VRFB Electrolyte Electrode Membrane Patent Landscape
The VRFB electrolyte, electrode, and membrane patent space is concentrated among Chinese public research institutes and their industry partners, with the Institute of Process Engineering (Chinese Academy of Sciences) and Beijing Zhongkaihongde Technology commanding the leading positions. The field is in a Growth stage, with recent three-year filing volumes well above the prior three-year window, though annual output has eased from its 2017 peak and the most recent years remain understated by publication lag.
Chinese research institutes dominate a concentrated but expanding field
The Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences ranks first among all filers, followed closely by Beijing Zhongkaihongde Technology and the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences — three entities that together anchor the top tier of this landscape.
The top five filers account for 36% of the combined patent records of the hundred largest filers, indicating a moderately concentrated field where a small cluster of Chinese public-research and commercial entities holds decisive positional advantage over a long tail of smaller participants.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 41 | |
| 2 | Beijing Zhongkaihongde Technology Co., Ltd. | 37 | |
| 3 | Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 22 | |
| 4 | Dalian Rongke Power Co., Ltd. | 18 | |
| 5 | HydraRedox Technology Holdings Co., Ltd. | 15 | |
| 6 | Lotte Chemical Corporation | 10 | |
| 7 | Suzhou Rongke Power Co., Ltd. | 8 | |
| 8 | Liaoning University | 8 | |
| 9 | Shenyang Hengjiu Antai Environmental Protection and Energy Saving Technology Co., Ltd. | 6 | |
| 10 | Imergy Power Systems | 6 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | LG Chem, Ltd. | 6 | |
| 12 | Hunan Yinfeng New Energy Co., Ltd. | 6 | |
| 13 | VRB Energy Inc. | 6 | |
| 14 | Korea Institute of Energy Research | 5 | |
| 15 | Hebei Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd. | 5 | |
| 16 | Toray Advanced Materials Korea Inc. | 5 | |
| 17 | Indian Institute of Technology | 4 | |
| 18 | Xuchang University | 4 | |
| 19 | China Electric Equipment Group Science and Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd. | 4 | |
| 20 | Storion Energy LLC | 4 |
The leadership of two Chinese Academy of Sciences institutes — Process Engineering and Dalian Chemical Physics — signals that fundamental materials research (electrolyte chemistry, membrane polymer design) remains the primary locus of innovation, with commercial spin-outs such as Dalian Rongke Power translating that research into applied filings.
Filing counts for the most recent 18–24 months are subject to publication lag and are likely understated; trend readings for 2024 and 2025 should be treated as floors rather than ceilings. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Multi-year growth with an H01M-dominated technology mix and sparse adjacent branches
Two lenses capture the field’s trajectory: the annual filing trend reveals the pace and rhythm of innovation activity, while the IPC class breakdown shows where technical effort is concentrated and where adjacent branches remain comparatively sparse.
Annual filing trend
Filing volume peaked in 2017, dipped through 2018–2021, then recovered sharply from 2022 onward. Recent-window growth is 160% above the prior three-year window, confirming a Growth lifecycle stage, though 2024–2026 counts are suppressed by publication lag and will revise upward.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H01M (batteries, cells, and fuel cells) overwhelmingly dominates the IPC mix, reflecting the core electrochemical focus of the corpus. Secondary branches — C01G (vanadium compounds), B82Y (nanotechnology applications), B01J (chemical and physical processes), and C25B (electrolytic production) — each represent small shares, marking them as under-served adjacent areas relative to the primary class.
↗ 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.
Method for preparing vanadium electrolyte for all-…
The application relates to battery materials, and particularly discloses a method for preparing vanadium electrolyte for an all-vanadium redox flow battery. An example method includes: heating high-purity vanadium pentoxide, and reducing the high-purity vanadium pentoxide by using a reducing gas to obtain a low-valence vanadium oxide; mixing low-valence… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Efficient energy storage systems using vanadium re… | 114 |
| 2 | Carbon electrode material for vanadium redox flow … | 98 |
| 3 | 一种化学与电化学结合制钒液流电池电解液的方法 | 49 |
| 4 | Electrochemical balance in a vanadium flow battery | 35 |
| 5 | 储能液流电池用氧化石墨烯修饰的电极材料 | 33 |
| 6 | Method of manufacturing electrolyte for vanadium r… | 32 |
| 7 | 一种双功能负极及其作为全钒液流电池负极的应用 | 30 |
| 8 | 一种3.5价钒电解液的电化学制备方法 | 29 |
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 VRFB materials R&D strategy
The combination of concentrated leadership, active institute-industry collaboration, and sparse adjacent branches shapes both the risk and opportunity profile for new entrants and incumbents alike. The four structural dimensions below summarize the key strategic reads.
Growth stage — multi-year expansion with post-2017 rhythm shift
The field carries a Growth lifecycle label: recent three-year filing volume is 160% above the prior three-year window. Annual output peaked in 2017, eased through 2018–2021, then recovered from 2022 onward. New entrants continue to appear in the momentum data, suggesting the field is still attracting first-time filers rather than consolidating solely around incumbents.
Lifecycle: GrowthTop five filers hold 36% share among the hundred largest — moderate concentration
With the top five filers holding 36% of the combined patent records of the hundred largest filers, the field is moderately concentrated rather than oligopolistic. The leading pair — Institute of Process Engineering CAS and Beijing Zhongkaihongde Technology — are closely matched, suggesting their joint-filing relationship (37 co-filings) is the structural backbone of the top tier. A long tail of smaller filers provides diversity but limited competitive pressure on the leaders.
