UHPC Structural System Patent Landscape 2026
The UHPC structural system patent space is highly concentrated, with Shanghai Tongji Architectural Engineering Design Co. holding a commanding lead backed by a deep collaboration with Tongji University. Activity peaked sharply in 2021 and has since eased, signalling a post-peak field where structural framing patents dominate and material-science adjacent branches remain sparsely contested.
One applicant commands the field; the top five hold four-fifths of the leading cohort
Shanghai Tongji Architectural Engineering Design Co. sits atop the ranking with 36 patent records, nearly four times the count of the next-ranked filer, Tongji University at 9 patent records. This gap is unusually wide for a technical domain, indicating that a single design house has deliberately built a concentrated portfolio around UHPC frame and connection systems.
The top five filers account for 81% of the combined total among the hundred largest filers, a concentration level that leaves little room for mid-tier challengers. Beyond the top two, every other ranked entity holds only a single patent record, confirming a two-tier structure with a steep drop-off after the leader pair.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shanghai Tongji Architectural Engineering Design Co., Ltd. | 36 | |
| 2 | Tongji University | 9 | |
| 3 | Chang’an University | 1 | |
| 4 | China Railway 20th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 5 | China Railway Construction Engineering Design Institute Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 6 | Beijing Tieke Building Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 7 | Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology | 1 | |
| 8 | Qingdao Qingjian New Material Group Co., Ltd. | 1 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Qingdao University of Technology | 1 | |
| 10 | Railway Construction Research Institute of China Academy of Railway Sciences Corp., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 11 | Qingdao Qingjian Blue Valley New Materials Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 12 | China Construction Eighth Engineering Division Corp., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 13 | Xinjiang Road and Bridge Nanjiang Engineering Construction Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 14 | China Academy of Railway Sciences Corp., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 15 | Zhonglu New Materials (Guangzhou) Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 16 | VEL TECH RANGARAJAN DR SAGUNTHALA R&D INST OF SCI … | 1 |
The dominant position of Shanghai Tongji Architectural Engineering Design Co., reinforced by its co-filing relationship with Tongji University, suggests that foundational structural system concepts — particularly prefabricated UHPC-connected frame systems — are already claimed and that new entrants must either design around or license these core architectures.
The most recent filing years (2024–2026) are subject to publication lag and likely under-represent actual recent activity; the apparent low volume in those years should not be read as a further drop in interest. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A single-year spike in 2021 defines the trend; structural building elements dominate the technology mix
The filing trend chart reveals an extraordinary concentration of activity in 2021, which corresponds to the bulk of Shanghai Tongji Architectural Engineering Design Co.’s portfolio. The technology composition chart shows that building structures, specialised structures, and structural components collectively occupy virtually the entire corpus, with materials-science branches trailing far behind.
Annual filing trend
The field recorded no filings before 2020, then surged to 36 patent records in 2021 — effectively the entire Shanghai Tongji portfolio filed in a single year. Filings dropped to near zero in 2022–2023, with modest activity resuming in 2024–2026; those recent years remain under-counted due to publication lag and should be interpreted cautiously.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
E04B (building structures and elements), E04H (specialised buildings and structures), and E04C (structural building components) each account for the large majority of patent records, reflecting that the corpus centres on system-level structural design rather than material formulation. C04B (ceramics, cement and refractories) and B28B (shaping clay and cement products) appear with minimal representation, marking them as adjacent and under-served branches.
↗ 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.
Innovative technique to construct a robust durable…
The invention is an innovative technique to construct a robust durable protection device for structures against dynamic loadings such as earthquakes, wind, or mechanical vibrations. The technique utilizes friction between a sliding material such as PTFE and Cementitious Material (CM) (not metal) to protect structures. The invention controls the surface… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一种预制超高性能混凝土护板及其制备方法 | 3 |
| 2 | 一种UHPC连接的后张缓粘结的共张预制预应力混凝土框架结构体系及其设计、施工方法 | 2 |
| 3 | 一种UHPC连接的预制混凝土框架结构体系及其设计、施工方法 | 2 |
| 4 | 一种UHPC连接的预制预应力混凝土框架结构体系及其设计、施工方法 | 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 competitive structure means for R&D investment decisions
The combination of post-peak lifecycle, extreme applicant concentration, active university-industry collaboration, and near-exclusive. China jurisdiction coverage shapes a distinctive risk-and-opportunity profile for any team considering entry into UHPC structural systems.
