SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS, France – December 03, 2024 │The increase in energy density is one of the main drivers for battery technology. On the anode side, silicon is a promising material to replace graphite and enhance battery performance, but several technical challenges exist, slowing the adoption of this technology. R&D laboratories and industrial companies quickly recognized the potentiality of silicon as an anode material for Li-ion batteries, leading to significant investments to bring this technology to market.
In such a highly competitive and dynamic environment, analyzing the patent landscape is essential to understand the technology strategies of key players and their intellectual property (IP) positions. To address this need, KnowMade has released a comprehensive new Silicon Anode Batteries Patent Landscape report. This report provides an in-depth analysis of the current IP positions of industry leaders, emerging players, and start-ups, offering valuable insights into their IP strategies and R&D priorities.
In most of KnowMade’s research, analyzing Chinese patent owners is a crucial component. Their patent portfolios reveal the specific technologies they are focusing on and the international markets they aim to penetrate beyond China. This analysis sheds light on their innovation strategies and competitive positioning in the global market.
COSMX is recognized by leading automotive companies
COSMX, a Chinese company founded in 2007, is one of the worldwide major suppliers of consumer lithium-ion batteries. The company has recently entered the battery electric vehicles (BEV) field and has been nominated by many well-known automotive companies such as SAIC, Jaguar Land Rover, and Stellantis. In June 2024, the American vehicle manufacturer General Motors selected COSMX to develop and supply low-voltage batteries.
COSMX’s patent portfolio on silicon anode-based Li-ion batteries
As of September 2024, COSMX holds over 3,700 patent families (inventions), with approximately 350 related to silicon anodes for Li-ion batteries. In the past five years, COSMX has significantly increased its patenting activity in this area, positioning itself among the leading battery manufacturers with the highest number of patents in the field (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Time evolution of COSMX’s patent publications related to silicon anode for Li-ion batteries and published until September 2024.
The majority of COSMX’s silicon anode-related patents focus on electrode manufacturing or design, and silicon anode-based battery cells (Figure 2). In recent years, the company has strengthened its IP position in the anode electrode segment by obtaining more patents and increasing the number of new patent applications.
Figure 2: COSMX’s silicon anode-related patent portfolio distribution where the core inventions focus on silicon-based anode material, silicon-based anode electrode, silicon anode-based battery cell, and other components of silicon anode-based battery cell (binders, electrolytes, cathode materials & electrodes, current collectors, separators). Note that a patent family can belong to multiple segments.
COSMX’s recent IP developments related to silicon-based anode materials
The main challenges in adopting silicon-based anodes for Li-ion batteries involve improving the cycling and electrochemical performance of silicon anode materials, as well as refining the synthesis process to increase yields, reduce costs, and minimize environmental impact. Key technical solutions under development include creating various silicon-based materials (e.g., nanostructured, composite, highly porous, and high-density materials) and developing electrolytes and binders specifically suited to silicon anode materials.
Over the past three years, COSMX’s patent assets related to silicon-based anode materials have primarily focused on core-shell materials and silicon/carbon composites that may also include oxides, as illustrated by the examples in the table below (non-exhaustive).
| Type of material | Composition | Aim of the invention | Patent number |
| Core shell | Si-based material@nitrogen-doped graphene | – Improve the conductivity of silicon material. – Reduce the volume expansion of the silicon material during charging and discharging. – Improve the first charging and discharging efficiency and cycle life of the lithium-ion battery. |
CN113054172 |
| Si-based material@lithum salt modified graphene | Provide a silicon-based material having: – Improved electron conductivity. – Reduced volume expansion rate. – Improved cycle life. |
CN114335477 | |
| Si-based material distributed in pores of a carbon material as a core and a shell including CNFs (carbon nanofibers) + TiO2 | – Buffer the volume expansion of silicon-based material. – Improve the structural stability of the anode material. – Maintain higher interface stability. |
CN115863574 | |
| Grafted silicon-based core-shell material | Provide silicon-based material that improves: – Cycle performance. – First charge-discharge efficiency. – Lithium-ion conductivity. |
US20220158178 | |
| Other composite materials | Silicon material coated with Al2O3 and a carbon material | – Relieve the problems of volume expansion of silicon material. – Improve the cycle performance and safety of a lithium-ion battery. |
CN113130870 |
| Silicon/silicon oxide/niobium tungsten oxide composite | – Provide a silicon-based material resistant to cracking during the cycling process. – Provide an affiliated Li-ion battery with higher cycling performances. |
CN114975955 | |
| Multi-layered silicon-carbon composite | – Avoid cell cycle failure. – Avoid excessive expansion of silicon-based material. |
CN115207308 |
Looking more specifically at COSMX’s pending patent applications outside China, one of them which is focused on silicon-based materials, pertain to a grafted silicon-based core-shell material (US20220158178, Figure 3). This patented material could provide improved cycle performance, first charge-discharge efficiency and lithium-ion conductivity.
