Australian government gives $8.25mn to blockchain energy project

Power Ledger, an Australian energy startup company, has been awarded a AU$8.25mn (US$6.25mn) grant by the government.

The project that received the funding aims to create the country’s first green city in Fremantle, west of the country.

The company plans to utilise blockchain technology in order to create a peer-to-peer renewable energy network.

This network will enable the trading of self-generated units of solar power to energy retailers, who will then broker the energy to utilities.

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The startup raised AU$34mn (US$26mn) through an initial coin offering (ICO) in October, with a final sum of approximately AU$22mn (US$17mn).

Now the project will receive AU$2.57mn (US$1.95mn) from the government, with an additional AU$5.68mn (US$4.3mn) being funded by project partners including Curtin University, Murdoch University, Curtin Institute of Computation, LandCorp, CSIRO/Data61, CISCO and Power Ledger.

“A large solar photovoltaic (PV) plant, rooftop solar PV panels, a precinct sized battery, an electric vehicle charge station and precinct water treatment and capture systems will be orchestrated using blockchain technology and data analytics, and demonstrate the interconnected infrastructure of future smart cities,” reported the Mayor of Fremantle, Brad Pettitt.

“This collaboration between existing infrastructure, renewable energy and innovative technology fits with our One Planet zero carbon energy target and will help us to secure the ongoing sustainability of essential services for communities that live here.”