The International Energy Research Centre (IERC), a collaborative programme of research and innovation in integrated sustainable energy system technologies, has launched a new project EnerPort that aims to accelerate peer-to-peer (p2p) energy trading in Ireland through blockchain technology.

Launched in partnership with SFI’s INSIGHT Centre at NUI Galway, the project involves a number indigenous companies including Systemlink Technologies, MSemicon, and Verbatm. The objective is to understand and explore how cutting-edge technologies, such as blockchain and the Internet of Things (IoT), provide a platform that enables companies and consumers to trade on a regional and even national scale.

The consortium will look into how blockchain technology can be used for energy trading. It will also examine the technology’s potential to reward users for saving energy as well as managing small scale transactions between neighbours who generate electricity.

According to the official release, EnerPort will provide scalable proof-of-concept demonstrations for blockchain-based p2p energy trading in the distributed grid and will address key challenges around hardware and software requirements and protocols, as well as issues around markets, regulations and policy.

“The EnerPort project will prototype new ways to address the challenges currently slowing the progression of distributed networks. It will provide evidence of how policies, regulations and physical networks need to evolve to ensure Irish citizens have the strongest level of control on their energy bills. Ultimately, EnerPort provides a unique opportunity for Ireland to position itself as a research leader in an area which is expected to have significant growth in the near future,” IERC Director Prof. Tony Day said.