Blockchain technology for the digital energy industry
The initiative "DLT-for-Power" explores new digital paths for the future power supply. Via digitization using DLT (Distributed Ledger Technologies), it is developing solutions for decentralization and decarbonization in electricity. Two Swiss guides are now available.
Digitization is closely linked to blockchain, which is also known as distributed ledger technology (DLT). DLT is based on the principle of decentralized management of data and information and generally has a high automation potential. It is therefore a technology that is tailor-made for the increasingly decentralized future of a CO2-free energy sector. However, standards and principles for its application in the energy sector have been lacking until now.
DLT is at an early stage, but the momentum of developments is enormous. Various questions are currently arising for the energy industry:
- Where can the technology be used?
- Are applications using different blockchains compatible with each other?
- What data should be on the blockchain and how can DLT be successfully integrated into historically grown energy industry processes?
In addition, the energy consumption of certain DLT is very high, as the example of Bitcoin, which has received a great deal of media attention, shows. When using DLT in the energy sector, this must be considered from the outset.
Two Swiss Guides (SNG) as a result
A consortium of universities, associations and companies addressed these issues. This fundamental work was carried out under the umbrella of the Swiss Association for Standardization (SNV). The Digital Innovation Office (DO) of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) supported the consortium in this endeavor via the EnergieSchweiz program. Under the leadership of Alpiq AG, Schlegel Power Consulting and Swisscom AG, the consortium jointly compiled two Swiss Guides (SNG) on the application of DLT in the energy industry. These lay the foundation for further work to broadly introduce DLT in the energy industry and to drive forward the standardization necessary for this. Thus, the results present potential applications of DLT in the energy industry and outline technical recommendations for designing a scalable DLT architecture. Particular emphasis is given to questions of how DLT can support renewable energy integration and how DLT energy consumption can be kept low. In total, more than 50 companies, associations and universities were involved in the development.
From Switzerland on to Europe
Switzerland has made a significant contribution to the development of DLT in the energy industry with these guidelines. The European Commission is also working on the standardization of DLT, for example as part of the Digital Europe program. The Swiss contribution has already been recognized at the European level. For example, Switzerland took the lead in the Sector Forum Energy Management Switzerland, a broad-based international working group that will make recommendations for the attention of the European standardization bodies and the Commission. SNV will provide the secretariat for this. The national guidelines form an important basis for this.
Nationally, it is now a matter of joining forces. The relevant Swiss players should take the opportunity to get further involved in the international work and to test the recommendations of the guidelines in concrete pilot projects. The Digital Innovation Office will strive to connect the strong SNV ecosystem with the NTN Innovation Booster Blockchain Nation Switzerland and other initiatives to drive digital innovation. The electricity industry has an important role to play here. It is important to be actively and transparently involved - this is the only way to successfully integrate DLT into the energy sector.
Here, interested parties can find the two Swiss Guides (SNG) in the SNV online store for free download:
Participation is required
Do you also want to get involved in the SNV ecosystem and develop Swiss Guides (SNG) recommendations in pilot projects?
Your contact for further information: Lukas Möhr, lukas.moehr@snv.ch, Tel: +41 52 224 54 23
