Blockchain Beyond Finance: a look at the implementation of technology in P2P energy trading

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Utility companies around the world are collaborating with blockchain startups to test the potential of blockchain technology in peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading.

As the name suggests, P2P energy trading is the trade in "peer" energy. People who generate energy (the concept of "prosumer") in their homes, offices, etc. They can sell / share their excess energy to peers.

Last year, energy giants including Centrica, Engie, Royal Dutch Shell, Sempra Energy, SP Group and Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) joined forces to support the Energy Web Foundation (EWF) , a non-profit organization that aims to accelerate the commercial development of blockchain technology in the energy sector. In February 2018, another 27 organizations, including those of Swisspower, E.ON, Eandis and others, joined the initiative.

Several energy trading companies have started blockchain projects focused on P2P energy with start-ups and software companies such as Ponton, LO3 Energy and Power Ledger:

Ponton

Founded in 2001, Ponton is a software company that provides standards-based solutions for B2B processes in the energy sector.

In May 2017, 23 European energy trading companies, including Vattenfall, BKW, Eneco, Centrica, Energie AG, Engie and others, collaborated to conduct P2P trading in the wholesale energy market using the 39; innovative blockchain technology. The total number of companies participating in the initiative rose to 39 in November 2017.

P2P energy trading will take place on an enhanced Enerchain framework. Developed by Ponton, Enerchain is a blockchain-based application that allows commercial organizations to anonymously send orders to a decentralized orderbook that may be affected by other commercial organizations. All this is done P2P without a central market managed by a third party.

LO3 energy

Founded in 2012, LO3 Energy is a New York-based company that builds a platform to enable decentralized business models and innovative technologies related to energy, cleantech and utility systems. The company raised $ 5.8 million in a loan round in November 2017 led by Braemar Energy Ventures and Centrica. It is involved in two projects: one with the Siemens AG world power plant and the other with the multinational British energy and service company Centrica:

  • In November 2016, Siemens AG collaborated with LO3 Energy to jointly develop microgrids that enable local energy trading based on blockchain technology. The microrete, which was designed for Brooklyn, actually began as a pilot project for LO3 Energy. The project marked the first time that a Siemens microgrid control solution was combined with the LO3 Energy P2P trading platform known as the TransActive Grid.
  • In May 2018, Centrica worked with LO3 to test the potential blockchain in P2P energy trading. The project will see the introduction of technology into Centrica's local energy market (LEM), a £ 19 million program that aims to explore flexible and intelligent energy solutions.

Power Ledger

Launching blockchain in Australia Power Ledger has led a series of initiatives to provide private and community access to low-cost, reliable and renewable electricity.

The company was founded in May 2016 and in the same year started testing a blockchain solution that allowed people in Perth and the South-West to buy, sell or exchange excess electricity with anyone connected to the Western Power network without brokers.

Power Ledger raised $ 34 million in an initial money supply (ICO) last October. He is also involved in a distributed energy project and distributed blockchain water systems in the city of Fremantle, which received a $ 8 million grant from the Australian government.

In November 2018, Power Ledger announced the development of its P2P renewable energy trading platform at the licensed American PowerNet retail electricity supplier in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.

Since its inception, the company has partnered with a number of utility giants around the world and is working with them to help them harness the potential of blockchain technology. This includes testing a P2P energy trading platform with the Australian energy retailer Origin; bring a high-value model of the renewable energy markets distributed to Europe in cooperation with the Liechtenstein Strategic Development Institute (LISD); agreement with the renewable energy developer supported by the Thai government BCPG; partnership with Greenwood Solutions for the renewable energy trade in Melbourne; collaboration with the Japanese giant Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO) to test the P2P renewable energy trading in Japan; and many others.

More recently, the Australian commercial real estate company Vicinity Centers, in collaboration with Power Ledger, has announced a blockchain experimentation aimed at facilitating its shopping centers to supply energy to neighboring communities that connect to its secure power network.

Other notable efforts include:

International Energy Research Center (IERC)

In March 2018, the International Energy Research Center (IERC), a collaborative research and innovation program in integrated technologies of sustainable energy systems, launched a new EnerPort project aimed at accelerating P2P energy trading in Ireland using the blockchain technology. Launched in collaboration with the SFI INSIGHT Center at NUI Galway, the project involves a number of indigenous companies including Systemlink Technologies, MSemicon and Verbatm. The goal is to understand and explore how cutting-edge technologies, such as blockchain and the Internet of Things (IoT), provide a platform that allows businesses and consumers to operate on a regional and even national scale. .

The consortium will examine how blockchain technology can be used for energy trading, as well as its potential to reward users for energy savings and to manage small-scale transactions among neighbors that generate electricity.

Australian renewable energy agency

In May 2017, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced its support for a blockchain process that aims to enable families and businesses to trade or share power with an 39; another. Under the guidance of AGL Energy Limited (AGL), in collaboration with IBM Australia and distributed energy market consultants Marchment Hill Consulting, the project involves the evaluation of a virtual test at the homes of Melbourne with a mix of solar panels , batteries to store electricity and "intelligent" conditioned air. IBM will focus on the applicability of the blockchain to the recognition, authentication and regulation of energy trading, while Marchment Hill will provide market analysis.

Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO)

In November 2018, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) announced a project focused on building a future microgrid using blockchain technology. The "KEPCO Open Micro Grid Project" aims to improve the micro-network by integrating digital technology such as energy solutions and blockchain with the existing microgrid system.

KT

In an e-mail to TokenPost in October 2018, South Korean telecommunications giant KT said it had completed its PoC (proof of concept) for a blockchain-based transaction system in energy trading.

"It will provide reliable means of regulation and verification for small generators participating in the energy trade.Using AI-based IoT (Internet of Things) technology, the system allows real-time data acquisition on the generation of energy and blockchain-based smart contracts, this will facilitate the independent signing of the contract when pre-defined terms and conditions will be met and thus reduce the time needed to adjust tariffs, "KT said, adding that the commercialization of the system will start Next year.

KT also said that the completion of a blockchain-based DR (demand-to-demand) intelligent system that enables B2B (business-to-business) energy transactions is approaching.

"We plan to finish by the end of this year and to market the DR system in the second half of next year. Likewise, we plan to apply our blockchain technology to carbon emissions trading and recharging the EV (electric vehicle), "he added.

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