CPC technology class · C10

C10K - Purifying Or Modifying The Chemical Composition Of Combus…

Purifying or modifying the chemical composition of combustible gases containing carbon monoxide. 1,080 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

1,080
US patents granted: #7/10
in C10: 4.0%
C10 class share: -37%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Purifying Or Modifying The Chemical Composition Of Combus… ranks #447 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,080 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 37% over five years.

#447
of 670 CPC technology areas: 1,080
US patents granted, 2015–2025: General Electric
leading assignee (47): -37%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How C10K's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, C10K recorded 367 grants versus 582 in 2015–2019 (-37% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2015 at 157 grants and bottomed in 2021 at 55 (+185% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Exxonmobil Research AND Engineering Company holds 3.8% of the class ; the top three share 7.1%.

Leaderboard read

C10K concentration, lead at 3.8%

Exxonmobil Research AND Engineering Company leads this historical grant record at 3.8% of C10K - us corporation assignees hold 56% of class grants (266 of 471). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 3.8%
Top three share: 7.1%
Lead over #2: 22

Where C10K sits inside C10

Among 10 subclasses in C10 (Petroleum, GAS OR Coke INDUSTRIES; Technical Gases Containing Carbon MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; Peat), C10K ranks #7 and holds 4.0% of the parent class's 27,322 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

C10G 9,942 C10L 5,025 C10M 4,240 C10N 3,834 C10B 1,527 C10J 1,392 C10C 264 C10F 12

Rising assignees active in C10K

Company-wide grant multiples (2022–2024 vs 2019–2021) among assignees with ≥5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide; class patent counts are subclass-specific.

#1 Infinium Technology, LLC 16x 0 → 16 company-wide · 12 in C10K
#2 thyssenkrupp Uhde GmbH 14x 0 → 14 company-wide · 5 in C10K
#3 Aries Clean Technologies LLC 11x 0 → 11 company-wide · 7 in C10K
#4 Velocys Technologies Ltd 5.00x 3 → 15 company-wide · 9 in C10K
#5 Torrgas Technology B.V. 4.00x 1 → 4 company-wide · 6 in C10K

C10K grants by year, peak 2015 (157)

US utility-patent grants per year in C10K, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 37% versus 2015–2019.

Exxonmobil Research…

41
Haldor TopsØE A/S

19
Thermochem Recovery…

17
Res Usa

17
Uop

14
Linde

13
Fulcrum Bioenergy

13
Wuhan Kaidi Engineerin…

12
Infinium Technology

12
Gas Technology…

10
Velocys

9
Expander Energy

9

What this shows General Electric is the most active filer in C10K, holding 47 of the 1,080 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

View data table

Top patent holders in CPC subclass C10K
Rank	Company	Patents in C10K
#1	Exxonmobil Research AND Engineering Company	41
#2	Haldor TOPSØE A/S	19
#3	ThermoChem Recovery International, Inc.	17
#4	RES USA, LLC	17
#5	UOP LLC	14
#6	Linde GmbH	13
#7	Fulcrum BioEnergy, Inc.	13
#8	Wuhan Kaidi Engineering Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd.	12
#9	Infinium Technology, LLC	12
#10	GAS Technology Institute	10
#11	Velocys Technologies Ltd	9
#12	Expander Energy, Inc.	9
#13	CHZ Technologies, LLC	9
#14	Saudi Basic Industries Corporation	8
#15	Fluor Technologies Corporation	8
#16	8 Rivers Capital, LLC	8
#17	Aries Clean Technologies LLC	7
#18	Lummus Technology LLC	6
#19	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering, Ltd.	6
#20	Anellotech, Inc.	6

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading C10K 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 C10K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C10K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near C10K's 1,080-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for C10K (#447 of 670 by volume ; lead share 4.4%) - not the C10 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

F23J 1,082 A01P 1,084 A47D 1,075 F23G 1,073

Nearest by lead-assignee share

H01R 4.3% A23C 4.4% B23B 4.4% C01G 4.4%

Questions about C10K

Which company holds the most patents in C10K?

General Electric Company leads C10K with 47 patents (3.8% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 56% of class grants.

Which C10K assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in C10K, Infinium Technology, LLC shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (16x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 16 in 2022–2024) while holding 12 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does C10K compare inside parent class C10?

Inside C10 (Petroleum, GAS OR Coke INDUSTRIES; Technical Gases Containing Carbon MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; Peat), C10K ranks #7 of 10 subclasses by grant volume and holds 4.0% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is C10G (9,942 grants).

What to do with this data

C10K in context - here's where to go next.

Exxonmobil Research AND Engineering Company leads C10K with 41 grants in this class. See full portfolio
C10K ranks #447 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class C10, the largest sibling subclass is C10G with 9,942 grants. Explore C10G

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Methodology - C10K figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (1,080 grants in the tracked window).

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.