University of Maryland patents highlight energy technology

The University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), together with other schools in the University System of Maryland (USM), ranks eighth among U.S. public institutions and 22nd in the world for patents awarded in 2024 according to a new report released Tuesday, March 11, 2025 by the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). According to the report, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last year granted a total of 114 patents to five USM institutions; of those, UMCP holds 71—up from 59 the year prior.

Of the 71 patents awarded at UMCP the largest number, 28 of them (40%), are focused on energy technology including the following:

A battery that uses a special graphite material with halogen added to make it work better and last longer, developed by Chunsheng Wang, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, and collaborators.
A special type of material that can conduct ions (positively or negatively charged atoms) and composed of tiny "nanofibrils" that could be used in devices and technologies like batteries or fuel cells. The technology, which has been licensed by WH Power, was developed by Professor Emeritus Robert Briber from materials science and engineering, along with Liangbing Hu, a former professor in the same department.
A way to convert methane gas into liquid fuel for easier and less expensive transport, licensed by Alchemity and developed by Eric Wachsman, Distinguished University Professor of materials science and engineering and director of the Maryland Energy Innovation Institute (MEI²), and Dongxia Liu, a former professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

Additionally, six more energy patents from USM schools, brings the energy total to 34 out of 114 for 30% of the patents awarded.

“Patents awarded are the leading indicator of economic impact from university research and this success demonstrates the potential for Maryland’s energy research to create new companies and grow its economy” said Wachsman.

Both Alchemity and WH Power are start-ups that were developed from Energy Seed Grants established by the MEI² whose mission is to lead the way in developing and deploying clean energy technology to combat climate change and create a sustainable future. The Energy Seed Grant program bridges the gap between academic transformative laboratory research results and prototype demonstrations to obtain investor interest. Since its inception in 2017, MEI² has awarded over $3.6M in Energy Seed Grants and in partnership with the Maryland Energy Innovation Accelerator (MEIA) has help launch/support 50 clean energy companies in the state of Maryland.

Published March 14, 2025