Energi Mine Launches Blockchain-Based Platform to Reward Energy Conservation

The advanced energy sector reached $1.4 trillion in 2016, up 7 percent from $1.3 trillion in 2015, according to the Advanced Energy Now 2017 Market Report. Electricity generation brought in $455.6 billion in revenue, a 5 percent increase from the prior year. Other segments include building efficiency, advanced transportation, advanced fuel production, advanced fuel delivery, advanced industry, and electricity management and delivery.

Manchester-based Energi Mine manages $140 million in energy for clients across the UK, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, overseeing about 1,100 customer sites.

The new platform operates on a different principle. It issues ETK tokens to anyone who reduces energy consumption, such as by switching to public transit or purchasing efficient appliances. An AI system combined with blockchain monitors these actions through connections to smart meters and transport data systems, verifying that the energy savings occurred.

"Our AI and blockchain technology will plug into existing data feeds – smart meters or transport software – to verify energy saving behaviour has taken place," CEO Omar Rahim told MiningPool. "We then help organisations build and manage their reward schemes in our infrastructure."

Token holders can spend them on electricity bills, recharge electric vehicles, exchange them for conventional currency, or trade them with transit operators like Transport for London for passage. The platform lets users sell excess power to one another at market rates, rather than selling to utilities at rates the utilities set.

"The ultimate goal is of course to reduce global energy demand," Rahim told MiningPool. "It's very difficult to change human behaviour and at the start of any movement it is necessary for there to be a financial reward. In the long term, wasting energy will become taboo – but we are not there yet."