Tony Huang and Engr. Choon Tan of Energy Eco Chain talk about blockchain in the energy sector.
We, at e27, believe in Asia’s startup ecosystem. As such, we value their insights, put the spotlight on their contributions to their industries, and celebrate the wins that they have.
This spotlight is on Energy Eco Chain Foundation (EEC), a platform for energy supply chain finance and payment settlement services that uses blockchain technology. We got talk to Engr. Choon Tan, Chief Financial Officer, and Tony Huang, Chief Operating Officer about their technology, how it applies to the energy sector, and where they think blockchain technology is heading.
On blockchain tech
Choon: Blockchain is fundamentally a growing list of records which are linked and secured from tampering and revision using cryptography. Applying this to the energy sector, all our actions (i.e. the purchasing of energy, making payments, etc.) are recorded in “blocks” to form a trustworthy “chain”. Cryptocurrency is only one of the applications of the blockchain technology.
On how Energy Eco Chain got started
Tony: Energy Eco Chain Foundation was established in November 2017 in Singapore by a team of veteran entrepreneurs and industry experts in the field of energy and blockchain technology. We chose Singapore for our main office because it is highly conducive for business, its openness to the fintech industry, as well as its proximity to Batam where we are planning a major cooperation project with the Batam Indonesia Free Zone Authority (BIFZA).
But what is Energy Eco Chain, really?
Tony: Energy Eco Chain provides a platform for energy supply chain finance and payment or settlement services for decentralised energy product trading. We are able to solve the current problems of inefficient use of resources during energy production, consumption, transmission, storage, and financing, which arise in the process of revamping traditional energy systems into modern energy systems.
Choon: To add on, powered by the digital currency of energy (via the digitalisation of energy products), Energy Eco Chain uses fundamental energy blockchains built from public, whole-internet collaborative blockchains to swiftly drive energy consumption as well as a digital energy economy system capable of sustained development and the motivation of capability.
On how the whole thing works
Choon: EEC is built using a framework of many chains and will be equipped with the benefits of both public and consortium chains, retaining the characteristics of public chains on the main chain framework while supporting the logic of consortium chains on secondary chains, hence realizing a “modularized plug-in”.
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Tony: Basically, EEC delivers a smart contract protocol that represents a standard power purchase agreement between an energy producer and energy buyer. Here, energy products are digitalised for fast and convenient circulation. Once an energy buyer shows interest in purchasing energy, the energy supplier will automatically deploy equipment to make the necessary arrangements. Once the energy is utilised, the government makes payment based on the amount of power generated via the smart contract.
On the problem EEC is trying to solve
Tony: Energy Eco Chain is aiming to solve the current problems of inefficient use of resources during energy production, consumption, transmission, storage, trading, and financing. A large amount of intermediary costs is generated in the traditional linear supply chain process. EEC will revamp traditional energy systems into modern energy systems, firstly by deploying the EEC main blockchain which is scheduled to be released in June 2018. In addition, by receiving data about the amount of energy produced and consumed, EEC will be able to transform the future of energy production into a tradeable product.
On how blockchain technology can improve the energy sector
Tony: Blockchain is a revolutionary new technology with tremendous benefits and boundless potential to change the way energy is purchased. In EEC, we wield the technology in three ways: supply chain, digitalisation of energy product trading, and payment and settlement services.
On blockchain for energy supply chain
Tony: Energy Eco Chain blockchain technology creates a process to ensure that the transfer of ownership and liabilities is efficiently and reliably done so. And in the areas of data creation, processing, and storage, cost is minimised because of the structure of a shared ledger.
On blockchain for digitalisation of energy product trading
Tony: Transactions are completed using smart contracts, which leads to easy and convenient transactions that are quickly executed.
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On blockchain for payment and settlement services
Tony:Energy Eco Chain has the ability to empower and simplify trading of electricity and receive payment in real-time from an automated and trustless settlement system. With blockchain technology, everyone involved in the transaction would have a copy of the transaction details, allowing those involved to be able to verify against the ledger hence there would be no need to trust and depend on a single party. Through Energy Eco Chain, there will be low settlement costs, which leads to lower power bills and improved returns on investments.
On the reception of companies to blockchain technology
Choon: We are seeing many startups coming into this industry and trying to develop new solutions, and we are delighted to see big giants such as BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil, Gazprom, etc also starting to explore or partner with blockchain technology companies.
The interest in blockchain-related partnerships by the utility giants represents an overarching trend of old-guard businesses turning to a new generation of startups to help craft a sharing economy for electrical power. The energy industry is at the cusp of a digital transformation and Energy Eco Chain is at the forefront spearheading this re-energisation.
On EEC’s vision
Choon: Our vision is to help the energy industry process transactions more effectively and efficiently, thereby lowering costs for all parties in the supply chain value chain.
On where they think the technology is heading
Choon: There will certainly be more and more companies embracing the blockchain technology, not only in the energy sector. All companies and even ordinary people like you and me should certainly be aware of the changes. Companies may not adopt it at this point but we would like to encourage them to keep an open mind and welcome the technology, as it will have positive effects on the way we conduct business and our daily life in the near future.
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Energy Eco Chain, or EEC, is a foundation established in Singapore that provides a platform for energy supply chain finance, and payment or settlement services for decentralised energy product trading. EEC will provide technical support and blockchain solution to the infrastructure of PNG Power for the 2018 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Papua New Guinea, as well as co-host the 2018 APEC Blockchain Summit, aiming to showcase the latest blockchain technology and applications.
The post The energy industry is on a digital transformation; Energy Eco Chain on being open to new tech appeared first on e27.