Energy Web develops blockchain-based renewable energy EV charging app
Energy Web is partnering with Vodafone and Mastercard on applications for a new ‘Economy of Things’ platform.
The platform, which will allow verified connected devices on Vodafone’s Digital Asset Broker (DAB) to transact seamlessly and securely, includes electric vehicles (EV) transacting directly with charging points as well as interactions between other vehicles, machines and IoT assets.
The service has gone live in a trial with a connected EV communicating autonomously and securely with a charging point at Vodafone’s UK technology centre in Newbury and implements a 100% clean energy charging solution for EVs.
The solution can be adapted to work with any charging infrastructure that accepts Mastercard payments and any EV worldwide, including on-street chargers connected to the grid. With it, users are able to verify and prove that the energy used to charge their EV comes from renewable sources.
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“There’s currently no way for EV drivers to ensure that all the electricity used to charge their vehicles comes from renewable sources,” comments Jesse Morris, CEO of Energy Web Foundation.
“As access to green energy solutions is democratised, this is sorely needed. Working with any on-street EV charger, our solution can give individuals and companies assurance of clean energy use – a real game changer for EV users and companies with electric fleets.”
The Green Charging application provides a transparent process for fractionalising RECs allowing anybody to acquire proof that the energy purchased for charging is certifiably from renewable sources, Energy Web states.
Using a single application with an integrated mobile wallet, users can also pick the best-priced electricity based on location and charge time and pay for it automatically. When an EV is plugged in, the car and charging station identify themselves using Vodafone’s network, while payments for the energy are made using Mastercard’s payment gateways.
Proof of green charging is sent to the user’s smartphone by Energy Web, including the exact origin and energy type.
With real-time information on the status and compatibility of the nearest available charging point, and seamless transacting, Vodafone anticipates its EV service should help to eliminate drivers’ ‘range anxiety’ of running out of battery capacity as well as enabling them to choose renewable electricity providers.
The plan is to roll out the solution at an enterprise level in the coming months.
Applied at scale, it could service vehicular fleets, taxi firms, logistics companies and haulage firms, with corporate customers integrating the application into their emissions reports as trustworthy proof that EVs used in their operations are powered by renewable energy.
