Elering and Wepower Partnership Offers Blockchain-Based Energy Trading Solution
WePower signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Elering AS in October 2017 which would set the table for a blockchain-based energy trading solution in Estonia. The pilot looks to tokenize energy exchanges between the two companies while also opening a communication channel for further developments.
National Experience Meets 21st Century Innovation
The association is the first of its kind in Europe and will link the European green energy producer with an Estonian Smart Grid. The partnership will integrate its cryptocurrency trading with Elering’s Estfeed data to tokenize real energy using the country’s hourly energy consumption. The tokens can then be traded on the WePower platform.
WePower representatives explained,
“We believe that this project might be one of the turning points in proving blockchain’s applicability in one of the most vital industries to our daily lives – energy.”
At current, the platform is built on Ethereum blockchain, but the firm will test different networks such as for Ethereum’s Casper protocol, EOS, and NEM. The experiment will explore which network would best fit large-scale infrastructure projects. To foolproof the plan, it will be released in two phases.
Under phase one, the firms are integrating WePower’s current Ethereum platform with Estfeed platform, while also allowing experimentation of the networks mentioned above. The second step will see these measures go live, make data accessible, and provide concrete details of the partnership’s progress.
Since the Elering ecosystem operates nationwide, it has access to the entire country’s energy infrastructure. Advancing its platform through a tie-up with WePower will bring national attention to blockchain technology.
Estonia is an ideal specimen to test such a network, as the country enjoys 100 percent smart meter coverage. All of which is neatly assembled on the data hub, Estfeed. Japan and a few others have also been tempted to explore the possibility of combining blockchain technology with national energy grids.
While the technology may be new, the startup has found critical backing in the energy industry’s expert. By tokenizing energy in a way never before seen, the partnership hopes to make energy consumption more effecient, but also reinvent how countries can think of national energy grids. The endeavor is also sure to encounter never before seen obstacles as well.
