The blockchain is one of the most discussed and hyped technologies, and it’s not just limited to crypto-currencies like Bitcoin. There are also plenty of serious people looking at how the tokens and distributed ledgers of blockchain technology might work in an energy context, and how they could help to enable new kinds of transactions and even whole new markets in energy - helping to accelerate energy transition by doing things cheaper, faster, and with greater security than conventional methods allow.
But these are very new ideas that are only just getting into the real development phase now, and understanding how they might work, and what their real potential is, is not easy. It’s a complex and largely abstract domain without much real-world experience to show for itself. And it has a dark side, too: The energy consumption alone of these new crypto-currencies is horrific. So is the blockchain going to turn out to be a huge new boon to energy transition, or will it turn out to be a bad idea that consumed a lot of energy without much tangible benefit?
To help us understand how the blockchain works and how it might actually benefit energy transition, our guest in this episode is enabling innovators to create new decentralized markets in energy, such as demand response, and creating new opportunities to bring low cost, low carbon and resilient energy to all. She is an expert in innovation, tech, communications, and environmental policy, and has a front-row seat in seeing how the blockchain is being integrated into energy markets.
Molly Webb is an expert in market acceleration and advocacy for global innovation in technology, climate change, smart cities and energy who has worked with The Climate Group and the UK think tank, Demos. She is a green innovation strategy advisor for Zennström Philanthropies, a jury member for numerous cleanweb and clean tech awards, and worked in software and IT product development in New York, Tokyo and London. Molly has an MSc in Environmental Policy at the London School of Economics.
On Twitter: @mollywebb | @energyunlocked
On the Web: http://www.energyunlocked.org
Recording date: October 14, 2017
Air date: November 15, 2017
Geek rating: 4