SHENZHENApril 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On the occasion of the 26th World Intellectual Property Day, Purplevine Intellectual Property Group (hereinafter referred to as “Purplevine”) officially released the “Global Solid-State Battery Patent Panorama Analysis White Paper” (hereinafter referred to as the “White Paper”). The White Paper systematically organizes and deeply analyzes over 16,000 patents in the global solid-state lithium battery field, revealing the global patent competition landscape and the core intellectual property risks faced by Chinese companies going global, providing strategic reference with practical value for decision-makers in the new energy industry.
Solid-state batteries enter the industrialization window, patent competition heats up
Solid-state lithium batteries are widely regarded by the industry as the core direction for next-generation power batteries. Data from the White Paper shows that as of the end of November 2025, the total number of global solid-state lithium battery-related patents reached 16,429, reduced to 6,321 patent families after merging equivalents, with active and pending patents accounting for as high as 78%—this high level of activity in the patent field strongly echoes the stage of accelerated industrialization of solid-state batteries. Since 2024, major global automakers and battery companies have intensively announced mass production timelines for all-solid-state batteries, generally planning for large-scale commercial deployment between 2027 and 2030, with patent competition set to further intensify as the industrialization window opens.
Four-pole differentiated competition landscape: China catches up significantly but lacks globalization
The White Paper reveals that the current global solid-state battery patent competition presents a differentiated landscape dominated by three poles—China, Japan, and South Korea—with the United States following. From the perspective of patent office regional distribution, China and Japan are the core regions for solid-state lithium battery patent applications, ranking first and second globally with 3,341 and 3,225 applications respectively, each accounting for nearly 20%; the United States (2,355) and South Korea (1,544) follow closely.
In terms of technology source countries, the four major entities exhibit distinct characteristics in technology routes, industrial pace, and layout logic. Japan, relying on leading companies like Toyota, has completed early technology positioning in the sulfide route. Toyota Motor Corporation, with 1,652 patent families far ahead, is the core controller of global solid-state battery technology, followed by Panasonic, LG Energy Solution, and Samsung SDI, collectively forming a Japan-South Korea-dominated patent matrix. Chinese companies demonstrate strong late-mover advantages, with CATL, BYD, and SVOLT all ranking among the global TOP10; Chinese applicants saw patent applications exceed 500 in 2023, far surpassing other countries and regions, becoming the core growth driver for global solid-state battery patent applications. The United States, centered on startups like QuantumScape and SolidPower, is primarily technology R&D-oriented, with a much weaker focus on mass production compared to China, Japan, and South Korea.
However, the White Paper also points out a clear shortcoming in Chinese companies’ global layout: Chinese companies have a relatively small number of patents in key overseas markets such as the United States, Japan, and South Korea, and compared to core players in Japan and South Korea, companies overall started their global layout later.
Chinese companies going global face multi-layered, cross-regional patent barriers
The White Paper summarizes the intellectual property risks faced by Chinese new energy companies going global into the following dimensions:
Barrier 1: Dense patent deployments by Japanese and South Korean companies in China squeeze the domestic market defense line. Japanese and South Korean companies have deployed a considerable number of patents in China, particularly in core technology areas such as electrolytes, cathode and anode materials, and interface technology, significantly compressing the technological space for domestic companies, posing direct infringement risks for mass production and sales, and limiting technology route choices.
Barrier 2: Patent layout gaps in core overseas markets risk litigation and market exclusion. Japanese and South Korean companies have simultaneously achieved large-scale cross-regional penetration into core markets like the United States and Europe, forming a comprehensive global patent network; in contrast, Chinese companies’ patents are highly concentrated domestically, with a layout scale in high-end markets such as the United States and Europe far below that of Japanese and South Korean companies. Combined with the stringent intellectual property protection systems and targeted industrial protection policies in Europe and America, Chinese products face high risks of patent infringement and potential administrative investigations in import-export trade when entering these markets.
Barrier 3: Emerging market opportunities are being seized, with positions in Southeast Asia and other regions at risk. The White Paper notes that demand for power batteries is rapidly rising in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia (represented by Thailand and Vietnam), India, and Brazil. Japanese and South Korean companies have already taken the lead in patent positioning in these regions. If Chinese companies do not promptly fill gaps in their global patent layout, they will face significant competitive disadvantages in emerging markets.
Electrolytes are the highest-risk track, manufacturing processes are the industrialization bottleneck
The White Paper reveals the most strategically significant competitive focuses from a technical branch perspective:
- Electrolyte field is the absolute core of global patent layout, with a total of 2,838 patent families (accounting for 45.52% of global patents). Among these, sulfide electrolytes, with 801 patent families, hold a core position and have formed deep barriers, representing a key source of patent risk that market participants must carefully avoid. China’s patent accumulation in the electrolyte field (1,100 patent families) has surpassed Japan, showing a rapid catch-up trend.
- In the cathode and anode direction, silicon-based anodes (1,036 patent families) and lithium metal anodes (990 patent families) form a “dual-dominant” pattern with deep patent barriers. In the direction of manufacturing processes and battery structure design, Japanese companies have deep accumulations, while China and South Korea are still catching up, representing another core bottleneck for the current industrialization of all-solid-state batteries.
- In the dry process direction, South Korean and American companies have built first-mover advantages through deep patent accumulations, while Japanese companies have taken a differentiated route. The number and depth of Chinese dry process patents still need strengthening.
Jin Jinling, Director of Analysis and Consulting at Purplevine Intellectual Property Group and lead author of the White Paper, stated: “Based on a systematic review of over 16,000 global solid-state battery patents, industry competition has entered deep waters. The systematic patent barriers built by core players are difficult to circumvent and pose high infringement risks, significantly threatening Chinese companies going global, necessitating urgent risk screening and response deployment. Meanwhile, Japanese and South Korean companies and research institutions exhibit strong innovation momentum, continuously advancing material and process iterations through extensive collaboration networks, steadily reinforcing their future-oriented intellectual property barriers. In this landscape, Chinese companies should accelerate the strengthening of their global patent layout and promptly build their own technological moats to cope with increasingly fierce global competition.”
Wen Ming, Vice President of Purplevine Intellectual Property Group, stated: “The current industrialization window for solid-state batteries is accelerating, and the industry has entered a critical phase of technology positioning and patent layout before mass production. Purplevine’s research and release of this White Paper aims to help Chinese new energy companies comprehensively grasp the global patent risk landscape, competitive dynamics, and technology roadmap evolution. We hope to contribute, in a modest way, to helping Chinese companies systematically assess global industrial technology development and patent layout trends, accurately identify high-risk patent situations, and achieve a strategic transformation from passive litigation response to proactive layout. Whether intellectual property strategy can align with and advance in tandem with the industrialization process will fundamentally determine whether Chinese new energy companies can build core competitiveness, solidify their global market position, and lead the future global industrial landscape in this round of global solid-state battery competition.”