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Bitcoin and Ethereum to BWT. By the end of the year, it intends to apply the model to its Singaporean partner and an as yet unnamed Indian operator. The entire set of facilities will be phased in later, prioritising, of course, the capabilities offered to the final consumer, the company says.
A 2bn strong market
Stoicescu gives more technical descrip- tion of the system and how it aims to overcome major obstacles. Blockchain technology demonstrates that it is pos- sible to implement such a system for the use in the electricity market from both the perspective of the business model and operational model, she claims.
"In popular terms, blockchain can be explained as a decentralised database where every data is verifiable and consis- tent. Of course, currently the transaction limit over blockchain is a challenge for us due to the fact that worldwide we have more than 2bn consumption places. But I’m positive that this will change in the next few years, since many new protocols are already developing and many organ- isations and institutions are preparing the transition to blockchain. "
The BWT as implemented by the platform has payment, escrow and protocol func- tionalities. Payments can be made both in the traditional manner and in the BWT currency, as long as both contract parties agree. If users chose to pay in fiat (the tra-
tem's ambitions. The goal as described by Bittwatt's White Paper is declared as "creating a blockchain enabled energy trading market that is simple, transpar- ent and delivers more value to all its users." One direct question deriving from here is whether Bittwatt and other similar systems are designed to replace the electricity market as we know it now.
At this point Stoicescu believes it is premature to say a blockchain enabled energy trading market would completely replace the market as we know it now, "but definitely it will change the way the market operates these days."
"We intend our project to act as a hub for operators and to enable demand response, smart grid operation and smart metering devices so that energy production will come as a response to real-time consumption. "
Prosumers are emerging as important market players and the blockchain- based energy trading seems to be the best fit to incorporate them.
Specially for prosumers, Bittwatt has thought of creating a clearing house so that the platform can cover the legal part of the settlement between the parties. In the future, the number of prosumers will grow a lot (it already has in countries like Germany) and they will be able to benefit from additional functionalities so that their excess pro-
Bittwatt expressed optimism and openness in this regard though, explaining that trades below a certain threshold might not have to be notified to regulatory bodies.
Stoicescu explained that "all regulations are welcome" as they tend to protect market participants and the security of the system itself. Most of them are appli- cable for days sales outstanding (DSOs) mainly because they are intended
to ensure compliance with technical parameters of the network and to guar- antee consumer access to the grid.
As for Bittwatt, its business needs to look at things from the B2C perspective – a relationship that does not interfere with the regulatory sphere of the energy system. Even if we talk about trading, up to a certain volume, participants can complete transactions without notifying regulatory bodies, Stoicescu said.
She expressed her belief that in the future, regulators will also implement a standard for total transaction transparency.
"Such processes will be easily integrated into the Bittwatt platform, given that besides the B2C platform, we also offer a commercial module that will be adapt- ed to the regulations of each country."
Not all blockchain energy trading models are similar
Bittwatt is not the only platform that promises decentralised energy trading. Restart Energy’s RED Platform, also originating from Romania, does the same thing. But each has their own business model.
Bittwatt does not attempt to set up franchise networks or local providers, as RED does, and nor does it dedicate itself exclusively to the production or sale of renewable energy or even to becoming the world’s leading supplier, Stoicescu explained. What it is trying to do is create a platform where all participants speak the same language – in other words where all can benefit from rapid, transparent and verifiable exchange of information.
“A power plant doesn’t turn on when one enters the room and switches on the light, but this gives an idea of the system's ambitions”
ditional method), the invoice value will be blocked in the BWT wallet until payment confirmation, so that the counter-party has the guaranteed payment. It is appli- cable to electric vehicle loading stations in order to enable energy-roaming.
Energy delivered on demand
A power plant doesn’t turn on when one enters the room and switches on the light, but this gives an idea of the sys-
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duction could be rewarded in Bittwatt tokens, Stoicescu says, explaining why a dedicated clearing house is needed.
As already highlighted, national regula- tions are very diverse and based on centralised markets, and they seem to be an obstacle ahead of the develop- ments of decentralised blockchain- based energy trading. But there are other obstacles as well.