USPTO Patent Granted for Battery Cell Stack and Flow Battery

ChangeBridge: Patent Grants - Batteries (H01M)

Published March 24th, 2026

Detected March 26th, 2026

Summary

The USPTO has granted a patent (US12586806B2) to Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. for a bipolar plate designed for battery cell stacks and flow batteries. The patent details specific design requirements for the groove portions within the bipolar plate to optimize electrolyte flow.

View original document View source feed page

What changed

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted patent US12586806B2 to Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. The patent covers a novel bipolar plate design for battery cell stacks and flow batteries, focusing on the specific cross-sectional area ratio of groove portions within the plate to optimize electrolyte flow. This grant represents a new intellectual property right for the assignee in the field of battery technology.

This patent grant does not impose new regulatory obligations on regulated entities. However, it signifies a new technological development in battery components. Companies operating in the battery manufacturing sector, particularly those involved in flow battery technology or advanced battery materials, should be aware of this granted patent as it may impact their own intellectual property strategies and product development. No immediate compliance actions are required.

Source document (simplified)

← USPTO Patent Grants

Bipolar plate, cell frame, battery cell, cell stack, and redox flow battery

Grant US12586806B2 Kind: B2 Mar 24, 2026

Assignee

Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.

Inventors

Takashi Kanno

Abstract

Provided is a bipolar plate including a first surface and a second surface facing each other, in which each of the first surface and the second surface includes a first edge, a second edge, and a middle region, the middle region includes a plurality of groove portions through which the electrolyte flows, the middle region includes a specific cross section obtained by cutting the bipolar plate in a specific direction, the specific direction is a direction orthogonal to a direction from the first edge toward the second edge, the specific cross section is a cross section having a cross-sectional area ratio B/(A+B) greater than or equal to 0.05 and less than or equal to 0.60, A is a cross-sectional area of the bipolar plate, and B is a total cross-sectional area of the plurality of groove portions.