Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine for Renewable Hydrogen Patents
Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine for Renewable Hydrogen Patent Landscape in 2026
This is a small, specialist field with 28 patent families in scope; Lone Gull Holdings Ltd leads with a meaningful share, and the United States is the dominant filing jurisdiction. The field peaked in 2019 and has since plateaued, with activity concentrated among individual inventors and a handful of small companies rather than large multinationals.
Lone Gull Holdings leads a fragmented, niche field
Lone Gull Holdings Ltd ranks first among all filers, holding 7 patent records. The next tier — Yount Michael H, Roe Justin C, Excipio Energy Inc, BI Nav Res & Dev, Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC, and University of Maine — each hold 3–4 patent records, producing a tightly clustered second tier.
The top five filers account for 42% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, indicating moderate concentration for so small a field. There is no single dominant player with an overwhelming share; the gap between the leader and the second tier is narrow in absolute terms.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lone Gull Holdings Ltd | 7 | |
| 2 | Michael H. Yount | 4 | |
| 3 | Justin C. Roe | 4 | |
| 4 | Excipio Energy Inc | 3 | |
| 5 | BI NAV RES & DEV | 3 | |
| 6 | Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC | 3 | |
| 7 | University of Maine | 3 | |
| 8 | Hassan M. Hassan | 2 | |
| 9 | Justin Clive Roe | 2 | |
| 10 | John Christopher Burtch | 2 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Marius D. Brebenel | 2 | |
| 12 | Fernando Magallanes-Rodriguez | 2 | |
| 13 | Michael Holden Yount | 2 | |
| 14 | Yang Yunfei | 1 | |
| 15 | Daniel W. Parmley Sr. | 1 | |
| 16 | Yang Botong | 1 | |
| 17 | China Three Gorges University | 1 | |
| 18 | Syneola | 1 | |
| 19 | National University of Malaysia | 1 | |
| 20 | Youngstown State University | 1 |
The leader’s position is built on marine-oriented hydraulic and naval vessel technology (F03B and B63B), rather than hydrogen electrolysis directly, suggesting the field integrates VAWT energy capture with offshore platforms rather than pure electrolysis systems. This creates openings for entrants focused on the electrochemical conversion side.
Filings from the most recent 18–24 months are subject to publication lag and are likely under-counted; the apparent softness in 2024–2025 should not be read as a definitive decline. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2019 spike, a plateau, and a technology mix anchored in wind and marine systems
The annual filing trend and technology composition charts together reveal a field that surged briefly, then settled into low-level activity, with wind turbine and marine engineering classes dominating over hydrogen-specific classes.
Annual filing trend
Filings jumped sharply to 10 records in 2019, fell back to low single digits through 2022, and have since recovered modestly toward 5–6 records in 2023–2024. The 2025–2026 values reflect publication lag and should be treated as provisional. The overall multi-year window shows modest positive activity, but annual volume has eased from the 2019 peak, consistent with a maturing, plateau-stage field.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
F03D (wind motors and turbines) accounts for the largest share of IPC classifications, reflecting the primary mechanical innovation in rotor and turbine design. F03B (hydraulic machines) and B63B (ships and marine vessels) together form a prominent secondary cluster, pointing to offshore and marine platform integration as a key sub-theme. C25B (electrolytic production of compounds, covering water electrolysis for hydrogen) and H02S (photovoltaic/solar) appear in smaller counts, showing that the electrochemical hydrogen production step and hybrid renewable integration remain relatively underrepresented.
↗ 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.
Vertical axis wind turbine guide and associated sy…
A system for utilizing wind generated by vehicles includes a vertical axis wind turbine and a plurality of guides configured to guide wind to the vertical axis wind turbine. The plurality of wind guides are aligned along a vehicle trajectory to capture more of the generated winds even after the vehicle has passed the turbine. (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Check valve turbine | 77 |
| 2 | Apparatus for production of hydrogen gas using win… | 54 |
| 3 | Cyclosail wind turbine | 53 |
| 4 | Pole-mountable wind turbine support system | 52 |
| 5 | Marine energy hybrid | 50 |
| 6 | Vertical axis wind turbine | 46 |
| 7 | Integrated offshore renewable energy floating plat… | 34 |
| 8 | Marine energy hybrid | 28 |
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 strategy
The field’s small size, plateau lifecycle, and fragmented applicant base create both constraints and entry points for R&D investors. The four structural dimensions below — maturity, concentration, collaboration, and geography — define the strategic context.
Plateau stage: foundational VAWT concepts established, hydrogen integration still sparse
The lifecycle evidence characterizes this field as mature, with annual filings plateaued near their peak following the 2019 spike. Core VAWT mechanical designs and offshore platform integration appear largely staked out by existing filers. The electrochemical hydrogen production interface (C25B) remains comparatively thin, suggesting that systems-level innovation connecting turbine output to electrolysis is not yet well covered.
Lifecycle: Mature / PlateauModerate concentration among small actors, no large-corporate dominant
The top five filers hold 42% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, but the absolute numbers are small — the leader holds 7 patent records, the next tier holds 3–4 each. Notably absent from the rankings are large energy, industrial gas, or aerospace corporations. This means the intellectual property terrain is not locked up by deep-pocketed incumbents, lowering defensive barriers for new entrants with credible technology.
