PlainPatent

CPC technology class · C01

C01D - Compounds OF Alkali Metals

Compounds of alkali metals, i.e. lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, caesium, or francium. 976 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

976
US patents granted
C01
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+38%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Compounds OF Alkali Metals ranks #462 of 670 CPC technology areas - 976 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 38% over five years.

#462
of 670 CPC technology areas
976
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Nemaska Lithium
leading assignee (22)
+38%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Nemaska Lithium Inc. (22 patents)

CPC subclass C01D - COMPOUNDS OF ALKALI METALS, i.e. LITHIUM, SODIUM, POTASSIUM, RUBIDIUM, CAESIUM, OR FRANCIUM - covers 976 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class C01 (INORGANIC CHEMISTRY). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in C01D is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Nemaska Lithium Inc. leads with 22 patents, followed by Nemaska Lithium Inc. at 22 grants and Mangrove Water Technologies Ltd. at 10.

Filing activity in C01D is up 38% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is C01D innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in C01D, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 38% versus 2015–2019.

60708090100 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 84

Who leads C01D?

The 12 most active assignees in COMPOUNDS OF ALKALI METALS, i.e. LITHIUM, SODIUM, POTASSIUM, RUBIDIUM, CAESIUM, OR FRANCIUM - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Nemaska Lithium is the most active filer in C01D, holding 22 of the 976 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025 grant years
View data table
Top patent holders in CPC subclass C01D
Rank Company Patents in C01D
#1 Solvay Sa 22
#2 Nemaska Lithium Inc. 22
#3 Mangrove Water Technologies Ltd. 10
#4 Research Institute OF Industrial Science & Technology 9
#5 Worcester Polytechnic Institute 8
#6 Heartbeet Ltd. 8
#7 Lilac Solutions, Inc. 7
#8 Veolia Water Technologies, Inc. 7
#9 Terralithium Llc 7
#10 Innovator Energy Llc. 6
#11 Rockwood Lithium Gmbh 6
#12 Orbite Technologies Inc. 6
#13 Li-cycle Corp. 6
#14 Umicore 5
#15 Albemarle Germany Gmbh 5
#16 Simbol, Inc. 5
#17 Solvay Advanced Polymers, L.l.c. 5
#18 Wildcat Discovery Technologies, Inc. 4
#19 Fluid Energy Group Ltd. 4
#20 Avantama Ag 4

About This Class

CPC subclass C01D belongs to class C01.

976 patents were granted in this class between 2015 and 2025.

20 companies actively patent in this space.

Classification System

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system used by the USPTO and EPO.

← All Technology Classes Technology Rankings →

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading C01D assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 C01D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C01D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 C01D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C01D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 1015202530 0510152025 Patents in C01D Avg claims / patent (company-wide) SolvayNemaska LithiumMangrove WaterResearch Institute Of…Worcester Polytechnic…HeartbeetLilac SolutionsVeolia WaterTerralithiumInnovator EnergyRockwood LithiumOrbiteLi-cycleUmicore
Top 14 C01D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C01D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class C01D?
CPC subclass C01D covers COMPOUNDS OF ALKALI METALS, i.e. LITHIUM, SODIUM, POTASSIUM, RUBIDIUM, CAESIUM, OR FRANCIUM. It belongs to CPC class C01 (INORGANIC CHEMISTRY), with 976 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in C01D?
976 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass C01D between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in C01D?
Nemaska Lithium Inc. leads C01D with 22 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for C01D collected?
Patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It covers all US granted utility patents and assigns CPC codes based on the technology described in each patent.
What is the difference between CPC class and subclass?
A CPC class (e.g., C01) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like C01D provide finer granularity within that category. PlainPatent organizes data at the subclass level (4-character codes) for the most useful view of technology domains.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.