China ranked first in battery patents in the post-lithium-ion era, accounting for more than half of the world's total, according to statistics over the past decade published by Nikkei Asia. Nikkei commissioned the Mitsui & Co. Global Strategic Studies Institute for an analysis using the patent analysis tool from LexisNexis. According to the analysis, there were 9,862 global patents in force as of December. In terms of country, China ranked first with 5,486 patents, accounting for more than 50% of the total. Japan was next with 1,192 patents, followed by the U.S.(719), South Korea(595) and France(128). China also stands out in the ranking of patents by organization. It has seven institutions in the top 10, including the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), the world's largest maker of automotive batteries.