Concentration: ModerateUniversity–national-lab collaboration is the only confirmed co-filing partnership
The only documented co-applicant relationship in the evidence is between University of Maine and Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC, who co-filed 3 patent records. This academic–research-institute pairing suggests the field is being advanced partly through publicly funded research rather than commercial R&D alliances. No corporate-to-corporate co-filing partnerships appear in the evidence, leaving the collaboration network thin.
Collaboration: ThinUS-centric filings with PCT reach; limited Asian coverage
The United States leads with 17 patent records, followed by WIPO PCT filings (13), the United Kingdom (7), and Europe via EPO (6). China holds only 2 records despite being a major VAWT market, and India holds 1. The PCT filings indicate some applicants are seeking broad international rights, but the thin Asian coverage represents a geographic gap in the prior-art landscape that could complicate freedom-to-operate analysis or, conversely, reduce barriers to entry in those markets.
Geography: US-ledGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| University of Maine | Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC | 3 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Lone Gull Holdings leads; University of Maine and Alliance for Sustainable Energy are new entrants to watch
The two largest filers diverge sharply in technology focus: Lone Gull Holdings concentrates on marine hydraulic and vessel engineering, while the University of Maine and Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC — entering as new entrants — anchor their filings in marine vessel platform structures, likely reflecting floating offshore wind-to-hydrogen research.
Lone Gull Holdings Ltd
Lone Gull Holdings Ltd holds 7 patent records, the largest position in this corpus. Their technology emphasis concentrates on F03B (hydraulic machines and engines) and B63B (ships and marine vessels), indicating a marine-platform-integrated approach to wind energy capture rather than a focus on the hydrogen generation step itself. No momentum trend data is available for this applicant in the evidence, so trajectory cannot be characterized.
patent records: 7University of Maine
University of Maine holds 3 patent records and is flagged as a new entrant based on recent filing activity, co-filing all records in partnership with Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC. Their technology focus is concentrated in B63B marine vessel subclasses, consistent with floating offshore wind platform research. The new-entrant designation suggests their position is still forming and warrants monitoring for follow-on filings.
patent records: 3| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| University of Maine | 3 | ▲ new entrant |
| Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC | 3 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches: electrolytic hydrogen production and grid integration
Several IPC branches adjacent to the dominant F03D wind turbine class appear with low counts, indicating areas where the intersection with VAWT technology is sparse. Two branches stand out for their technical relevance and low prior-art density.
C25B · Electrolytic production of compounds (water electrolysis for hydrogen)
C25B appears in only 6 patent records — the smallest count among the branches listed in the whitespace evidence alongside H02S. Given that green hydrogen production via electrolysis is the stated end-use of the overall system, the thin C25B coverage is structurally significant: patents that specifically claim the interface between VAWT power output and electrolyzer stack design, control, and efficiency are sparse. An entrant with expertise in proton-exchange-membrane or alkaline electrolysis could find limited blocking prior art at this intersection, though the small overall corpus means any freedom-to-operate analysis should be conducted carefully.
Search this in Eureka →H02J · Power supply and grid systems
H02J covers power conditioning, grid connection, and energy management systems, and appears in only 4 patent records in this corpus. For a VAWT-to-hydrogen system, the variable power output of a vertical-axis rotor requires sophisticated power electronics and buffering to feed a stable electrolyzer load — yet this systems integration layer is almost uncovered. Entrants with power electronics or energy management expertise could address a genuine technical gap, though the small corpus means the branch’s sparsity should be confirmed against broader VAWT and green-hydrogen power-electronics searches before concluding freedom to operate.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders differ by technology route: marine platforms vs. rotor design vs. hydrogen systems
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | F03D 9 · Wind motors (wind turbines) | F03D 3 · Wind motors (wind turbines) | F03B 13 · Hydraulic machines & engines | B63B 35 · Ships & marine vessels | F03D 13 · Wind motors (wind turbines) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lone Gull Holdings Ltd | Absent | Absent | Strong · 7 | Moderate · 2 | Moderate · 2 |
| Justin Clive Roe | Strong · 2 | Strong · 2 | Strong · 2 | Absent | Absent |
| Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC | Absent | Absent | Absent | Strong · 3 | Strong · 3 |
| University of Maine | Absent | Absent | Absent | Strong · 3 | Strong · 3 |
| Justin C. Roe | Strong · 2 | Absent | Strong · 3 | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The evidence identifies 28 patent families in scope globally for this technology intersection.
Lone Gull Holdings Ltd leads with 7 patent records, ahead of Yount Michael H, Roe Justin C, Excipio Energy Inc, BI Nav Res & Dev, Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC, and University of Maine, each holding 3–4 patent records.
The United States leads with 17 patent records, followed by WIPO PCT filings (13), the United Kingdom (7), Europe via EPO (6), and Canada (5). China holds 2 records and India holds 1.
The evidence characterizes the field as mature, with annual filings plateaued near their peak. The highest annual count was 10 records in 2019; subsequent years have remained in the low single digits to mid-single digits range.
One documented co-applicant collaboration appears in the evidence: University of Maine and Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC co-filed 3 patent records together, representing the field’s primary academic–national-lab partnership.
The electrolyzer interface (C25B — electrolytic production of compounds) and power systems integration (H02J — power supply and grid systems) are the most sparsely covered adjacent branches, with 6 and 4 patent records respectively, despite their direct relevance to a functional VAWT-to-hydrogen system.
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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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