Development of a Tracking System Utilizing ScalarDL’s Distributed Ledger Technology
J-POWER (Electric Power Development Co., Ltd., headquartered in Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Hitoshi Sugano), Industry One Inc. (headquartered in Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Tsubasa Endo), NSW Inc. (headquartered in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Shoji Tada), and Scalar Inc. (headquartered in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Wataru Fukatsu, CTO: Hiroyuki Yamada) have announced the commencement of a joint initiative to develop the "Environmental Value Platform." This initiative aims to tackle challenges in renewable energy use and reduce dependence on fossil fuels by optimizing when and where renewable energy is utilized.
Challenges in Renewable Energy Development
Electricity from renewable sources fluctuates due to weather and other factors, making it difficult to ensure a stable supply throughout the day. Current trading practices, which often lack time-based certification for 'non-fossil certificates,' further complicate the verification of renewable energy usage at specific times.
For example, the reliance on CO₂-intensive thermal power at night significantly undermines the environmental benefits of daytime solar energy. Addressing this critical gap requires mechanisms that align renewable energy use with time-based electricity demand, a challenge this initiative is designed to solve.
Use Cases:
24/7 Carbon-Free Energy (CFE): Ensuring 100% non-fossil energy use on an hourly basis.
Day-to-Night Solar Energy Shift: Enhancing the value of renewable energy by shifting daytime solar power to nighttime using storage batteries.
Details of the "Environmental Value Platform"
The platform records the precise generation times of non-fossil power sources and links this data with demand-side information, providing clear insights into the time-specific environmental value of renewable energy.
Key Features
Tamper Detection Functionality
Using ScalarDL, a next-generation distributed ledger technology, the platform ensures that generation and environmental value data remain secure and tamper-proof. This guarantees data integrity and reliability for all stakeholders.
Pooling and Matching Environmental Values
Instead of directly linking energy generation to consumption, the platform separates and pools environmental values from non-fossil power sources. This flexible design enables the allocation of non-fossil energy ratios to consumers, supporting accurate CO₂ emission coefficient calculations.
Visualizing Non-Fossil Ratios with Time-Based Insights
By incorporating hourly energy source compositions, the platform accurately calculates non-fossil energy ratios. This visualization highlights energy demand during high CO₂ emission periods, contributing to targeted CO₂ reductions.
Delivery and Roles of the Companies
The companies collaborated using ScalarDL to verify the tamper-proofing and secure preservation of renewable energy generation data. The results demonstrated the feasibility of building a robust platform capable of handling large transaction volumes efficiently.
Roles
J-POWER:
Planned and promoted the application.
Developed business strategies for optimizing renewable energy and reducing CO₂ emissions.
Provided diverse generation data, including renewable energy and pumped storage energy.
Industry One:
Application operations and defined system requirements.
Conducted market analysis and business modeling.
Designed efficient UI/UX solutions for managing demand-side energy data.
NSW:
Developed tamper-proof systems for generation data integrity.
Collected data from smart meters and processed it, accounting for loss rates.
Scalar:
Supplied ScalarDB and ScalarDL middleware for tamper detection and secure transaction processing.
Provided technical support for integrating the platform.
Outcomes and The Future
Maximizing Non-Fossil Value
Simplifies efforts to improve non-fossil energy ratios for both consumers and retailers.
Promotes local energy production and consumption through origin certification.
Reducing Fossil Fuel Usage
Creates incentives to increase the adoption of non-fossil energy sources.
Responding to Regulatory Frameworks
Supports compliance with initiatives such as 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy (CFE), GX League, and carbon credit markets.
The platform is designed to optimize energy portfolios, including storage systems, to enhance renewable energy supply during periods of high CO₂ emissions. Looking ahead, the platform could expand to incorporate non-energy environmental values, such as carbon credits, with the potential to function as a broader "GX Bank."
Inquiries
J-POWER:
PR Department – Tel: 03-3546-9378Email: mediarelations@jpower.co.jp
Industry One:
PR Contact – Email: pr@industry-one.com
NSW:
Corporate Services HQ – PR Team (Takenaka, Tanaka)Tel: 03-3770-4014Email: kouhou@ml.nsw.co.jp
Scalar:
PR Contact – Email: press@scalar-labs.com
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