Walmart Awarded Patent for Crypto-Powered Energy Consumption Management System
U.S. retail giant has won a patent for the development of an electrical grid that will be powered by (BTC) or other digital currency, according to a published June 14 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
The system is designed to help companies better manage consumption and regulate demand on an electrical grid using a publicly distributed transactions ledger. Walmart initially filed the patent in December 2017.
The says that both households and large organizations can use a -based network of energy-consuming devices. Subsequently, they can assign each device a specific amount of BTC or any other accepted cryptocurrency, which can be used to purchase energy from a utility vendor. The document further explains:
“Each unit cryptocurrency may represent a unit or a portion of a unit of energy. For example, if 1 cryptocurrency unit is set to be equivalent to 1 kWh, the provider interface module 131 may receive a capped total amount of cryptocurrency of 800 for a month to spend on purchasing 800 kWh of electricity.”
It states that the devices on the network are able to share funds between each other if a device exceeded its allotment of , in order to ensure it continues operating during the billing period. The blockchain-based system will also indicate which device consumes more power compared to others.
Based on the same principle, the networks can support each other if one consumes less energy.
The remaining volume can be distributed with other networks, or it can be programmed to sell the excess cryptocurrency or hold it for the next billing.
The patent says that “the utilization of the cryptocurrency may be operated independent of a central database system, such as a central bank, a central management system, or central authority operated by the energy provider.”
Walmart has applied for various patents to integrate blockchain technology into its supply chain cycles, that would record a customer’s purchases in a blockchain ledger, allowing the customer to resell the items on a sales platform using the record of purchase. Walmart’s employs a blockchain-based tool to track package contents, environmental conditions, location, and other details. The company is also , which it says will reduce waste, as well as improve contamination management and transparency.
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Australian Solar Startler Power Ledger thinks that Blockchain Technology can stimulate the energy industry to more efficiency, reducing both distributor waste and consumer costs.
Since finalizing its initial offer of 34 million Australian Dollars (ICO), the company has participated in several blockchain studies, including one financed by the Australian government.
Power Ledger was co-founded by Dr. Jemma Green, a researcher at Curtin University in Western Australia. Before setting up his Power Ledger, Dr. Green worked as an investment banker at the JP Morgan subsidiary in London, where he also received two postgraduate degrees from Cambridge University in the field of sustainability. Dr. Green was also freshly elected as Deputy Mayor of Perth, Western Australia.
Dr. Green spoke to the CCN about the challenges of disrupting the energy industry with blockchain technology, as well as about the launch of the first ICO in Australia.
CCN: Dr. Green, you have a charming summary, at least. What prompted you to leave the investment banking industry and start developing blockchain-based solutions for sustainable energy?
Jemma Green: Halfway through JP Morgan I looked encompassing the office and noticed that there were no recycling facilities. I glanced at it and found that 500,000 pounds a year could be saved from their enlightenment, so I threw this concept to COO in Europe, and he said well. Three months later we launched recycling boxes, and I was very excited until I saw that people were recycling in their office boxes. So I formed a secondary phase called “Bin The Bin,” and I shifted the ugliest person in the office.
Something overturned my mind at that moment, and I found that renewable energies are more exciting than my daily work, so I decided to pursue the study of sustainability.
CCN: What will be the role that blockchain platforms, such as Power Ledger, will play in the future of the energy industry?
Jemma Green: Blockchain platforms will support to facilitate our future energy distribution with the better return on investment for solar panels and batteries. It also allows for a low-cost, low-carbon energy system that sets the client in the first place.
Clients will have more authority over their functionalities, as well as a better knowledge of their energy profiles.
CCN: What are the vast barriers that Power Ledger and other energy companies face when trying to decentralize the energy industry?
Jemma Green: There are a lot of adjustments in the field of the energy industry, so it is indeed an obstacle. The most challenging part is finding a way to work within the rules, while disturbing sector – it is a balancing act, but one that we managed through partnerships.
By saying this, there are limited incentives in specific markets for a market that needs to innovate on a platform like the Power Ledger.There is also a massive educational process that has to happen so that purchasers understand their choices when it comes to energy.
CCN: You had an ICO / TGE with great success, mainly since you were the first Australian startup to keep one. What was the most challenging about this experience?
Jemma Green: It was very hard for our resources. I was simultaneously juggling the business while I was also spending 12 hours a day at ICO. Being a startup, everyone has been and still is using multiple hats, so we steadily manage how to spend the best time, making sure that we do not differ too much from our long-term goals.
It’s also hard because you do not need to outsource anything. So we’d be in our telegram chat until 1 am and the dawn break that runs the business. It was imperative for us, as executives, to be involved in the community throughout the ICO process, introducing new customers and leading the company.
CCN: In retrospect, occurs there any aspect of the ICO / TGE you would like to have treated uniquely, or advice that you would give to other companies that are trying to launch token sales?
Jemma Green: Through all the madness, sometimes we were caught reactive preferably than proactive with our official answers. For example, we would be in trenches on our telegram chat!. Talking with each person instead of being strategic and using the voice of the company and getting to it.
We also had crew members radiated all over the globe, which was very good to reach, but brought its challenges. I would advise other ICO’s to prioritize the establishment of an internal connection both in the location and in the discipline.
In retrospect, these things were easy to change, but the reality is that we could not have gotten a better result than what we have achieved.
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