Blockchain technology has the potential to bring about sustainable change in the energy sector.  Wien Energie is actively researching the use of blockchain technology to simplify the handling of energy transactions with a pilot project in the VIERTEL ZWEI urban development area in Vienna’s Leopoldstadt. At the beginning of 2017, Wien Energie launched a pilot project for gas trading together with the oil companies BP and Eni, business consultants Ernst & Young and the blockchain start-up BTL.

VIERTEL ZWEI innovation project

As part of the “Urban Pioneers Community” innovation project at VIERTEL ZWEI, Wien Energie is working with Austrian digitalisation experts Riddle & Code to create a blockchain infrastructure, the first time this has been done for an entire urban neighbourhood.  The project was launched at the end of January 2018 with the active involvement of the residents of VIERTEL ZWEI.

The aim of the project is to bring customers on board as active partners in the product development process, for instance by testing innovative energy tariffs which have not been on the market before, or new business models based on solar power, all incorporating new technologies like blockchain.  Ideas that prove their worth in practice can subsequently be rolled out to other neighbourhoods or across the entire city.

Developing new solutions

The project participants are testing a true end-to-end solution for blockchain systems in the e-economy for the first time. Blockchain hardware such as nodes and wallets is being integrated into the existing energy infrastructure, making it possible to harmonise services across all applications, e.g. photovoltaic systems, electromobility and storage.  This gives Wien Energie the opportunity to develop new business models and test how solutions such as new electricity tariff models using blockchain technology and smart meters work from the customer’s point of view.

An example: An e-charging station at VIERTEL ZWEI can use a computer protocol on the blockchain and automated contracts to obtain power from both the photovoltaic systems at VIERTEL ZWEI and the central energy trading market in Leipzig. The electricity is then supplied to an electric car for charging.

The long-term project is designed to run for three to five years. Blockchain technology equips Smart City Wien with a new tool with which to develop innovative solutions for a number of future urban issues, create new opportunities for participation and thus improve quality of life for local people – all of which are objectives of the Smart City Wien Framework Strategy.

Contact

Wien Energie GmbH

E-Mail: office@wienenergie.at

Website: www.wienenergie.at