Wind-Electric Hybrid Ship Patent Snapshot 2026
This is a highly concentrated, early-stage field: a single institution — Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology — holds the majority of the 18 patent families in scope, with all top-five filers collectively accounting for the full share of the hundred largest filers. The field entered a growth phase from 2021 onward, with filing volume expanding significantly on a multi-year basis, though annual output has eased from its 2022 peak.
One institution leads a field still in early formation
Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology sits at the top of the applicant ranking with 8 patent families, followed by Nippon Kokan KK and Samsung Heavy Industries, each with 1 patent family. The ranking reflects a corpus of 18 patent families in scope.
Concentration is extreme: the top five filers account for 100% of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total, indicating virtually no mid-tier competition. The gap between the leader and the next-ranked applicants is substantial, with no evidence of a challenger cluster forming.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KOREA INSTITUTE OF OCEAN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | 8 | |
| 2 | Nippon Kokan KK | 1 | |
| 3 | Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. | 1 |
This structure is typical of a nascent technology domain. The leader’s position is defensible in the near term, but the low absolute volume means a focused entrant with a handful of well-placed filings could rapidly alter the competitive map.
The most recent 18–24 months of filings are subject to publication lag and will be understated in current counts; the apparent low volume in 2024–2025 should not be read as a slowdown. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A field that ignited in 2022 and is still building its technology base
The filing trend and technology composition together show a domain that emerged from near-zero activity before 2021 and is now diversifying across propulsion, vessel structure, and mechanical sub-systems.
Annual filing trend
Filings were essentially zero from 2017 through 2020, then rose to a single family in 2021 before surging to 9 in 2022 — the peak year to date. Volume eased to 2 in 2023 and recovered to 5 in 2024. The most recent years (2024–2025) should be treated as understated due to publication lag; the underlying activity level is likely higher than current counts suggest.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
Marine propulsion and steering (B63H) is visible in the technology mix, reflecting the core engineering challenge of integrating wind and electric drive. Ships and marine vessels (B63B) forms the second-largest branch. Springs and vibration dampers (F16F) appears as a notable structural sub-theme, while wind turbines (F03D), electric motors and generators (H02K), and layered products (B32B) each have minimal representation, indicating these enabling sub-systems are under-patented relative to the system-level propulsion work.
↗ 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.
Upright tank-based propulsion assistance rotor sai…
An upright tank-based propulsion assistance rotor sail system is proposed. The system may include an upright tank fixed to a hull of a ship, and a rotor sail in a form of a cylindrical shape having a length and diameter greater than or equal to the upright tank, and installed to surround part or all of an outer circumferential surface of the upright tank… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sail device with rotor | 6 |
| 2 | Rotor sail system | 4 |
| 3 | Rotor sail system | 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.
Assignee snapshot from the current evidence set
The applicants below are visible in this query result. Because the evidence set is relatively small, read this section as a directional snapshot rather than a full competitive ranking.
Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology
The top-ranked applicant with 8 patent families, focused on marine propulsion and steering (B63H 9 and B63H 21) and ships and marine vessels (B63B 25). Trajectory is classified as a new entrant with no prior-period filings, meaning its entire portfolio was built in the recent window. This positions it as the de-facto standard-setter in the propulsion integration sub-domain.
patent families: 8Norway Power Limited
Also classified as a new entrant with 5 recent patent families and no prior-period baseline. Technology emphasis spans all three major branches — B63B 17 (vessel structure), B63H 21, and B63H 9 (propulsion and steering) — with equal weight across them, suggesting a broader system-level approach than the leader’s propulsion-centric focus. Not yet ranked in the top-three by total families but among the most active recent filers.
patent families: 5Frequently asked questions
The corpus contains 18 patent families in scope, representing a small but fast-growing field that first saw meaningful activity in 2021–2022.
Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology is the top-ranked applicant with 8 patent families, well ahead of the next-ranked filers, Nippon Kokan KK and Samsung Heavy Industries, each with 1 patent family.
Europe (EPO) leads with 4 patent records, followed by Japan and the United States with 3 each, and India with 2. Coverage also extends to Austria, Australia, Canada, Finland, South Korea, Singapore, and WIPO, indicating broad international protection strategies.
The field is classified as Growth. Recent three-year filings are substantially above the prior three-year window, representing a 1,500% increase. Annual volume peaked in 2022 and has eased since, but the most recent years are understated by publication lag.
No co-applicant activity has been recorded in this corpus. All identified filers — including Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology, Norway Power Limited, Kamil Podhola, Nippon Kokan KK, and Samsung Heavy Industries — appear to be filing independently.
Wind turbine and rotor design (F03D) and electric motors and generators (H02K) each have only 1 patent record in the corpus, despite being technically central to hybrid-ship architectures. Layered products and laminates (B32B), relevant to sail and hull materials, is similarly sparse with 1 record.
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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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