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World IP Day 2026 — Recognized Innovator

Andrea Pedretti

  • Co-Founder & CTO
  • Energy Vault Holdings, Inc.

Recognized for co-founder leadership and inventor footprint in gravity-based energy storage.

Andrea Pedretti helped turn one of physics’ oldest forces into a grid-scale storage system, shaping the technology behind Energy Vault’s gravity storage platform and its broader energy storage portfolio.

Certificate of Recognition

Top IP Innovator — Gravity & Battery Energy Storage · 2026

Energy Vault Patents (last 5 years)
0 +
First Filing
2017
USPTO Art Unit Focus
2834 / 2116
Role
Co-Founder & CTO
Presented by InspireIP

World IP Day Recognition Series · 2026

Energy Vault patents, last 5 years
0 +
Filed in 2023 alone
0 +
Recognition category
0 Semiconductors & Optics
The Recognition

Storing energy with the oldest force in physics

On World IP Day 2026, InspireIP recognizes Andrea Pedretti, co-founder and CTO of Energy Vault, for his inventor footprint and technical leadership in grid-scale energy storage.

The recognition is based on Energy Vault’s patent activity and Andrea’s broader inventor record. 

At Energy Vault, Andrea helped lead the development of a gravity-based storage system built around a simple physical idea: lift mass when power is available, lower it when power is needed, and convert that motion back into electricity.

The company’s patent portfolio protects the systems around that idea, including composite block design, lifting and lowering mechanisms, control software, and energy management technology.

In 2024, Andrea was named to the TIME100 Climate list, recognizing the world’s most influential leaders driving climate action. The energy storage system he invented offers a 30+ year operating life and 90% roundtrip efficiency.

Gravity Energy Storage
Grid-Scale Battery Storage (BESS)
Composite Block Design
Energy Management Software
Long-Duration Storage
Renewable Integration
Patent Footprint

A portfolio shaped around turning gravity into a storage medium

2017–2019

Energy Vault is founded in Switzerland by Andrea Pedretti, Robert Piconi, and Bill Gross through the Idealab startup studio. Early filings cover the company’s gravity-based storage architecture using lifted and lowered composite blocks.

2020–2021

Patent activity grows as Energy Vault completes its first grid-scale testing tower in Switzerland. The company continues building protection around mechanical storage systems, control methods, and power conversion.

2022–2023

Filing activity accelerates, with 23 patents across two years and 15 filings in 2023 alone. Energy Vault expands beyond gravity storage into battery energy storage and software-enabled storage management.

2024–2025

The portfolio continues to grow across gravity storage, battery storage, and energy management systems. Andrea is named to the TIME100 Climate 2024 list, and Energy Vault expands its work across grid-scale storage assets in the U.S., Australia, and Europe.

Gravity & Battery Energy Storage

A small-entity company filing in a category it created

Energy Vault is classified by the USPTO as a Small Entity.

Yet its five-year filing volume of 52 patents reflects a company building IP across gravity storage, battery storage, power electronics, and energy management software.

Much of that activity is concentrated in semiconductors, optics, and computer architecture art units that protect mechanical storage systems, control platforms, and grid-scale energy technologies.

Patents, last 5 years
+
Peak year (2023)
Filings
USPTO entity status
Small Entity
Art unit focus
2834 / 2116
"Leading an innovation program is harder than inventing on your own. It means choosing what to file, who to credit, and where to invest, over and over, for years. The leaders we recognize on World IP Day have done that consistently, and built something that compounds."

Sam Zellner

Founder, InspireIP · Inventor · Innovation Leader

About Energy Vault

Built in Switzerland and Westlake Village, deploying storage worldwide

Founded in 2017 in Lugano, Switzerland, and now headquartered in Westlake Village, California, Energy Vault develops energy storage systems for grid-scale renewable integration.

The company’s portfolio includes gravity-based storage, battery energy storage systems, and software for storage and demand management.

Its G-Vault platform uses lifted and lowered composite blocks to store and release energy. Its B-Vault platform supports battery-based energy storage projects.

Energy Vault is also developing and operating grid-scale storage assets through its Asset Vault platform. The company has projects and development activity across the United States, Australia, and Europe.

IP Day 2027

Know an IP innovator who deserves recognition?

Each year we recognize the inventors and IP leaders behind the portfolios that protect what their companies create. That includes founder-inventors whose contributions often go unmarked. Nominate someone for next year’s list.

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