JPMorgan shares patents to spur low carbon technology development

[NEW YORK] JPMorgan Chase & Co on Thursday said it would allow others to use its intellectual property in hopes of speeding up the transition to low carbon technology and energy sources.

The bank is making several key patents related to how it efficiently cools and ventilates its massive data centres available to anyone using low carbon technologies as part of a joint pledge initiated by Microsoft, Facebook and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

Launched in April this year, companies have shared more than 450 patents as part of the pledge, shining a light on the technology that these companies are using to mitigate their carbon footprints.

As part of their technology infrastructure, banks and other major companies use huge data centres, which consume vast amounts of energy for cooling and ventilation to prevent systems from overheating.

While some companies, including JPMorgan, have moved some applications to a public cloud, financial services companies have remained largely reliant on private data centres because they are considered the most secure option.

JPMorgan does not disclose information about its data centres. But it was reported in 2012 that the bank spent US$500 million to build just one centre. The bank's annual technology budget regularly runs around US$12 billion.

The bank's head of intellectual property Daryl Wooldridge said the company was making the patents available to back up the bank's commitment to the international Paris climate accord.

"Making critical technology available to innovators who are developing solutions that address climate change is critical to that effort," he said.

REUTERS