Wind Blade Deicing Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
Filing growth compares 2021 (2 records) with 2024 (0) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 18 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
A small, mechanism-defined field
Wind turbine blade deicing is a narrow technical corner of wind-energy patenting: 18 published records cover methods for preventing or removing ice accretion on rotor blades, almost entirely through two mechanisms — resistive electric heating and microwave heating driven by solid-state RF transistors. The classification mix confirms this is turbine-specific art rather than generic anti-icing: F03D wind motors appears on 72.2% of records, with H05B electric heating and B64D aircraft equipment overlap trailing behind.
Five assignees account for the entire ranked set, and the filing trend shows a concentrated peak in 2019 rather than a sustained multi-year wave. That combination — few filers, few mechanisms, a short filing window — makes this a field where reading individual claims closely matters more than tracking broad statistical shifts.
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Filing trends and technology composition
The 18 records in scope span 2015 through the partial 2026 window, concentrated almost entirely in wind-motor and electric-heating classifications.
A short, concentrated filing run
Filings peaked in 2019 at 6 records and fell to 2021=2 → 2024=0, a -100% change over that span; because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the 2025-2026 tail is still filling in and should not be read as a slowdown on its own.
Heating mechanisms dominate the classification mix
F03D (wind motors) appears on 72.2% of the 18 records and H05B (electric heating) on 27.8%; B64D (aircraft equipment) at 22.2% reflects shared deicing physics with aerospace, while H01L, H01Q and G03G each sit at 11.1%, marking thinner, more specialised branches.
Shares are the percentage of the 18 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Wind-Turbine Blades: Wind Blade Deicing Patent Landscape with Eureka
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Try EurekaThe records shaping this field
Deicing of structures using microwaves generated by transistors (EP3231252A1)
This invention concerns a novel method to deice structures such as blades of wind power turbines, wings of airplanes and other structures prone to ice accretion including power cables, marine structures and the like. Essentially, solid state radio frequency (RF) power transistors are used to generate microwaves which are absorbed by a microwave-absorbing material. The heat generated by microwave absorption is used to shed ice from affected structures. Various embodiments and associated advantages are disclosed.Filed by ICESOLUTION AS on 2017-10-18; part of a family that includes EP3231252B1 and the related WO2016091882A1.
View full filing details| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6890152B1 | Deicing device for wind turbine blades | 230 |
| 2 | WO2016091882A1 | Deicing of structures using microwawes generated by transistors | 16 |
| 3 | US20200088172A1 | Heating System and Method for a Jointed Wind Rotor Turbine Blade | 8 |
| 4 | US11236733B2 | Heating system and method for a jointed wind rotor turbine blade | 4 |
| 5 | EP3231252B1 | Deicing of structures using microwawes generated by transistors | 3 |
| 6 | EP3231252A1 | Deicing of structures using microwawes generated by transistors | 3 |
| 7 | WO2020060850A1 | Heating system and method for a jointed wind rotor turbine blade | 2 |
| 8 | US11708817B2 | Heating system and method for a jointed wind rotor turbine blade | 1 |
| 9 | EP3853476B1 | Heating system and method for a jointed wind rotor turbine blade | 1 |
Ranked by citation count within this 18-record dataset; older filings accumulate more citations by virtue of age, not necessarily current relevance.
Publication numbers are shown where the record carries one (9 of 9 rows); clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the filing pattern tells a decision-maker
With only 18 records and five ranked assignees, this field rewards close reading of individual claims over broad statistical trend-spotting.
No long tail to negotiate around
All 18 records in scope trace back to five ranked assignees, with the leader holding 5 records and the fifth-ranked holding 2. There is no fragmented pool of single-filing entrants to license around; freedom-to-operate work in this field means clearing a short, known list.
A short burst, not a sustained wave
Filing peaked at 6 records in 2019 and had fallen to zero completed filings by 2024, the most recent year treatable as complete. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the 2025-2026 tail is still filling in and should not be read as confirmation of continued decline.
Heating mechanisms crowd the core class
F03D covers nearly three-quarters of records, with H05B electric heating on 27.8% and B64D aircraft equipment overlap on 22.2%. Smaller classes — H01L, H01Q, G03G — sit at 11.1% each, marking where claim density is thin.
One old patent still shapes the field
US6890152B1's citation count is an order of magnitude above the rest of the corpus, a sign of foundational influence within this searched set rather than current market weight. Newer filings, like the ICESOLUTION microwave family, compete against this anchor with far fewer citations so far.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to wind-turbine blades: wind blade deicing patent landscape, with the prior art for and against each one.
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a small set of blocking claims and a handful of under-claimed branches. The next step is verifying both against full claim text.
Run freedom-to-operate on the microwave-heating family
EP3231252A1, EP3231252B1 and WO2016091882A1 claim the RF-transistor-to-heat mechanism broadly. Check any microwave-based deicing design against this family before committing to a component swap.
Open claim chart in EurekaMap the thin classes for a first claim
H01L, H01Q and G03G each sit at 11.1% of the 18 records. A blade-integrated antenna or sensor claim combined with heating control has not been densely claimed yet.
Explore white space in EurekaTrack GE's structural heating line
US20200088172A1 and its continuation US11236733B2 cover heating systems for jointed rotor blades specifically. Watch this family for continuations narrowing further into blade architecture.
Follow this family in EurekaFrequently asked questions
The dataset in scope for this landscape contains 18 published records spanning 2015 through the partial 2026 filing window. That is a small, tightly bounded field compared to broader wind-turbine subsystems, and the ranked assignee list covers only five companies, all of whose filings together account for the full 18 records. Because it is such a small corpus, individual filings carry more weight than in larger technology areas.
Two mechanisms dominate the documented art: resistive electric heating embedded in the blade (classified under H05B, appearing on 27.8% of the 18 records) and microwave-generated heating using solid-state RF transistors, pursued specifically by ICESOLUTION AS. Both fall within the broader F03D wind-motor classification that covers 72.2% of records. Resistive heating has the older, more heavily cited anchor patent in this set, while microwave heating is a newer, more concentrated line of filing.
The ranked assignee list for this dataset includes five companies, with the leading filer holding 5 of the 18 records and the fifth-ranked holding 2. GE's presence is split across several corporate entities in the ranking, including GE Infrastructure Technology LLC and General Electric Renovables Espana, reflecting internal reorganisation rather than separate competing filers. ICESOLUTION AS holds the microwave-heating family, including the widely referenced EP3231252A1.
Filing peaked in 2019 at 6 records in this dataset, and the evidence shows a -100% change from 2021 (2 records) to 2024 (0 records), the most recent year that can be treated as complete. Records filed from 2025 onward are still underrepresented in the published data because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months. Read together, the trend shows a burst of activity around 2019 followed by a thin, still-settling recent window rather than a confirmed long-term decline.
EP3231252A1, filed by ICESOLUTION AS on 2017-10-18, claims a method of deicing structures — including wind turbine blades — by generating microwaves with solid-state RF power transistors and absorbing that energy in a microwave-absorbing material to produce heat. The claim is written at the level of the RF-to-heat mechanism, which means it can block related implementations even where the specific transistor or absorber material differs. Anyone developing a microwave-based deicing system for blades should check freedom to operate against this family and its related filings, including EP3231252B1 and WO2016091882A1, rather than assuming a component swap clears the claim.
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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.