Verv, a machine learning startup currently conducting an Initial Token Offering, has announced the execution of the UK’s first physical trade of energy on the blockchain.
The trial aimed to enable residents to benefit from local renewable energy sources and bring down their energy bills with a view to working towards creating a fully empowered, almost self-sustaining community.
Using its renewable energy trading platform, the startup was shortlisted for the Ofgem Regulatory Sandbox and has received a significant grant from Innovate UK. The trial is currently underway in collaboration with Repowering London, in phase 1, with the first trade taking place in the community on Wednesday afternoon.
The smart hub attaches to the electricity meter and uses cutting-edge artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to learn and reason about the energy signals that it observes at that point. At the trial, the platform was able to calculate the energy demand profile of homes, determine the solar energy supply in each storage battery and in turn allocate green power to residents based on their needs.
The trade took place on the pioneering Hackney Banister House Estate which has solar panels installed on 13 of the blocks of flats that make up the community.
A Banister House community member said: “Until now, we have been unable to take advantage of the solar panels on the roofs to power our homes due to the structure of the UK electricity market. With the installation of Verv smart hubs, we are being empowered to generate, store and trade our own community energy and I’m really excited to see how this trial evolves! It’s safe to say energy costs are very high and it’s important, more now than ever, that solutions be sought.”
Peter Davies, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Verv, commented:
“We’re so pleased to be bringing the Verv renewable energy trading platform to life on Hackney’s Banister House Estate, we want to use this technology to empower the residents to innovate and create their own trading community. We plan to use the results of this trial to roll out more energy trading communities across the UK and in turn globally.”
Agamemnon Otero, Co-CEO & Co-Founder of Repowering London said:
“Over the past 7 years we have built community energy in the UK; from the first inner city community energy projects on social housing to driving policy. The Shangri-La of Community Energy is to enable smart, easy, access to energy for its members. We are proud not only to be working on this but that we can place this leading technology trial into the urban homes and hearts of those most in need of it.”
Verv has launch the VLUX token in order to enable access to their blockchain-based trading system.
