Japanese IT Giant Fujitsu Completes Test of Blockchain Electricity Sharing Project

Japanese IT firm Fujitsu has successfully trialed a blockchain-based solution to address inefficiencies in electricity surplus management, the company confirmed in a press release on Jan. 29.

Fujitsu, which partnered with local power distribution company ENERES, used blockchain to increase the success rates of power sharing, which is administered through a process known as Demand Response (DR).

An agreement between utilities companies and consumers, DR aims to anticipate periods of peak demand by ensuring surplus power is available to those who need it.

The current technology involved makes DR an inefficient mechanism, Fujitsu says, something which blockchain has demonstrably helped improve.

“Fujitsu has now devised a system in which electricity consumers can efficiently exchange among themselves the electricity surpluses they have produced through their own electricity generation or power savings,” the press release reads, noting:

“The result was an approximately 40% improvement to the DR success rate.”

The company hopes better efficiency will in turn inspire more consumers to sign up for DR.

The move is not the first venture into blockchain for Fujitsu, which launched a blockchain-based loyalty scheme for the retail sector in June last year, followed by plans for settlement infrastructure for nine Japanese banks in October.

This week, Cointelegraph published a detailed report into the current state of blockchain integration with the electricity industry.