Automobile maker Toyota has made 5600 patents free for anyone who wishes to use it. They are now royalty free patents which consisted of 3.350 fuel cell platform software, some 1970 fuel cell stacks, and 290 hydrogen pressure tanks, and 70 hydrogen production and other supply patents.
This recent move by Toyota at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is similar to that of Tesla.
Toyota's first mass produced fuel cell automobile is the Toyota Mirai, the Telegraph reported.
Bob Carter, the Senior VP of Toyota's Automotive Operations, that in their company, it is believed that once a good idea was shared, great things will happen. It will be critical for the first generation hydrogen fuel cell cars which will be launched between 2015 and 2020. It shall need deep collaboration between academia, government agencies, car makers, and energy providers.
The Toyota patents shall only be available to other car makers who have created fuel cell vehicles, hydrogen powered buses, industrial equipment makers, and energy companies who are planning to manage fuel stations. Free patents can only be used up to the year 2020.
The carmaker firm's rational assessment by freeing the patents is to be able to initiate to build a market and a viable supply chain and also a refueling set-up for fuel cell vehicles. Firm basis of this move is the previous year's new energy report of the Japanese Government wherein it appears that hydrogen elevates as a secondary energy source for automobiles and committed that Japanese government to share the costs of the hydrogen infrastructure in the country.
The target raise in the fuel-cell powered vehicles market in Japan will be around 70% by the year 2030.