Concentration: ModerateInstitute–industry co-filing is the dominant R&D model
The most active co-filing pair is the Institute of Process Engineering CAS and Beijing Zhongkaihongde Technology, with 37 joint filings — by far the largest collaboration in the corpus. The Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics CAS co-files with three separate industry partners: Dalian Rongke Power (7 filings), Dalian Aoshenglong New Materials (4 filings), and Kaifeng Times New Energy Technology (3 filings). This pattern of state-research institutes anchoring multiple industry partnerships is the defining structural feature of this ecosystem.
Collaboration: Institute-ledChina leads filings; US, Europe, and Korea are secondary prosecution markets
China accounts for the largest share of patent records at the jurisdiction level, reflecting both the home-market filing strategies of dominant Chinese filers and the concentration of production-scale VRFB deployment in China. The United States and Europe (EPO) are the next most active jurisdictions, followed by South Korea and Australia — indicating that commercially significant VRFB markets are being defended by at least some applicants through international prosecution. WIPO PCT filings provide a pathway for families seeking broader geographic coverage.
Geography: China-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 |
|---|---|---|
| Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences | Beijing Zhongkaihongde Technology Co., Ltd. | 37 |
| Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences | Dalian Rongke Power Co., Ltd. | 7 |
| Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences | Dalian Aoshenglong New Materials Co., Ltd. | 4 |
| Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences | Kaifeng Times New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 3 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Institute of Process Engineering CAS leads; Dalian CAS affiliates are active new entrants
The ranking is led by two closely allied Chinese entities whose joint-filing relationship makes their combined position substantially larger than either holds individually. A second CAS institute and its commercial partner represent the most active momentum entrants in the recent window.
Institute of Process Engineering, CAS
The top-ranked filer with 41 patent records, concentrating overwhelmingly on H01M (fuel cells and batteries), with secondary activity in B01J (chemical and physical processes) and C01G (vanadium compounds). Its 37-filing joint portfolio with Beijing Zhongkaihongde Technology makes the pair effectively the dominant bloc in the corpus. No recent momentum trend is flagged for this entity, consistent with an established incumbent position.
families: 41Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, CAS
Ranked third overall with 22 patent records, the Dalian institute is flagged as a new entrant in the recent momentum window, having logged 4 recent filings after a minimal prior-period presence. Its technology focus spans H01M, H01M4 (electrode materials), and C08G73 (condensation polymers for membrane materials), giving it a broader materials-science footprint than the leader. Its industry co-filing relationships with Dalian Rongke Power, Dalian Aoshenglong New Materials, and Kaifeng Times New Energy Technology amplify its translational reach.
families: 22| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 4 | ▲ new entrant |
| Dalian Rongke Power Co., Ltd. | 3 | ▲ new entrant |
| Liaoning University | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Lotte Chemical Corporation | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Suzhou Rongke Power Co., Ltd. | 7 | ▲ new entrant |
| Shenyang Hengjiu Antai Environmental Protection and Energy Saving Technology Co., Ltd. | 6 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served IPC branches adjacent to the dominant H01M core
Several IPC classes appear at low record counts relative to the dominant H01M class, marking them as branches where the patent density is sparse. Two stand out for their plausible technical relevance to VRFB component innovation and realistic entry paths for materials-focused teams.
B82Y · Nanotechnology applications in VRFB components
With only 15 patent records, nanotechnology applications remain a sparse branch despite clear technical relevance: nanomaterial-enhanced carbon electrodes, graphene-modified membranes, and nanostructured electrocatalysts are all active research directions in the academic literature. The small existing corpus means freedom-to-operate is comparatively open, and a team with nanocarbon or 2D-material expertise could establish a differentiated position. Entry plausibility is high for electrode-surface-modification work building on the cited graphene-oxide electrode patents already in the top-cited list.
Search this in Eureka →C25B · Electrolytic production of vanadium electrolyte compounds
C25B holds 11 patent records, a sparse count for a branch directly relevant to electrolyte manufacturing — specifically electrochemical preparation of mixed-valence vanadium solutions. The top-cited corpus already includes a patent on electrochemical preparation of 3.5-valence vanadium electrolyte, confirming technical adjacency. Low filing density in this branch suggests that electrolyte synthesis process innovation (as opposed to cell-level performance) is an under-explored angle, with a plausible entry path for chemical process engineers targeting cost-reduction in electrolyte production.
Search this in Eureka →Frequently asked questions
The corpus in scope contains 252 patent families spanning electrolyte chemistry, electrode materials, and ion-exchange membrane design for vanadium redox flow batteries.
The Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences ranks first with 41 patent records. It files extensively in joint partnership with Beijing Zhongkaihongde Technology, making their combined portfolio the dominant bloc in the landscape.
The field is in a Growth lifecycle stage: recent three-year filing volume is 160% above the prior three-year window on a multi-year basis. Annual volume peaked in 2017 and eased through 2018–2021 before recovering from 2022 onward. The most recent years (2024–2026) are understated due to publication lag.
China records the highest volume of patent records at the jurisdiction level, followed by the United States, Europe (EPO), South Korea, and Australia. WIPO PCT filings represent families seeking broader international coverage.
The most-cited work covers efficient energy storage using vanadium redox systems (114 citations) and carbon electrode materials for vanadium redox flow batteries (98 citations). Additional highly cited patents address electrochemical electrolyte preparation methods and graphene-oxide-modified electrode materials.
The sparsest adjacent branches relative to the dominant H01M core are B82Y (nanotechnology applications, 15 records), B01J (chemical and physical processes, 14 records), C25B (electrolytic production of vanadium compounds, 11 records), and C08G (condensation polymers for membranes, 6 records). Nanotechnology-enhanced electrodes and electrochemical electrolyte synthesis stand out for their combination of low filing density and clear technical relevance.
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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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