The success of U.S. sales depends on a California program that aims to put in place 35 refueling centers in the Los Angeles area by 2015.
In a deft P.R. move that also has abundant self-interest, Toyota Motor Corporation will allow royalty-free use of 5,680 fuel-cell-related patent licenses, including pending applications, it holds globally. With fuel cell vehicle already on sale in Japan, the largest Japanese automaker is planning to bring an FCV – fuel cell vehicle – to the U.S. this year.
Toyota said it would allow royalty-free use of its FCV patent licenses by companies manufacturing and selling FCVs through market introduction period, anticipated to continue until about 2020.
This includes patents that in Toyota’s view are critical to the development and production of FCVs. Included are designs relating to fuel cell stacks (~1,970 patent licenses), high-pressure hydrogen tanks (~290 patent licenses), and fuel cell system control technology (~3,350 patent licenses).
Toyota will also provide royalty-free use of approximately 70 hydrogen-station-related patent licenses indefinitely for those installing and operating hydrogen stations.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
