Stedin to deploy blockchain energy asset management solution

Dutch DSO Stedin is partnering with Energy Web to develop a digital identity-backed system for managing assets in a decentralised energy market.

The partnership aims to deploy a future-proofed solution for managing assets including both DSO-native devices such as smart meters and distribution automation devices and consumer/prosumer distributed energy resources.

As part of the collaboration, Energy Web and Stedin will work on a decentralised asset management system, which will initially be tested on intelligent electronic devices for substation automation.

Through the initial tests, the project partners hope to gain insights into how decentralisation can help with the management of future grid assets.

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The project also will test the ability of grid operators to maintain grid security without requiring hardware changes.

“Utility providers, grid operators and consumers face previously unseen challenges to grid security given the rise of decentralised assets and the integration of renewables – but equally, there are opportunities to build more efficient, future-proofed and profitable systems,” comments Arjen Zuijderduijn, Innovation lead at Stedin.

“Decentralisation forms a central part of our strategy to modernise the national grid system. We’re excited to work with Energy Web, and to progress towards deploying this solution across our information and operational technology systems.”

The joint Energy Web-Stedin solution, which utilises the EW-DOS operating system and has already undergone several proof-of-concepts, currently comprises a management system that assigns each distribution asset a secure digital identity, anchored on the pre-existing SIM card in each asset.

Cryptographically signed information and control signals and commands from the DSO can then be sent to and from the asset, enabling a decentralised managed system by ensuring that each asset operates as an independent point of encrypted security.

In the future the solution should enable new avenues for consumers to offer services to the grid with the issuing of digital identities to consumer distributed energy resources enabling their aggregation to provide flexibility services to the grid.

The solution is currently undergoing testing within a sandbox environment, utilising real energy assets. It is expected that this sandbox will run for the duration of Q1 before the solution goes live later this year.

In the future, the project could be adapted for other energy grids in partnership with other national DSOs to improve asset security and management.