Post-peak field: foundational framing concepts largely staked
The lifecycle stage is characterised as Decline, with annual filings easing back from the 2021 peak. The core structural framing and prefabricated connection concepts that drove that peak are now filed and published, meaning freedom-to-operate analysis around E04B, E04C, and E04H classes should be a first step for any new entrant. R&D investment is most defensible in differentiated sub-applications or adjacent material branches not yet densely covered.
Post-Peak · 2021 apexTwo-tier market: one dominant owner, then a long tail of single-record filers
With the top five filers holding 81% of the leading cohort’s combined total, the field resembles a proprietary-platform dynamic more than an open innovation commons. Shanghai Tongji Architectural Engineering Design Co.’s 36 patent records versus every other entity’s single-digit counts means licensing or partnership with the leader may be a faster path to market than building an independent portfolio. Challengers with a single record each could be acquired or partnered with at relatively low cost.
High ConcentrationUniversity-industry co-filing is the dominant ecosystem pattern
The most active co-filing pair is Shanghai Tongji Architectural Engineering Design Co. and Tongji University, with 9 joint filings — the backbone of the leader’s portfolio. Secondary clusters include Qingdao Qingjian Blue Valley New Materials, Qingdao Qingjian New Material Group, and Qingdao University of Technology co-filing on materials. Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology collaborates with both China Railway 20th Bureau Group and China Railway Construction Engineering Design Institute, indicating that railway-sector entrants are pursuing structural applications through academic partnerships.
Industry-Academia ClustersChina-centric corpus with minimal international coverage
Forty-two of the patent records are filed in China, with one in India and one in the United States. This near-exclusive domestic filing strategy means that UHPC structural system intellectual property is largely unprotected outside China, creating potential freedom-to-operate for non-Chinese developers seeking to commercialise similar systems in North America, Europe, or Southeast Asia. International filing by any entrant in those markets would face limited direct prior-art obstacles in the structural-system framing space.
China-Dominant · Low Global CoverageGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Shanghai Tongji Architectural Engineering Design Co., Ltd. | Tongji University | 9 |
| Qingdao Qingjian Blue Valley New Materials Co., Ltd. | Qingdao Qingjian New Material Group Co., Ltd. | 1 |
| Qingdao Qingjian Blue Valley New Materials Co., Ltd. | Qingdao University of Technology | 1 |
| Qingdao Qingjian New Material Group Co., Ltd. | Qingdao University of Technology | 1 |
| Chang’an University | Xinjiang Road and Bridge Nanjiang Engineering Construction Co., Ltd. | 1 |
| Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology | China Railway Construction Engineering Design Institute Co., Ltd. | 1 |
| Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology | China Railway 20th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. | 1 |
| Beijing Tieke Building Technology Co., Ltd. | Railway Construction Research Institute of China Academy of Railway Sciences Corp., Ltd. | 1 |
| Beijing Tieke Building Technology Co., Ltd. | China Academy of Railway Sciences Corp., Ltd. | 1 |
| China Railway Construction Engineering Design Institute Co., Ltd. | China Railway 20th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Shanghai Tongji leads on structural framing; Tongji University anchors the academic tier
Two entities define the competitive frontier: a design firm with an unusually large single-institution portfolio and a top-tier university that co-developed much of that portfolio. All other ranked filers hold single records and several are new entrants.
Shanghai Tongji Architectural Engineering Design Co.
With 36 patent records concentrated across E04B (building structures), E04C (structural components), and E04H (specialised structures), this firm has built the closest thing to a proprietary platform in this field. The portfolio was filed almost entirely in 2021, co-developed with Tongji University, and covers prefabricated UHPC-connected frame and prestressed concrete frame systems. No momentum trend is provided for this applicant in the recent window, reflecting the post-peak filing pattern.
36 patent recordsTongji University
Tongji University holds 9 patent records, all in the same E04B, E04C, and E04H classes as the lead firm, consistent with its role as the academic co-filer behind the dominant portfolio. As a research institution it is positioned to generate new structural system variants, and its ongoing collaboration relationship with Shanghai Tongji Architectural Engineering Design Co. means future filings may again cluster. No recent-window momentum entry is recorded for Tongji University in the evidence.
