150-Year-Old Chinese Gas Company Ramps Up Blockchain Adoption

Chinese energy company, Shanghai Gas, announced an expansion of its blockchain efforts following a successful trial partnership with supply chain management blockchain firm, VeChain (VET), on March 31.

Shanghai Gas, founded in 1865, is owned by utility services company, Shenergy Group — which claims to occupy more than 90% of Shanghai’s gas market. The firm has an annual supply of over 8 billion cubic meters.

Shanghai Gas expands blockchain adoption

Shanghai Gas’ trial used distributed ledger technology, or DLT, provided by VeChain to comprehensively monitor its supply chain and identify opportunities for efficiency savings and reduced operational costs.

The expanded partnership will see Shanghai Gas build “a trust-free ‘Energy-as-a-Service’ ecosystem” in partnership with VeChain and electricity provider ENN Energy Holdings.

ENN generates electricity for 17 provinces, more than 16 million residential dwellings, and nearly 100,000 industrial customers. The firm has a market cap of $85 billion.

Pilot concludes after 16 months

The three companies have participated in the Blockchain-Enabled LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) Solution pilot together since November 2018.

The pilot was found to have “significantly eliminate[d] information barriers in the supply chain, contribute[d] to a transparent product process, and provide[d] a reliable database for LNG risk management.”

Blockchain in energy to see $35B in investment by 2025

DLT is increasingly seeing adoption from the energy industry, with a recent report estimating that applications for blockchain technology within the energy sector will drive year-over-year investment growth at a rate of 82%.

If the forecast is accurate, blockchain would represent nearly 2% of the entire $1.85 trillion industry by 2025.