In recent months, 32 companies at the RDM site in the port of Rotterdam have been testing a new energy platform: Distro. Working with solar panels and a battery, users trade energy they have produced themselves in a local market.
This is the first time in the world that blockchain technology, artificial intelligence and high-frequency commodity trading have been used in a single platform.
The successful trial shows that it is possible to coordinate supply and demand in local markets 48 hours in advance through a platform on the basis of fair prices and transparent trading agreements
says Port of Rotterdam.
The Distro platform was developed by S&P Global Platts, a division of S&P Global, and Blocklab, a subsidiary of the Port of Rotterdam Authority. The new initiative aims to help companies in the port to reduce energy costs by making better use of locally produced electricity and by smoothing peaks in demand on the electricity grid.
This is an attempt to achieve the port’s goal for carbon-neutrality by 2050. Testing this summer showed that the platform works and the coming months will be used to get it ready for commercial use.
A pilot project took place in the Innovation Dock, which houses innovative entrepreneurs. The Port Authority, as the owner of the Innovation Dock, used Distro to operate its own ‘micro-market’ of 32 users, as well as a roof full of solar panels and a battery to store the energy produced.
Artificial Intelligence predicts the consumption and production patterns of individual electricity consumers, and trades kilowatt hours on the platform on the basis of those forecasts. The price of electricity fluctuates with changes in supply and demand. Batteries responding to price buy and store excess on-site solar energy that is generated when consumption levels are low, to re-sell it to users when solar generation is low.
The results include a 92% local consumption of renewable energy and a 20% increase in return on investment for the battery.
Moreover, the pilot demonstrated a 14% improvement in revenues for locally produced renewable energy, while lowering average prices for consumers. In addition, trading between the participants means that a ‘micro-market’ places less of a burden on the regular electricity grid. That means that the Port of Rotterdam Authority can reduce the capacity of the connection to the network and save costs by 25%.
James Rilett, Innovation Director at S&P Global Plattsm commented:
At the distribution level, too, the electricity market has to become a mature market in which transparency will lead to better prices and the more effective use of infrastructure
According to Jullens, Director of Blocklab, more than 20 million transactions have been validated by a blockchain.