Hey everyone,
take a look at this paper on an ongoing shortfall of low/no-carbon technology transfer (Weko/Goldthau 2022):
Do you have any experience in tieing Open Hardware up with the latest debates on technology transfer? I’d highly appreciate , if you’d share your learnings. Maybe some of you are in the position to write a reply paper to the authors as well.
Hi Paul – I took at crack at tech transfer and IP in this paper that is under review with a not so subtle title: Full Cost Accounting Shows the Emperor Has No Clothes: Universities Investing in Technology Transfer via Patenting Lose Money | Zenodo
Harnessing open hardware to start to tackle climate change is incredibly important- HardwareX is running a special issue on the tech part now with full APC waivers - due April 28th next year - Special Issue on Open Source Decarbonization for a Sustainable World - Forthcoming Special Issues - HardwareX - Journal - Elsevier
Technology transfer can only be achieved by improving human capital. Investment in this direction is still low in most countries of the South.
There are emerging research centers in Africa that focus on research and development and technology transfer. The example I know and see is Green Park Energy based in Morocco. A research center that is based in a university in the country.
In 2017, in Benin, we had written a project that was about creating a digital manufacturing learning space. A space where we could introduce young people to the manufacture of materials such as solar panels etc… Our proposal was not successful in the call for funding initiated by the U.S. Embassy in Benin. But today this same embassy makes investments in projects of electric energy supply in Benin. Knowing that less than 50% of the population has access to electrical energy. An approach based on technology transfer and capacity building of youth for democratization of clean energy generation can accelerate the resolution of the problem. But the other paradox is that there are many companies for whom Africa is a big market for selling photovoltaic systems for household electricity. A market that must be profitable given the proliferation of the number of companies and startups that emerge in the field. With this kind of shot of business opportunity, the willingness to make a real technology transfer can not be effective.
But if we make an analysis from another angle to see the preservation of the environment of the countries of the South (even greener and less polluted I suppose) common as a global necessity…a transfer of technology can be possible. To have more impact I think, to create more jobs and to preserve the good part of the globe as a common good.
Thank you for sharing your valuable insights!
Thank you for sharing, Joshua! I was already considering a contribution.
May I ask if you have any thoughts on how to establishing connections of “Open Hardware Decarbonization” to other readerships and communities of scholars/practitioners/policy makers (e.g. publishing in an adjacent journal etc.), that could adapt the core ideas to their discipline-specific paradigms?
I was mainly sharing the link, because those in technology transfer and international cooperation seem to have only little intersections to the OSH community yet.
Paul - Yes I think you are right - we need to get OH and decarb into more of the non-tech literature, energy policy, etc. Here is one in a tech chapter but needs to get much broader: Technologies | Free Full-Text | Strategic Investment in Open Hardware for National Security