Researchers Build Blockchain Electricity Exchange They Say Cuts Waste

Researchers from one of the top universities in China say they have developed a decentralized exchange, not for crypto assets, but for unused power

A patent application filed by team from China's Fudan University in January and revealed on Friday sets out the workings of a blockchain-based electricity exchange that assigns power sellers and buyers as nodes on the network and allows them to securely trade unused electricity without a third-party intermediary.

Using the network, nodes can broadcast requests for sales or purchases, after which smart contracts will connect matching requests, based on data such as volume and price, and then trigger transactions – a mechanism similar to that of a decentralized crypto exchange.

The effort is a response to the growing supply of renewable energy in China, especially solar power generated by households, which is often generated in excess of demand in some regions.

The researchers write:

"Households then have no other choices but to let the unused solar power go to waste because they don't have a direct way of exchanging electricity."

To facilitate transactions over the decentralized network, a digital currency would be used between buyers and sellers, the patent application explained.

Although it's not clear which digital asset(s) the platform might use, the system has so far been made to built on two blockchain systems, according to the Fudan team.

"This idea can be achieved in either a public, private or a consortium blockchain. And in this case, the system has been developed on IBM's Hyperledger platform as well as the ethereum blockchain, to make electricity tradeable and shareable within a community," the document states.

Read the full patent application below:

Fudan University Patent Application by CoinDesk on Scribd

Solar panels image via Shutterstock