Blockchain – innovative electricity trading without the middleman

Innovation

2017-04-03

Innovation is what drives us. That is why Fronius has for some time been working intensively on the pioneering blockchain technology. It is essentially a decentralised network, which reliably connects suppliers directly to consumers. At the recent Event Horizon international energy conference, it was clear to all that Fronius is establishing itself as an expert innovator in this field.

From generation and storage to distribution and consumption, the entire energy sector is undoubtedly experiencing an era of great upheaval. Buzzwords such as e-mobility, energy management and self-consumption have long been on everyone’s lips. As a result, completely new business models that will supersede the existing “traditional” forms of electricity trading are anticipated for this sector – with blockchain technology forming one such example. The energy market is fertile ground for new solutions: with the unclear pricing models and additional bureaucratic costs of the large electricity retailers, there have long been calls for an alternative. The blockchain, with its high degree of transparency and security, not to mention significant cost benefits thanks to the elimination of all intermediate stages, may well be the perfect answer. Innovative electricity trading along these lines could ensure that in the future we source our electricity straight from our neighbour's photovoltaic system, or can charge our electric cars at privately owned charging stations. The blockchain takes care of billing in the background, acting as a central, secure and transparent register.

Key2Energy – a tenant-supply model as the key to future energy distribution

Together with partners Grid Singularity (a start-up that develops blockchain solutions for the energy market), guh (a start-up in the IoT* sector), IIBW (Institute for Real Estate, Construction and Housing) and MA 20 (Energy Planning Department at the City of Vienna), Fronius made its debut at Event Horizon – the first international conference for Blockchain technology in the energy sector – in the middle of February. The collaborative project “Key2Energy”, a tenant-supply model implemented using blockchain technology, was presented. As part of this project, apartment buildings are fitted with a PV system, which tenants can then source electricity from on favourable terms.

Petra Ledermüller and Thomas Ringer, who along with other colleagues from the project team represented Fronius at Event Horizon, agree on the significance and potential for Fronius: “No-one has yet been able to fully grasp the extent that the blockchain and its effects will impact the energy world. This makes it even more important to work proactively on this ground-breaking technology and recognise the potential for Fronius at an early stage.”

More information can be found at the following links:

www.key2.energy

www.eventhorizon2017.com

*IoT on Wikipedia