Proterra, a company that makes electric buses, has released its patents in a move to challenge the dominance of companies that make conventional, fossil fuel powered buses.

With a strategy that matches the lead taken by companies such as Toyota and Tesla in releasing patents directed towards green technologies, this may signal a trend towards more open innovation in this field, as I discussed previously that this may be more important in some key industries.

Proterra obviously believe that by opening up their patents, this will encourage more companies to get involved in developing electric buses which should help the adoption of electric buses as the default option. This in turn should help Proterra, particularly if they are able to stay at the forefront of the technology, and with more cities looking to reduce carbon emissions.

“Releasing the patents also helps remove the fear, uncertainty, and doubt that some of the fossil fuel competitors in this industry have tried to use to slow down electric vehicle adoption, Popple said, explaining that diesel bus manufacturers have told cities evaluating EV buses that they’ll be locked into using Proterra’s vehicles and chargers.”

http://fortune.com/2016/06/28/proterra-open-patents/