9 patent records| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Qingdao Qingjian Blue Valley New Materials Co., Ltd. | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| Qingdao Qingjian New Material Group Co., Ltd. | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| Qingdao University of Technology | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| China Railway Construction Engineering Design Institute Co., Ltd. | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
Material formulation and fabrication process branches are sparse and adjacent
The two IPC classes with the lowest representation in the corpus — C04B and B28B — address UHPC mix design and manufacturing process respectively. Both are technically integral to any UHPC structural system yet remain nearly uncontested in this landscape.
C04B · Ceramics, cement and refractories (mix design)
With only 2 patent records and a share of 1% of the corpus, C04B covers the material formulation layer of UHPC — binder systems, pozzolanic additives, fibre-matrix chemistry — that underpins structural performance. The three Qingdao-cluster filers (Qingdao Qingjian Blue Valley New Materials, Qingdao Qingjian New Material Group, and Qingdao University of Technology) each hold a single record here and are the only new entrants active in this branch. For a team with materials science capability, this branch offers a plausible entry point that avoids the crowded structural-framing territory dominated by the Shanghai Tongji / Tongji University pair.
Search this in Eureka →B28B · Shaping clay and cement products (fabrication process)
With only 1 patent record, B28B — covering moulding, casting, and curing processes for cement-based products — is the least contested branch in the entire corpus. Beijing Tieke Building Technology Co. holds the single record here, focused on precast UHPC element shaping. Advances in automated or continuous casting, 3D printing of UHPC elements, or accelerated curing are technically relevant to improving prefabricated structural system throughput and remain largely uncharted in this landscape.
Search this in Eureka →Leaders differ sharply by technology route: structural framing vs. material formulation
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | E04B 1 · Building structures & elements | E04H 9 · Specialised buildings & structures | E04C 3 · Structural building components | E04G 21 · Scaffolding & formwork | C04B 28 · Ceramics, cement & refractories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shanghai Tongji Architectural Engineering Design Co., Ltd. | Strong · 36 | Strong · 36 | Strong · 36 | Moderate · 18 | Absent |
| Tongji University | Strong · 9 | Strong · 9 | Strong · 9 | Strong · 5 | Absent |
| Vel Tech Rangarajan Dr. Sagunthala R&D Institute of Science and Technology | Strong · 1 | Strong · 1 | Strong · 1 | Absent | Absent |
| China Construction Eighth Engineering Division Corp., Ltd. | Strong · 1 | Strong · 1 | Absent | Strong · 1 | Absent |
| Xinjiang Road and Bridge Nanjiang Engineering Construction Co., Ltd. | Strong · 1 | Absent | Strong · 1 | Strong · 1 | Absent |
| Chang’an University | Strong · 1 | Absent | Strong · 1 | Strong · 1 | Absent |
| China Railway 20th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. | Strong · 1 | Strong · 1 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The evidence covers 44 patent families in scope. The corpus is small relative to broader concrete construction fields, reflecting that UHPC structural systems as a defined sub-domain have attracted focused rather than broad patenting activity.
Shanghai Tongji Architectural Engineering Design Co. is the dominant filer with 36 patent records, roughly four times the count of the next-ranked entity, Tongji University at 9 patent records. Together they account for the large majority of meaningful activity in this field.
Annual filings peaked in 2021, driven almost entirely by the Shanghai Tongji portfolio filed that year. The lifecycle stage is characterised as Decline, with annual volume easing from that peak. Core structural framing concepts are now largely staked, and new entrants face a crowded prior-art environment in the dominant IPC classes.
China accounts for 42 of the patent records, with one record each in India and the United States. The near-exclusive China focus means that UHPC structural system intellectual property is largely unprotected in other major markets, potentially offering freedom-to-operate for developers in North America or Europe.
The most active co-filing relationship is between Shanghai Tongji Architectural Engineering Design Co. and Tongji University, with 9 joint filings. Secondary clusters include the Qingdao materials group (Qingdao Qingjian Blue Valley New Materials, Qingdao Qingjian New Material Group, and Qingdao University of Technology) and railway-sector pairings involving Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology with China Railway 20th Bureau Group and China Railway Construction Engineering Design Institute.
The C04B (ceramics, cement and refractories) branch holds only 2 patent records and the B28B (shaping clay and cement products) branch holds only 1 patent record, compared with over 38 records each in the dominant structural-system classes. Both material formulation and fabrication-process angles are sparsely filed and represent adjacent areas where new entrants with materials or manufacturing capabilities could pursue differentiated intellectual property.
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