The Energy Transition & Open Source

For many of us who grew up in traditional public schools, group projects were a particular kind of hell that often resulted in character-building levels of stress, uncertainty, and embarrassing communication. Every once in a while, however, magic happened: three or four of us got together and somehow brought out the best in each other – sparking ideas, sharing the load, and ultimately surprising ourselves with how the group could create something altogether different than what we’d ever have imagined alone. 

Right now, the world’s biggest, most important group project is called “saving the planet from climate disaster,” and we’re on track to fail. We’ve already blown past UN & Paris agreement deadlines. If we share the work, though, pull an all-nighter or two, and collaborate quickly and efficiently, we might have a chance at success. 

Global collaboration is the answer, but where are our global resources? How do we even communicate across different languages, data systems, and technologies? 

Open Source, Open Access 

Thankfully, the open-source movement has shown us there is a way to create global space to share data, tools, and resources across all industries. It is an ethos that encompasses co-creation in the spirit of invention for small coding projects and world-ending crises. Open source data, licensed so that users are free to modify, use, and integrate the work into existing or new projects, has been an invaluable resource for researchers and innovators for decades.

A large number of scientific discoveries and technological advancements have been built using open-source data, including sustainable smartphones, COVID vaccines, and 3D-printed prosthetic limbs like the ones made by E-NABLE. Most of these products are the result of collective efforts between experts working to solve acute (and often underfunded) problems felt around the world. 

When open-source data, software and designs are available and accurate, scholars, inventors, and other future trailblazers are free to work as quickly and efficiently as they please, using only  the information they need. When the ideas become intellectual property, important projects can end up bound in proprietary red tape. Momentum is lost, work stalls out, even stops completely. A growing number of patent holders use the USPTO’s IP guidelines to block use of their property until compensated, or find ways, intentional or not, to pull competitors into expensive litigation. 

Though the protection of intellectual property through patents was meant to incentivise and reward inventors, a boutique market has grown up around making the most out of litigation instead. Patent cases have climbed over 60% in the last three years. Infringement claims are rising, and the litigation finance industry is growing, pushing more and more to participate. 

As the world strives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and shift towards renewable and sustainable energy sources, the role of open-source data is a critical catalyst for progress. It simply works. Not every patent needs to be open; not every milestone technology needs to be shared. However, time is short, needs are many, and a little bit of organization around available data could give rise to the next great paradigm shift.

From Idea to Reality

Open-source data breaks down the barriers to information and knowledge, democratizing access and empowering individuals to participate in the energy transition. Academia has never had much of a reason to share research or data outside of a commercial license, given the dysfunctional relationship between federal funding agencies and higher education. However, in recent years, open access academic journals have proliferated. Climate is a monthly peer-reviewed journal, and Oxford Open Climate Change, while relatively new, is part of an exhaustive collection of journals through Oxford University. Publications like these enable governments, researchers, entrepreneurs, and citizens to access reliable data on renewable energy potentials, energy efficiency, grid management, and more, facilitating evidence-based policy-making and promoting public engagement.

National agencies such as NASA, NOAA, and IPCC, offer insights into climate patterns, historical weather records, and climate projections. These datasets are crucial for assessing the impact of climate change on energy systems, identifying vulnerable regions, and planning for resilience in the energy transition. England’s Open Climate Fix has been collecting and sharing climate-related data and code since 2019. They provide sustained photovoltaic mapping and forecasting to help keep the energy grid in balance, and then share the data openly to “lower the barrier to entry for innovators.” 

Open-source data also promotes cooperation among diverse stakeholders, creating an ecosystem of knowledge sharing and cooperation. Energy transition challenges are complex and multifaceted, requiring interdisciplinary solutions. Open Climate Campaign is a multi-year nonprofit campaign to bring awareness to accessible open research, and is a partnership between Creative Commons, SPARC and EIFL. Their goals are to connect publishers, global environmental organizations, governments, and academics to do the work to address global climate change. This involves obtaining campaign endorsements and creating meaningful legal and social policies, identifying and supplying regions with required researchers, and educating the public on the importance of adopting and implementing local and national climate action.

Governments, businesses, and individuals need reliable data to assess the feasibility and impact of different energy options. Access to open-source data equips decision-makers with comprehensive and accurate information, enabling informed choices in the energy transition. CarbonPlan is one of the truly multidisciplinary open access projects out there: they analyze the design and implementation of the programs like OCF and offer insights into how these programs can be scaled globally. They’re primarily focused on removing carbon from the atmosphere and converting it into useful, eco-friendly materials, and their team consists of software engineers, research scientists from different backgrounds, data engineers, and leaders from academia, national laboratories, and the design industry. They’ve partnered with some of the biggest corporations in the world through Frontier.

Stay the Course

Some of the best minds in the world are already heavily involved in this planet-conscious group project. It is, however, the kind of group project that will have catastrophic consequences if even one part of the team decides to skip out and go to the movies instead. 

Doing the best work individually yields results, but ultimately doesn’t solve the problem. Open source initiatives help put everyone working on the energy transition on the same, level playing field. The alternative is a major problem when looking at differences between developing and developed nations. Science is the universal language, and should be the uniting force for visionaries around the globe to begin making monumental strides on the energy transition. But it’s up to all of us to continue on an open, collaborative path towards solutions.