The Siemens’ Divisions Energy Management and Power Generation Services have recently become a member of the Energy Web Foundation (EWF), a non-profit alliance that supports the development and growth of blockchain-based projects in the energy sector. According to Siemens’ press release published on November 21, 2018, Siemens will play a proactive role in the EWF by improving the commercial deployment of blockchain technology for the energy industry.
Blockchain Technology in the Energy Sector
The EWF is currently the leading alliance for blockchain developments in the energy industry with a growing membership base that includes corporate affiliates, technology partners, and strategic investors. As a member of the EWF, Siemens will explore different applications that involve blockchain technology including transactive energy applications, new prosumer-centric use cases, and business models around distributed energy systems, and project financing.
The EWF noted that the energy sector would face many rapid changes concerning its use of emerging technologies in the next few years.
A key example of this is transactive energy applications. According to the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), transactive energy is a system of economic and control mechanism that enables a dynamic and balance of supply and demand across the electrical infrastructure. For a transactive energy system to work, blockchain technology is necessary since transactive energy systems involve decentralization, decarbonization, and digitized energy systems.
Furthermore, blockchain technology can also ensure that transactions in a decentralized network or peer-to-peer electrical grid can be validated effectively, efficiently, and in a secure manner. It’s critical to have fast, clear, and transparency information in the energy sector since there are many key stakeholders which range from consumers, prosumers, producers, to network operators.
Blockchain’s impact can even go beyond its role in transactive energy applications and validating transactions. It can also open up new business models and enable new ways for clean energy project financing.
Siemens Uses Blockchain For New Services
Apart from joining the EWF, Siemens is also using blockchain technology within their organization. They are currently leveraging the emerging technology to help customers develop new forms of energy or produce solutions and services that optimize energy generation and consumption.
Siemens has also partnered with LO3 Energy, a New York-based startup to combine micro-grid control solutions with blockchain technology. With this new approach, operators of photo-voltaic systems can feed excess electricity into the existing local grid and receive payment directly from the customer who, for example, can be their neighbors. Siemens and LO3 Energy are first implementing this peer-to-peer trading platform and technology in Brooklyn.
