Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE),  Facebook, and Microsoft are teaming up to accelerate adoption of low-carbon technologies. Under the new Low-Carbon Patent Pledge, the three corporate giants are promising free access to patented technologies for anyone developing low-carbon innovations in the arenas of generation, storage, and distribution of low-carbon energy. 

The HPE-led initiative will grant a royalty-free license to patents related to power management, data center architecture, thermal management, and other technologies.

The coalition will initially make hundreds of patents available and plans to add more as other companies join the Low-Carbon Patent Pledge, according to HPE. “By opening up these patents, we hope to help accelerate and encourage innovation by enabling others to build upon our work,” said John Frey, HPE chief technologist for sustainable transformation, in a statement.

According to the International Energy Agency, roughly half of future emissions cuts will come from emerging technologies that are currently at the prototype stage.

The time to change our climate trajectory is narrowing, and sticking to business-as-usual practices will not bring these much-needed technologies to markets fast enough. Patents provide an insight into the research activities about the extent and focus of clean technology innovation. 

Collaboration will be central to plotting a path to recovery and decarbonization. As the Linux Foundation  says, “our future rests on cooperation over competition.”

The list of pledged patents and terms of use are available at lowcarbonpatentpledge.org.