Technology entrepreneur and Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that Bitcoin’s (BTC) structure is “quite brilliant” and that digital currency is “a far better way to transfer value than pieces of paper.” Musk made his remarks during an interview on advisory services firm ARK Invest’s podcast on Feb. 19. In response to a question about whether Bitcoin becomes the only native cryptocurrency of the Internet, Musk said that “the Bitcoin structure was quite brilliant,” and that he thinks that “one of the downsides of crypto is that computationally it is quite energy intensive. So there have to be some kind of …

The global blockchain in energy utilities market is expected to grow by 60 percent by 2024, according to a new report from Infoholic Research LLP published on Feb. 15. Per the report, the global blockchain in energy utilities market was assessed to be $210.4 million in 2018, and is expected to reach $3.4 billion by 2024. Infoholic Research thus predicts the growth at a compound annual growth rate of 59.4 percent during the period from 2018 to 2024. The report also notes that the key driver of growth in the next five to six years will be sales of distributed …

Dutch technology company ElaadNL has developed a Proof of Concept (PoC) for a smart power grid for electric vehicles using internet of things (IoT)-focused IOTA Tangle technology, according to the company’s announcement on Feb. 14. Per the announcement, the PoC shows the ability of smart grids to not only consume power, but also generate it and autonomously redistribute it amongst community members. The initiative was based on IOTA’s Tangle technology, which purportedly lets the charging devices autonomously decide whether there is need to help balance grid load. In addition, the charging stations can earn a IOTA tokens by charging electric …

Blockchain tech firm and Bitcoin (BTC) mining manufacturer Bitfury plans to launch several mining facilities in Paraguay, according to a press release published Thursday, Jan. 31. Bitfury has partnered with South Korean peer-to-peer knowledge commons research firm Commons Foundation to launch a series of transaction processing sites that will use Bitfury’s BlockBox AC mobile data centers in Paraguay. The project is part of a larger initiative from Commons, dubbed “Golden Goose,” that aims to “expand cryptocurrency and blockchain innovation in Spanish-speaking countries,” the press release reports. As per the announcement, the mining facilities in Paraguay will account for about 200,000 …

Danish state-owned energy company Energinet has expanded its partnership with distributed ledger network Iota to investigate use of its technology in new areas, Iota revealed in blog post Jan. 30. Energinet, which is an independent enterprise under Denmark’s Climate and Energy Ministry, wants to examine how it could leverage Iota’s Tangle technology in the energy and Internet of Things (IoT) markets. The two entities have worked together on a data marketplace initiative since late 2017, a larger project involving other companies. Energinet market developer André Bryde Alnor commented on the latest move: “As part of our journey to a digitized, …

The association between blockchains and energy is usually a negative one. “The Bitcoin blockchain is so wasteful of electricity,” or so the argument goes, “that it would push global warming to dangerous levels if it were ever used on a massive scale.” Research published in the influential journal Nature backs up this warning. Yet, if we were to look beyond Bitcoin, it becomes apparent that blockchains in general are being increasingly put to good use by the energy industry. From their use in energy trades to their incorporation in microgrids, distributed ledgers are making possible a range of new transactions …

Chevron, one of largest American multinational energy corporations, and two other major energy companies have joined Vakt, a United Kingdom-based blockchain platform for energy commodity trading. Reuters reported on the development on Jan. 16. Along with Chevron, Total, a leading French multinational integrated oil and gas company, and major Indian refiner Reliance Industries have become members of the Vakt platform. The article stresses that the agreement is a step towards quicker and safer logistical operations. The Vakt platform, backed by JPMorgan’s Quorum blockchain technology, aims to become a digital transaction platform that would transform the oil business worldwide. Thomas Waymel, …

Madrid-based energy company Repsol reported a successful test of a blockchain pilot to improve the quality of safety certification of its products. Cointelegraph in Spanish reported the news on Jan. 15. Established in 1987, Repsol is a leading energy company that operates in the oil and gas industry, including exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas. In the first nine months of 2018, the company’s net income reached 2,7 billion euros, rising by 37 percent since the beginning of the year, according to Financial Times. The Repsol Technology Lab Research Center (Tech Lab) and blockchain startup Finboot, …

Spain’s major energy company, Iberdrola, has started using blockchain to track renewable energy, Spanish independent news agency Europa Press reports on Monday, Jan. 14. The first trial was conducted in cooperation with Kutxabank, a local bank based in the Basque Autonomous Community that owns a substantial part of Iberdrola's equity, and its subsidiary Cajasur. During the pilot, Iberdrola monitored the renewable energy delivered from two wind farms and one power station to banks’ offices located in Basque Country and the southern city of Cordoba. The company used Energy Web Foundation — an open source blockchain platform designed to fit the …

The Department of Energy (DOE) of the United States has announced $4.8 million in funding for university research of technologies including blockchain, according to an announcement published Jan. 7. The funding has been announced by the department’s office of fossil energy. Projects eligible for funding include those researching emerging technologies, “such as blockchain and decentralized, peer-to-peer [P2P] internet protocols” to secure data from fossil power generation sensors. The developed systems would be used to securely process data from the sensors and other unspecified information flows within distributed sensor networks for fossil-based power generation systems. The DOE said it “anticipates selecting …

Spanish renewable energy company ACCIONA Energía is going to deploy blockchain to trace electricity generation, according to an announcement published Dec. 17. ACCIONA Energía is an international global renewable energy operator, that reportedly produces emission-free energy for over 6 million homes. The company is recognized as one of the largest renewable energy developers, with more than 9,000 MW owned and installed. ACCIONA started the project after it reached an agreement with FlexiDAO, a Barcelona-based startup that offers software tools to electric power companies for digital energy services. With this move, ACCIONA plans to allow its clients to check the provenance …

South Korea’s government will spend 4 billion Korean won (KRW) (about $3.5 million) to set up a blockchain-enabled virtual power plant (VPP) in the city of Busan. The development was reported by South Korean newspaper Yonhap News Agency on Monday, Dec. 10. Busan, South Korea’s second most populous city after Seoul, has announced that the city administration has selected a project to support an innovative energy industry in the region by building a VPP based on a citizens-shared blockchain. The project will reportedly be represented at a national competition in 2019 hosted by the largest electric utility in South Korea, …