Motoring technology and clean fuel seems to be a hot topic at the moment. At the back end of 2014 we saw Tesla release their patents for free use and now, in early 2015, motoring giants Toyota have done the same with their new hydrogen fuel cell model.
As a bit of a petrol head, I followed both of these announcements with interest and the developments towards building a commercially viable alternative to diesel and petrol motors intrigues me personally as well as professionally.
What I find to be the best bit of news is the fact that the motoring industry seem to be much more open to the idea of sharing their technological advancements in order to help the rest of the industry keep up: not something you usually see which corporate entities. It’s something that is great for technology and great for advancement in a potentially ground breaking and mainstream area.
Could it be that Tesla has now set a precedent? Or is it quite simply the fact that they know it will happen anyway so they want to pass on the information now to speed up the process? Who knows?
What we do know is that a move to release the patents by Toyota is a big one. They are the first major worldwide manufacturer of cars to do so, meaning that the decision was most likely not taken lightly.
Toyota has released almost 6,000 patents it owns covering the hydrogen fuel cell technology, following a record number of car firms visiting CES 2015 in Las Vegas. This in itself is extremely interesting, as it’s clear that more and more motoring companies are starting to look towards the engineering/maker industry, as well as technology, in order to further develop the cars of the future.
It also sets things up nicely for competition between the electric car and the hydrogen fuel cell model, both of which are still relatively in their infancy. Which one do you think will come out on top? What do you think of companies beginning to share their developments?
To read the full article on Toyota, head here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30691393
For more on Tesla, go here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27824698
