Australia: Government funds Blockchain Energy Project

The Government of Australia is teaming with private investors to fund a blockchain project in southern Australia. The project aims to develop a system for supplying the region with energy and water using blockchain technology.

A total of about 8 million Australian dollars should therefore be provided for the project of the Australian city of Fremantle. The money will be invested primarily for research purposes on the use of blockchain in the decentralized energy and water supply of the South Australian city. Above all, questions for the planned project as a test attempt play a role.

In realizing the project, the Australian government is working with partners in a variety of fields, including research, infrastructure and technology. On board are, for example, the blockchain start-up Power Ledger, which comes from the South Australian city of Perth, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) and the government-related research center for decarbonization, ie for a conversion of the energy industry to a less carbon-intensive production.

Accordingly, the project's objective is to optimize low-carbon and low-cost power generation with the help of blockchain. To this end, essential technologies for the generation and use of green energy and ecological water production, such as solar panels or charging stations for electromobility, are to be integrated into the blockchain ecosystem of energy production. Their technology and data analysis should help to make the entire system more efficient.

Of the 8 million Australian dollars made available, approximately 2.5 million come directly from the Australian state, with the remainder being made up of funds from the co-operating partners who have provided these sums. The funding initiative is part of the government's Smart City and Suburbs Program, which aims to test the distributed and connected infrastructure of future smart cities. The project is initially designed for 2 years.

Australia has been open to blockchain implementations in the past, for example, organizing the certification of benefits and degrees at Melbourne University through Distributor Ledger Technology.