Shenhua Group focuses on protecting its scientific research results with intellectual property rights. In recent years, the patent application and authorization has largely increased. A group of core technologies covering "Direct coal liquefaction technology", "Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalyst technology", "Sea water desalination and desulfurization for power plant" have built a relatively perfect network of patent protection. In addition, a large number of properly protected patent technologies have been implemented and applied, and have obtained good economic benefits. In the intellectual property work, Shenhua adheres to the people-oriented and mechanism innovation principle, and grants full respect and rewards to the patent inventors, thus creating a sound atmosphere of encouragement and innovation.

While strengthening the protection of our own intellectual property rights, Shenhua also gives full respect to others’ IPRs. The Group conducts specific patent catalogue and analysis in some technology-intensive fields, understands the layout of the patent to others, carries out infringement pre-warning analysis, and takes appropriate strategies in advance. In addition, Shenhua actively integrates intellectual property rights into the Group's operating activities, which plays a supporting and promoting role in scientific and technological innovation, technical cooperation, business negotiation and so on.

In the past 5 years, Shenhua Group has applied for a total of 395 patents covering 149 invention patents and has obtained 194 patent authorizations. The number and quality of patent application increase rapidly, with an annual growth rate of over 20%. Shenhua takes the lead in terms of the number of patent application and authorization. Its number of patent application in the recent three years is shown in the following table: