International companies – including Centrica, Engie and Royal Dutch Shell – have joined forces to launch an international blockchain initiative for energy.
The firms are supporting the Energy Web Foundation, which is a partnership between the American thinktank Rocky Mountain Institute and blockchain developer Grid Singularity to spearhead the cutting-edge technology in the energy business.
The foundation will build an open-source platform, which will form the basis of international energy blockchain system, which the companies can then use to test their own applications.
Speaking to Utility Week, the managing director of the Rocky Mountain Institute, Herve Touati, said working together to develop the platform “is a logical first step for the industry to take”.
“Over time, we expect a healthy level of competition to develop among energy companies offering blockchain-based applications,” said Touati.
As far as Britain is concerned, the managing director predicted that blockchain will help with customer account management and switching.
“Since the UK market is competitive and customers can switch retail electricity providers, blockchain-based customer billing and management systems could reduce friction in retailer switching and plan management,” he said.
“We believe key stakeholder groups, like electricity sector regulators, will be important partners in the implementation of blockchain-based applications.
“Generally speaking, blockchains unlock new business models, are a font of innovation, can boost the security and resiliency of the electric grid, and are capable of reducing costs in a variety of direct and indirect ways for electricity consumers.
“Getting regulators on board with the value proposition of blockchain in energy will ease the technology’s path to commercialisation,” added Touati.