Blockchain: A true disruptor for the energy industry – Use cases and strategic questions

In its ongoing journey to power and move the world, the energy industry has faced many structural challenges that have been addressed through the effective deployment of innovative and groundbreaking technologies. The resulting industry landscape is technology rich and highly streamlined, but is yet faced with a complex and costly transactional ecosystem which may prove itself as fertile ground for the introduction of distributed ledger technology— better known as blockchain. With many digital innovations such as the Internet of Things (IoT), automation, artificial intelligence, cloud platforms, big data, and advanced analytics, executives must strategically decide how to adopt these digital capabilities—likely with blockchain serving as the underlying backbone of the transactional infrastructure.

Digital technologies and ubiquitous data are increasing visibility, transparency, coordination, and information sharing across company boundaries—enabling smarter, more informed decisions and greatly improved operating efficiency. In order to capitalize on those digital innovations, the industry needs to address the fundamental issues of security and trust, which are basic requirements for doing business. That is where blockchain comes in.