PlainPatent

CPC technology class · F22

F22B - Methods OF Steam Generation

Methods of steam generation; steam boilers. 1,959 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

1,959
US patents granted
F22
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
-8%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Methods OF Steam Generation ranks #370 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,959 US patents granted since 2015, with filing down 8% over five years.

#370
of 670 CPC technology areas
1,959
US patents granted, 2015–2025
General Electric
leading assignee (63)
-8%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: General Electric Company (63 patents)

CPC subclass F22B - METHODS OF STEAM GENERATION; STEAM BOILERS - covers 1,959 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class F22 (STEAM GENERATION). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in F22B is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. General Electric Company leads with 63 patents, followed by Rondo Energy, Inc. at 41 grants and Altria Client Services Llc at 37.

Filing activity in F22B is down 8% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a relatively steady filing pace. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is F22B innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in F22B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 8% versus 2015–2019.

50100150200250300 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 92

Who leads F22B?

The 12 most active assignees in METHODS OF STEAM GENERATION; STEAM BOILERS - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows General Electric is the most active filer in F22B, holding 63 of the 1,959 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 F22B
Rank Company Patents in F22B
#1 General Electric Technology Gmbh 57
#2 Rondo Energy, Inc. 41
#3 Altria Client Services Llc 37
#4 Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. 32
#5 Gecko Robotics, Inc. 30
#6 ICE Thermal Harvesting, Llc 29
#7 Westinghouse Electric Company Llc 28
#8 Philip Morris Products S.a. 21
#9 The Babcock & Wilcox Company 20
#10 Alstom Technology Ltd 17
#11 Fontem Holdings 1 B.v. 16
#12 RAI Strategic Holdings, Inc. 15
#13 Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., Ltd. 14
#14 Valmet Technologies Oy 14
#15 Miura Co., Ltd. 13
#16 Mitsubishi Power, Ltd. 12
#17 Nuscale Power, Llc 12
#18 Ge-hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas Llc 11
#19 8 Rivers Capital, Llc 11
#20 Malta Inc. 11

About This Class

CPC subclass F22B belongs to class F22.

1,959 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 F22B 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 F22B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F22B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 F22B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F22B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 010203040 102030405060 Patents in F22B Avg claims / patent (company-wide) General Electric Tech…Rondo EnergyAltria Client ServicesMitsubishi Hitachi Po…Gecko RoboticsIce Thermal HarvestingWestinghouse ElectricPhilip Morris ProductsThe Babcock & WilcoxAlstom TechnologyFontem Holdings 1 B VRai Strategic HoldingsDoosan Heavy Industri…Valmet Oy
Top 14 F22B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F22B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class F22B?
CPC subclass F22B covers METHODS OF STEAM GENERATION; STEAM BOILERS. It belongs to CPC class F22 (STEAM GENERATION), with 1,959 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in F22B?
1,959 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass F22B between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in F22B?
General Electric Company leads F22B with 63 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for F22B 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., F22) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like F22B 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.