Although blockchain was originally invented to serve as the public transaction ledger for Bitcoin, the revolutionary technology’s potential functions reach far beyond the world of cryptocurrencies. Blockchain has been widely buzzed about for several years now due to its potential to vastly overhaul the global energy sector, but so far the industry has been slow to adopt the new technology on a large scale. Now, Japanese independent power producer Marubeni has partnered with Brooklyn-based blockchain tech startup and self-proclaimed “transactive energy company” LO3 Energy to start a pilot project in Japan. The energy producer and tech startup will be using blockchain technology to create a virtual energy marketplace connecting multiple power production facilities owned by Marubeni (a mix of traditional and renewable) with offices and factories across Japan. This pilot project will simulate real energy transactions in order to experiment with the viability of using this framework to ultimately […]