Blockchain Applications in the Energy Sector
Dušan Gajić
University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technical Sciences
Novi Sad, Serbia
Abstract:
The surging interestinthe renewable energy sources is one of the most notable trends in the energy sector today. The“decentralization” of previously centralized power grids is marked by the advancement of noveltypes of electrical power plants and distributed energy resources (DERs), introducingprosumers as a completely new type of grid entities. Another recent emergencewhich is important for the energy sector is the advent of electrical vehicles, representinga movable, distributed demand and storage potential.
Immense new developments in the direction of decentralization have also been happening almost simultaneously in the field of computer science and information systems. Withthe introductionof the concept of a distributed ledger and a blockchain, as a specific data structure to implement distributed ledgers, anovel decentralized approachfor exchanging value and recording transactions was created.
As a result, potential synergy of decentralized solutionsfor generation, storage, and use of renewable energy, on the one hand, and distributed ledger technologies (DLTs), on the other, provides fertile ground for a fundamental shift in the very nature of power systems and energy sector as a whole.
This talk will first offer a short overview of the main concepts involved in DLTs and blockchain. This elaboration should serve as a remedy for a common misconception that puts an equality relation between cryptocurrencies and blockchain.Afterwards, it will explore the state-of-the-art in theresearch on applications of DLTs and blockchain in the energy sector, with special attention to the problem of peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading.
Short Bio:
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Dr. Dušan Gajić is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Novi Sad and a Co-founder of 42computing. He received his MSc and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computing, both with honors, from the University of Niš, Faculty of Electronic Engineering, Serbia. Before founding 42computing, a deep tech research and development consultancy focused on distributed ledgers, he also served first as CTO and then CEO of RealMarket, a fintech startup leveraging blockchain technology to enable next generation of private equity capital markets. His academic and professional interests include parallel and distributed systems, DLTs and blockchain, signal processing, and machine learning. He has pioneered work on designing algorithms for massively parallel computation of several spectral transforms using graphics processing units. He has developed one of the first courses on distributed ledgers and blockchain technologies in Europe. He serves as an External Expert in the Advisory Board or Steering Committee of several European H2020 projects, focused on applications of distributed ledgers and blockchain in different domains.He has authored or co-authored five chapters in monographs, more than 80 papers published in peer-reviewed journals or presented at scientific conferences, and four technical solutions. As a PhD student, among many other rewards, he received theBest Paper in Computer Science by a Young Researcher reward at ETRAN 2013. |
