Evolution Energie

The system, which was developed by the energy tech startup Evolution Energie, enables users to track renewable power as it moves through the electrical grid and mixes with energy from other sources. “Using blockchain, you can sell energy from your renewable sources to your neighbor without the help of a utility managing the process,” says Fabien Imbault, Evolution Energie’s managing director. “You could share your energy with neighbors or even sell it to a parked electric car on your street and get paid securely.”

Evolution Energie started by building an interface that was simple enough for students at the school to purchase “green” energy from renewable energy sources. They’ve since rolled the system out to the town’s municipal buildings. Up next: businesses and homes.

The firm was one of the five winners of GE’s Digital Industry Europe competition, where GE selected startups to work with on Predix-based products. Evolution Energy plans to offer its blockchain electricity trading system to energy-sharing communities around the world by the end of the year. Imbault says that without collaborating with GE, the French startup would have struggled with the global nature of the challenge. Says Imbault: “GE gives us the ability to provide this service at the city scale around the world.”