In late 2015 Siemens and LO3 started collaborating on projects beginning with the Brooklyn Microgrid. Self-sufficient microgrids play an important role in an energy market that is growing through distributed energy systems — whether they are based on wind, sun, water or biomass — such grids are becoming increasingly significant.
LO3 Energy is benefiting from Siemens’ development of microgrids such as the one that has been operating in Wildpoldsried, a village in southern Germany, since 2014. While the Brooklyn Microgrid continues to grow, insights from the proliferation of the prosumers and consumers provides Siemens the rationale for building resilient grid systems based on local marketplaces.
To date, the initial project has attracted more than 60 community members participating in the Brooklyn Microgrid, and LO3 and Siemens expect to partner on further projects across the globe. Specific terms of the investment were not disclosed.
“Over the years, our partnership with Siemens was integral to the success in the Brooklyn Microgrid, and will continue to be for years to come,” said Lawrence Orsini, CEO of LO3 Energy. “Siemens commitment to transactive energy on the blockchain is a vote of confidence for our approach to developing microgrid communities and grid-edge services across the globe.”
“Siemens’ investment in LO3 represents our acknowledgement of the future potential of blockchain technology as an enabler of local energy market places,” says Ralf Christian, CEO Siemens Energy Management. “Siemens will further support LO3 with its experience in grid management, data analytics and complementary technology portfolio facilitating the integration of blockchain into state-of-the-art power grids.”
Collaboration with LO3 is bringing benefits to the Siemens Energy Management Division because LO3’s Exergy platform is based on a decentralized ledger that uses cryptographic technology to save data in a way that is tamper-proof and enables the automated execution of contracts in a scalable manner.
“Extracting data from the grid-edge and combining it with Siemens grid technology will create a comprehensive marketplace experience for participants and neighbors to make sound choices about how they intend to purchase, sell and use their energy,” Orsini said.
