PlainPatent

CPC technology class · Y02

Y02C - Capture

Capture, storage, sequestration or disposal of greenhouse gases [ghg]. 4,229 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

4,229
US patents granted
#8/8
in Y02
1.1%
Y02 class share
-6%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Capture ranks #264 of 670 CPC technology areas - 4,229 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 6% over five years.

#264
of 670 CPC technology areas
4,229
US patents granted, 2015–2025
L'air Liquide Societe…
leading assignee (124)
-6%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How Y02C's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, Y02C recorded 1,753 grants versus 1,867 in 2015–2019 (-6% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2017 at 396 grants and bottomed in 2022 at 311 (+27% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme Pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude holds 2.9% of the class ; the top three share 7.2%.

Leaderboard read

Y02C concentration, lead at 2.9%

L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme Pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude leads this historical grant record at 2.9% of Y02C - us corporation assignees hold 53% of class grants (1,027 of 1,948). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
2.9%

124 of 4,229 grants

Top three share
7.2%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
33

more grants than Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company

Where Y02C sits inside Y02

Among 8 subclasses in Y02 (Technologies OR Applications FOR Mitigation OR Adaptation Against Climate Change), Y02C ranks #8 and holds 1.1% of the parent class's 399,122 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

Y02E 125,003 Y02T 81,138 Y02P 65,929 Y02D 45,676 Y02B 34,811 Y02A 32,476 Y02W 9,860

Rising assignees active in Y02C

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. #1 Exxon Mobil Technology and Engineering Company 298x 0 → 298 company-wide · 30 in Y02C
  2. #2 Next Carbon Solutions, LLC 7.00x 2 → 14 company-wide · 10 in Y02C
  3. #3 Carbon Capture Inc. 7.00x 0 → 7 company-wide · 8 in Y02C
  4. #4 C2cnt LLC 5.40x 5 → 27 company-wide · 5 in Y02C
  5. #5 AirMyne, Inc. 5.00x 0 → 5 company-wide · 7 in Y02C

Y02C grants by year, peak 2017 (396)

US utility-patent grants per year in Y02C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 6% versus 2015–2019.

250300350400450 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 264

Who leads Y02C?

The 12 most active assignees in Capture, Storage, Sequestration OR Disposal OF Greenhouse Gases [GHG] - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows L'air Liquide Societe… is the most active filer in Y02C, holding 124 of the 4,229 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 Y02C
Rank Company Patents in Y02C
#1 L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme Pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude 124
#2 Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company 91
#3 Exxonmobil Research AND Engineering Company 88
#4 UOP LLC 55
#5 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology 52
#6 Johnson Matthey Public Limited Company 46
#7 Praxair Technology, Inc. 40
#8 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering, Ltd. 40
#9 AIR Products AND Chemicals, Inc. 37
#10 Georgia Tech Research Corporation 35
#11 General Electric Technology GMBH 34
#12 Korea Institute OF Energy Research 34
#13 Fluor Technologies Corporation 34
#14 Exxon Mobil Technology and Engineering Company 30
#15 enVerid Systems, Inc. 29
#16 Chevron U.S.A. Inc. 28
#17 Shell OIL Compny 25
#18 The Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. 23
#19 Linde GmbH 22
#20 Air Liquide Advanced Technologies U.S. LLC 22

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading Y02C 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 Y02C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in Y02C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 050100150 Patents in Y02C Avg claims / patent (company-wide) L'air Liquide Societe…Exxonmobil Upstream…Exxonmobil Research…UopKing Abdullah…Johnson Matthey PublicPraxair TechnologyMitsubishi Heavy…Air Products And…Georgia Tech ResearchGeneral Electric…Korea Institute Of…FluorExxon Mobil Technology…
Top 14 Y02C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in Y02C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near Y02C's 4,229-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for Y02C (#264 of 670 by volume ; lead share 2.9%) - not the Y02 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

B67D 4,233 C25B 4,224 C10M 4,240 B60B 4,268

Nearest by lead-assignee share

A61H 2.9% E01F 2.9% F26B 2.9% C12R 2.9%

Questions about Y02C

Which company holds the most patents in Y02C?
L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme Pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude leads Y02C with 124 patents (2.9% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 53% of class grants.
Which Y02C assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in Y02C, Exxon Mobil Technology and Engineering Company shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (298x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 298 in 2022–2024) while holding 30 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does Y02C compare inside parent class Y02?
Inside Y02 (Technologies OR Applications FOR Mitigation OR Adaptation Against Climate Change), Y02C ranks #8 of 8 subclasses by grant volume and holds 1.1% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is Y02E (125,003 grants).

What to do with this data

Y02C in context - here's where to go next.

  • L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme Pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude leads Y02C with 124 grants in this class. See full portfolio
  • Y02C ranks #264 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
  • Inside parent class Y02, the largest sibling subclass is Y02E with 125,003 grants. Explore Y02E

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

Methodology - Y02C figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (4,229 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.