Japanese IT Giant Fujitsu Leverages Blockchain, Streamline’s Energy Problems

According to a press release published on January 30, 2019, Fujitsu Limited has successfully trialed a blockchain-powered platform to mitigate inefficiencies pertaining to energy shortages as well as surpluses among consumers and companies.

Blockchain Technology to Fix Electricity Problems

Japan is known the world over for being one of the hotbeds for everything ‘technology’, and so it comes as little surprise that it is also one of the early adopters of emerging technologies like blockchain, AI, and machine learning, not to mention being the birthplace of the premier cryptocurrency, Bitcoin.

In the latest development, Fujitsu, one of the largest IT companies in Japan is looking to use blockchain technology in the field of energy consumption. In a bid to ensure judicious power-sharing, Fujitsu partnered with local power distribution company ENERES. Notably, power sharing is administered through a process known as Demand Response (DR) in Japan.

In a DR, electricity consumers aid in balancing the demand and supply of power by changing their power consumption according to the requirement by companies, and in turn consumers receive an incentive.

DR requires an agreement to be established between companies and consumers. Once the involved parties give consent to the agreement, DR looks to ensure that surplus power is available to companies when they require it the most, i.e. during peak hours.

However, one of the biggest hurdles facing this process is that at times success rate for DR can be very low and as such, consumers might not be able to keep up with the increased demand put forth by electric utilities. Reportedly, Fujitsu’s blockchain-based system eliminates this problem and brings some degree of transparency to the whole process.

(Source: Press Release)

The press release reads in part:

“Fujitsu has now devised a system in which electricity consumers can efficiently exchange among themselves the electricity surpluses they have produced through their own electricity generation or power savings. The result was an approximately 40% improvement to the DR success rate.”

Seeing the success of their DLT-powered electricity solution, Fujitsu expects more consumers to participate in their DR schemes. The company also stressed on its mission to build a carbon-free society.

People can get more details on the newly unveiled technology at the ENEX 2019 Energy and Environment Exhibition. The exhibition will be held from January 30 to February 1, at Tokyo Big Sight.

Energy Giants Show Faith in Blockchain

Global bodies have regularly thrown their weight behind blockchain technology. BTCManager reported on December 1, 2018, how a World Economic Forum report highlighted DLT as one of the tools that could put an end to Africa’s energy problem.