Austria’s largest energy supplier – Wien Energie – is testing a range of blockchain use cases in expectation of offering fully-fledged services that might soon integrate them.
“We are testing blockchain-based services in Vienna’s Viertel Zwei and once we have collected enough experience there, we will develop business models and bring them to the market,” said Wien Energie’s chief innovation officer, Astrid Schober, in a report that was published on Reuters.
“We are testing blockchain-based services in Vienna’s Viertel Zwei and once we have collected enough experience there, we will develop business models and bring them to market,” she said.
“It may be overoptimistic but services may become available this year as we are trying to be active and build the know-how in our company fast,” she added.
Those offerings could include electric car stations that are linked via the emerging technology, as well as services that tackle land registry and power supply, among many others.
Wien Energie has previously trialed blockchain technology in its commodity trading operations, and Schober indicated that the company does not want to be left behind in the technology’s wake.
“If the technology means there are no more intermediaries anymore, it becomes an issue for us, so we are actively looking into other business models,” Schober said.
Wien Energie is also part of Enerchain, an association of European utility providers that are conducting new trading platforms.
As previously reported, the energy industry has indicated a strong interest in utilizing blockchain technology.
In late January, for example, the U.S. Department of Energy declared a partnership with blockchain startup BlockCypher to take a close look into peer to peer energy exchanges.
Likewise, Shell, BP and others decided to back a blockchain trading platform last year.
