Public investment in geothermal development is increasing rapidly across the globe. As investment accelerates, attention is shifting from whether geothermal testbeds should be developed to how they should be designed.
To function effectively, a geothermal testbed must offer participants clear and predictable rules governing intellectual property (IP) and data-sharing governance. These frameworks must protect proprietary technologies while enabling the knowledge-sharing needed to accelerate innovation and justify public and philanthropic investment.
IP is the mechanism that turns innovation into prosperity, and without it, the economic returns from Canada’s clean energy transition will continue to flow abroad.
The geothermal IP series
As part of an ongoing research collaboration, Clean Air Task Force (CATF) examined how existing research test centres and collaborative R&D programs have addressed these issues and how those lessons can inform the design of future geothermal testbeds. The series is published by CATF in collaboration with the Cascade Institute.
Summary report
Intellectual Property Frameworks for Geothermal Test Centres
A summary of Designing an Intellectual Property and Data-Sharing Framework for a Superhot Rock Geothermal Testbed
Laura Katharina Mueller (Clean Air Task Force, in collaboration with the Cascade Institute)
The success of a geothermal test centre depends not only on technical capability, but also on the design of its governance, IP, and data-sharing framework. A well-designed framework provides participants with confidence that proprietary technologies will remain protected while enabling the knowledge-sharing necessary to accelerate innovation and maximize the value of public and private investment.
Issue Brief 1
Bridging the Valley of Death
How Test Centres Can Unlock the Geothermal Opportunity
Laura Katharina Mueller (Clean Air Task Force, in collaboration with the Cascade Institute)
This brief explains why test centres have become an increasingly important policy tool for accelerating energy innovation, what lessons can be drawn from existing programs, and why intellectual property (IP) and data-sharing frameworks are central to attracting industry participation.
Issue Brief 2
Designing for Success
How an Effective IP and Data-Sharing Framework Helps Test Centres Unlock Geothermal Innovation
Laura Katharina Mueller (Clean Air Task Force, in collaboration with the Cascade Institute)
This brief summarizes the principal options available to test centre organizers and participants, highlights the trade-offs associated with different approaches, and introduces key design principles that recur across successful test centres, including tiered data sharing, time-bounded confidentiality, and ring-fencing.
Geothermal IP and the prospects for Canada
Technical paper
Geothermal Innovation, Intellectual Property, and the Prospects for Canada
James W. Hinton, Peter Massie, Rachel Wang
Canada’s geothermal sector faces a defining challenge: while the country sits atop vast geothermal resources, foreign firms control 96 percent of geothermal intellectual property (IP) filed in Canada, and no Canadian company ranks among the world’s top 100 patent holders. This brief maps the global IP landscape, diagnoses Canada’s position within it, and makes the case for a coordinated national strategy that treats patents, data, and know-how as critical infrastructure.
Contact Peter Massie:
Director, Deep Geothermal program
Cascade Institute, Royal Roads University
E-mail: massie@cascadeinstitute.org
