Toyota offers its fuel cell vehicle patents royalty free

In a bid to increase the popularity of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), Toyota will allow royalty-free use of approximately 5,680 FCV related patent licenses, including pending applications. Toyota announced this plan at the ongoing 2015 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) shortly after showcasing the Mirai FCV.

The initiative includes patents that involve development and production of FCVs, such as those relating to fuel cell stacks (approx. 1,970 patent licenses), high-pressure hydrogen tanks (approx. 290 patent licenses), and fuel cell system control technology (approx. 3,350 patent licenses). Given that the success of FCVs like the Mirai depend on a strong hydrogen station network, Toyota will also provide royalty-free use of approximately 70 hydrogen station related patent licenses indefinitely for those installing and operating hydrogen stations.

The Toyota Mirai goes on sale towards the end of 2015 in Europe and the USA.