 |
| State Grid Corporation of China | China Electric Power Research Institute Co., Ltd. | 2 |
| State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Co., Ltd. Zhoushan Power Supply Company | Zhoushan Qiming Electric Power Design Institute Co., Ltd. | 2 |
| State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Co., Ltd. Zhoushan Power Supply Company | Zhejiang Zhoushan Marine Power Transmission Research Institute Co., Ltd. | 2 |
Ten co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset; the strongest links group a Chinese engineering consultancy with an individual inventor, and a state grid parent with its regional and provincial subsidiaries — a pattern consistent with joint utility-side filing rather than cross-licensing between competitors.
Leading assignees and where the gaps sit
The ranked leaders span European cable manufacturers, Chinese state grid entities and specialist marine engineering firms. Filing counts run from 74 at the top down to single digits by the tenth-ranked assignee, then thin quickly across the remaining ranked companies.
One assignee sets the pace
The top-ranked assignee alone accounts for 74 of the 195 records in scope, well ahead of the field. That gap suggests a company with a long-running, systematic filing programme across cable design, joints and installation rather than opportunistic filing around single projects.
A tight band forms behind the leader
Filing counts drop from 74 at the top to 9 by fifth place, and to 5 by tenth place — a steep gradient rather than a gentle taper. Competitive attention for licensing or freedom-to-operate review should focus on the handful of assignees inside the top 10, which together hold 83.6% of all records.
Several top filers show no recent activity
A number of the highest-ranked assignees, including major European cable manufacturers, show zero filings in the most recent tracked year. Given the 18-month publication lag, this may reflect filings still in the pipeline rather than a genuine pause, but it is worth watching before assuming continued output at historical rates.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| NKT HV Cables AB | 0 | -100% |
| OpenHydro IP Limited | 0 | — |
| Nexans SA | 0 | — |
| Prysmian S.p.A. | 0 | — |
| Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Zhuhai Kaluosi Engineering Consultant Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| WONG CARLOS | 0 | — |
| State Grid Corporation of China | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a concentrated field with a plateauing filing rate and specific under-claimed geometries. The next step is turning that into a position for a specific project or portfolio.
Check freedom-to-operate on a specific joint or burial design
Run the exact geometry or material against the top 10 assignees' claim sets before committing to a design, given how much of the field they jointly hold.
Explore in Patsnap EurekaTrack the assignees showing zero recent filings
Confirm whether their pipeline has genuinely slowed or is simply delayed by publication lag before assuming an opening.
Monitor filings in Patsnap EurekaMap the under-claimed branches to your own roadmap
Dynamic cable fatigue monitoring and multi-core joint transitions carry lighter claim density than core insulation — worth a deeper novelty search before filing.
Search white space in Patsnap EurekaCommon questions on submarine power cable patenting
Filing in this field is concentrated: the top five assignees together account for 67.2% of all 195 records in scope, and the leading single assignee alone holds 74 records. The ranking includes European cable manufacturers, Chinese state grid entities and specialist marine engineering firms, with counts dropping sharply after the top ten. Anyone assessing freedom to operate should start with the top ten group, which together hold 83.6% of records, rather than treating the field as evenly spread.
Not clearly. Filing rose to a peak of 29 records in 2024 from a midpoint of 10 records in 2022, but the trajectory into the most recent tracked year is flat or declining rather than accelerating. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the final year in any dataset understates true activity, so this should be read cautiously rather than as confirmed decline. Several of the leading assignees show zero filings in the latest year, which is worth monitoring rather than treating as settled.
Most claims sit in cable and installation hardware rather than the wind turbine itself: H01B (cables, conductors and insulators) covers 64.6% of the 195 records and H02G (cable installation) covers 32.8%. Marine, hydraulic and wind-turbine-specific classes each appear in single-digit shares, with F03D (wind motors) at just 4.1%. This means the densest prior art sits around insulation, joint and burial claims, while turbine-adjacent integration claims are comparatively thin.
US20240006865A1, filed by NKT HV Cables AB and published 2024-01-04, claims a rigid submarine power cable joint with an outer casing that accepts a single multi-core dynamic cable on one face and splits into two single-core cable openings on the opposite face. It is a joint geometry specific to transitioning a multi-core dynamic cable into two single-core legs, which is relevant to array cable and export cable connection points. Anyone designing a similar transition joint should review this claim scope directly rather than assume it only covers full cable assemblies.
The technology composition data shows heavy claim density in core insulation (H01B) and installation (H02G), but comparatively thin coverage in areas like dynamic cable fatigue monitoring, multi-core-to-single-core joint transitions, and optical fibre co-location within power cores. These sit adjacent to the dense core rather than outside it, which typically means lower filing density but not necessarily easier novelty — a targeted prior-art search on the specific mechanism is still required before filing.
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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.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.