Block chain technology in energy sector

1. Blockchain in the Energy Sector
Name: Darshil Patel (Energy & Infrastructure)

2. Agenda
 Blockchain overview
 Blockchain key features
 Three “levels” of blockchain
 Blockchain application in energy sector
 Strategies adopted by energy firms
 Needs and challenges while adopting blockchain as per geography
 Different location different adoption methods
 Future growth of blockchain
 Reasons why energy sector must embrace blockchain
 References

3. Blockchain overview
• Blockchain technology offers a way for untrusted parties to reach
agreement (consensus) on a common digital history. A common digital
history is important because digital assets and transactions are in theory
easily faked and/or duplicated. Blockchain technology solves this
problem without using a trusted intermediary.
• Blockchain technology was first introduced in a whitepaper entitled:
“Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,” by Satoshi Nakamoto
in 2008.

4. Blockchain key features
• No reliance on trust
• Digital signatures
• Peer-to-peer network
• Proof-of-work
• Public history of transactions
• Rules and incentives enforced through consensus(agreement) mechanism

5. Three “levels” of blockchain
1. Storage for digital records
2. Exchanging digital assets
3. Executing smart contracts
• Distributed network executes contract & monitors compliance
• Outcomes are automatically validated without third party

6. Various application of blockchain in energy sector
Power Sector and renewables
• Peer to peer energy trading.
• Wholesale electricity
distribution.
• Tracking faulty equipments.
• Tracking energy behavior
• Smart metering.
• Pre-payment for energy using
mobile.
• Streamlining access to
renewable energy.
Oil and Gas Sector
• Upstream-Wide scale and multi
party data coordination, Enhancing
compliance, Oil based digital
currency, Transparency in
operations.
• Midstream-Energy trading and risk
management, Land management
(smart contracts), Mitigation of
human risk.
• Downstream-Exchange of products,
Terminal automation, Demurrage
and claims management.
Mining sector
• Supply chain traceability of
minerals.
• Sustainability in mining
operations.

7. Access to read data is public but access to write is
centralized and limited to only one party to avoid
intentional or unintentional data manipulation.
In house development:
Blockchain confirms transactions, if 2/3rd of nodes
agree with the result. So, in consortium, blockchain
helps to mitigate swindling and data misuse
Consortium
Access to their full functionality to both the partner
who are the part of the network. This leads to lower
susceptibility to hacking.
Partnerships
Strategies adopted

8. Needs and challenges while adopting blockchain as per
geography
Countries having abundant resources
can adopt blockchain technology
A
Return on investment is what to look out
for while adopting blockchain technology
B
IT development is a pre-requisite
C
Reliable power supply i.e. 24*7
uninterrupted electricity
D
A
B
C
D
E
Proper infra-structure
E

9. Different location, different adoption methods
• There are different energy sector and their plant locations are in remote as well
as urban areas.
In Oil and Gas, Upstream (Offshore and Onshore) phase which is far away from
densely populated areas hence, the adoption of blockchain technology would
require a lot of resources as mentioned in the previous slide.
Whereas in Power Sector and renewables, availability of electricity and other
resources required for the adoption of this technology are easily accessible. So,
blockchain can be implemented and suffice benefit could be avail.
In Mining sector, it is similar to oil and gas upstream phase i.e. less access to
resources needed for blockchain technology.
Therefore, adoptions vary as per the resources at hand.

10. “Blockchain technology in the energy
market is predicted to hike from USD 200
million in 2018 to around USD 18 billion
by 2025.”
– Global Market Insights Inc
“A new ecosystem of energy blockchain
start-ups is emerging, and venture
capital, so far, has raised over US$1b to
scale business models of the future.”
Future growth of blockchain

11. Reasons why energy sector
must embrace blockchain • Being widely used in financial sector, many other growing industries are
experimenting with this technology and energy sector is one of them.
• Blockchain does more than connecting renewable energy producers to
end users such as enabling energy companies to settle futures trading
considerably faster and can even help energy companies to improve how
they track resources and maintain regulatory compliance.
• It cut costs by facilitating a trusted transfer of value without the
involvement of traditional intermediaries.
• Power sector can be benefited with the implication of blockchain as it
would lessen the risk associated with the outage or equipment failure,
data manipulation, high tariffs, etc.
• Blockchain looks promising in oil and gas sector too but it is impossible to
overhaul the industry and the rationale is that blockchain is a team sport,
you cannot experiment on your own.
• Deploying small but significant changes to improve the efficiency in the
global oil business requires support from multiple stakeholders. Only time
will tell how many companies will embrace the blockchain technology at
an early stage.

12. References
• https://consensys.net/blockchain-use-cases/energy-and-
sustainability/#utilityproviders
• https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/industries/assets/blockchain-technology-
in-energy.pdf
• https://www.ey.com/en_us/digital/blockchain-s-potential-win-for-the-
energy-sector
• https://agilethought.com/blogs/why-blockchain-has-bright-future-in-
energy/#:~:text=Blockchain%20does%20more%20than%20connect,reso
urces%20and%20maintain%20regulatory%20compliance
• https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/for-utilities-exploring-
blockchain-theres-beauty-in-the-mundane

13. Thankyou! 