Figure 3: Examples of COSMX’s recent inventions on silicon-based materials
COSMX’s IP strategy for protecting its inventions on key markets
In our latest Silicon Anode for Li-ion Batteries Patent Landscape report, we observed only a few Chinese entities expanding their patents outside China, including COSMX. Notably, the company has filed several patents in the US, Europe, South Korea, and Japan (Figure 4).
In the USA and Europe, the core inventions covered in COSMX’s pending patent applications primarily focus on the silicon anode itself. In contrast, its granted patents are mainly related to the electrolyte and the battery cell. In Japan and South Korea, COSMX’s patent assets predominantly pertain to the anode, with claims specifying a list of silicon-based materials, including silicon-carbon composites. While COSMX has established a factory in India, no silicon anode-related patents held by the company have been identified in this region to date.
Figure 4: Geographical coverage of COSMX’s silicon anode-related patent portfolio.
COSMX has been sued in the US for patent infringement by ATL – Amperex Technologies (case numbers 2:22-cv-00232, 2:24-cv-00728, and 25-1091), Maxell (case number 6:21-cv-00845), and Ube Industries (case number 2:18-cv-09074). However, the asserted patents are not directly related to silicon anode Li-ion batteries. It is worth noting, though, that litigations involving silicon anode-related patents have already occurred, notably the case between Nexeon and OneD Material, which we highlighted in a previous article.
Monitoring Chinese IP players
COSMX‘s silicon anode-related patent portfolio is not yet extensive enough to secure a dominant IP position or act as a barrier to competition outside of China. However, the company demonstrates a willingness to extend the protection of its silicon anode-related inventions globally, making it important to monitor the evolution of its IP position in the future. In KnowMade’s Silicon Anode for Li-ion Batteries Patent Landscape report, other Chinese IP players have also been identified and analyzed. Similar to COSMX, some of these players — such as ATL, CATL, and BYD — are actively seeking to extend their patent protection beyond China. Understanding which technologies are covered by these patents provides valuable insights into these companies’ technological roadmaps, the future products they aim to bring to market, and the competitive risks they may pose.
Throughout the year, KnowMade’s analysts track and analyze the latest patenting activities of competitors involved in developing cutting-edge battery technologies. These include efforts to increase energy density (e.g., silicon anodes, Li-metal anodes, NMC cathodes, anode-less designs), improve safety and longevity (e.g., solid-state batteries, thermal management solutions), reduce costs (e.g., LFP/LMFP cathodes, Na-based batteries), and minimize environmental impact (e.g., battery recycling). By doing so, KnowMade provides a comprehensive view of the IP landscape shaping the future of energy storage technologies.
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About the author
Arnaud Capgras works for KnowMade as a Patent Analyst in the field of Materials Chemistry and Energy storage. He holds a Chemistry-Process Engineering Degree from the Chemistry and Chemical Engineering School of Lyon (CPE Lyon, France). He also holds the International Industrial Property Studies Diploma (Patents) from the CEIPI (Strasbourg, France).
About KnowMade
KnowMade is a technology intelligence and IP strategy consulting company specialized in analyzing patents and scientific publications. The company helps innovative companies, investors, and R&D organizations to understand competitive landscape, follow technological evolutions, reduce uncertainties, and identify opportunities and risks in terms of technology and intellectual property.
KnowMade’s analysts combine their strong technology expertise and in-depth knowledge of patents with powerful analytics tools and methodologies to turn patent information and scientific literature into actionable insights, providing high added value reports for decision makers working in R&D, innovation strategy, intellectual property, and marketing. Our experts provide prior art search, patent landscape analysis, freedom-to-operate analysis, IP due diligence, and monitoring services.
KnowMade has a solid expertise in Compound Semiconductors, Power Electronics, Batteries, RF Technologies & Wireless Communications, Solid-State Lighting & Display, Photonics, Memories, MEMS & Sensors, Semiconductor Packaging, Medical Devices, Medical Imaging, Microfluidics, Biotechnology, Pharmaceutics, and Agri-Food.