journal article·2023-12-27Open access

The Potential of Blockchain Technology and Smart Contracts in the Energy Sector: A Review

Panagiotis Vionis, Theodore Kotsilieris

Applied Sciences· Volume 14· Issue 1

Abstract

The energy sector is undergoing a period of technological transformation, driven by the emergence of blockchain and smart contracts. These technologies have the potential to revolutionize energy markets and significantly reduce transaction costs, improve efficiency, and increase transparency. The rising energy prices in recent years have been a cause for global concern. As the EU recorded historically high energy prices in 2022, according to the EU Council, this price rise is linked to increased energy demand following the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the acceleration of climate change. This paper aims to critically examine the current state of blockchain and smart contracts technology in the energy sector, focusing on use cases, key challenges, and potential solutions. It further explores the impact of these technologies on energy markets and their potential to contribute to a sustainable, low-carbon energy future. Finally, it examines the prospects of blockchain and smart contract technologies to transform the energy industry and the policy implications for governments and regulators.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Blockchain Technology Applications and Security · Energy, Environment, and Transportation Policies · Market Dynamics and Volatility

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Department of Business and Organizations Administration, University of Peloponnese, 24100 Kalamata, Greece

References (90)

Show source-provided references
1. Habib, G., Sharma, S., Ibrahim, S., Ahmad, I., Qureshi, S., and Ishfaq, M. (2022). Blockchain Technology: Benefits, Challenges, Applications, and Integration of Blockchain Technology with Cloud Computing. Future Internet, 14.10.3390/fi14110341 ↗
2. Muhsen, H., Allahham, A., Al-halhouli, A., Al-mahmodi, M., Alkhraibat, A., and Hamdan, M. (2022). Business Model of Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading: A Review of Literature. Sustainability, 14.10.3390/su14031616 ↗
3. Blockchain and the future of energy10.1016/j.techsoc.2018.11.001 ↗
4. Blockchain technology in the energy sector: A systematic review of challenges and opportunities10.1016/j.rser.2018.10.014 ↗
5. Security and Privacy in Decentralized Energy Trading Through Multi-Signatures, Blockchain and Anonymous Messaging Streams10.1109/TDSC.2016.2616861 ↗
6. Blockchain: A secure, decentralized, trusted cyber infrastructure solution for future energy systems10.1007/s40565-018-0418-0 ↗
7. Blockchain-Based Fully Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading Strategies for Residential Energy Systems10.1109/TII.2021.3077008 ↗
8. Zheng, Z., Xie, S., Dai, H., Chen, X., and Wang, H. (2017, January 25–30). An Overview of Blockchain Technology: Architecture, Consensus, and Future Trends. Proceedings of the IEEE 6th International Congress on Big Data, BigData Congress, Honolulu, HI, USA.10.1109/BigDataCongress.2017.85 ↗
9. Nakamoto, S. (2023, October 12). Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. Available online: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf.
10. Hofmann, F., Wurster, S., Ron, E., and Böhmecke-Schwafert, M. (2017, January 27–29). The Immutability Concept of Blockchains and Benefits of Early Standardization. Proceedings of the ITU Kaleidoscope: Challenges for a Data-Driven Society (ITU K), Nanjing, China.10.23919/ITU-WT.2017.8247004 ↗
11. Sadeghi, O., Paprotski, V., Jacobsen, A., Berestetsky, V., and Coulthard, P. (2017, January 6–8). Blockchain Technology. Proceedings of the 27th Annual International Conference on Computer Science and Software Engineering, Markham, ON, Canada.
12. Formalizing and Securing Relationships on Public Networks10.5210/fm.v2i9.548 ↗
13. Venkat Narayana Rao, T., Likhar, P.P., Kurni, M., and Saritha, K. (2022). Blockchain Technology for Emerging Applications, Elsevier.10.1016/B978-0-323-90193-2.00004-1 ↗
14. Blockchain for automotive: An insight towards the IPFS blockchain-based auto insurance sector
15. Blockchain technology: Supply chain management
16. Design of the Blockchain Smart Contract: A Use Case for Real Estate
17. Hjalmarsson, F.P., Hreioarsson, G.K., Hamdaqa, M., and Hjalmtysson, G. (2018, January 2–7). Blockchain-Based E-Voting System. Proceedings of the IEEE 11th International Conference on Cloud Computing (CLOUD), San Francisco, CA, USA.10.1109/CLOUD.2018.00151 ↗
18. Yadav, N., and Sarasvathi, V. (2020, January 20–22). Venturing crowdfunding using smart contracts in Blockchain. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Smart Systems and Inventive Technology (ICSSIT), Tirunelveli, India.10.1109/ICSSIT48917.2020.9214295 ↗
19. Ali, S. (2018, January 8–12). Secure Data Provenance in Cloud-centric Internet of Things via Blockchain Smart Contracts. Proceedings of the IEEE SmartWorld, Ubiquitous Intelligence & Computing, Advanced & Trusted Computing, Scalable Computing & Communications, Cloud & Big Data Computing, Internet of People and Smart City Innovation (SmartWorld/SCALCOM/UIC/ATC/CBDCom/IOP/SCI), Guangzhou, China.10.1109/SmartWorld.2018.00175 ↗
20. Healthcare Blockchain System Using Smart Contracts for Secure Automated Remote Patient Monitoring10.1007/s10916-018-0982-x ↗
21. Fair rewarding mechanism in music industry using smart contracts on public-permissionless blockchain10.1007/s11042-021-11078-6 ↗
22. Epiphaniou, G., Bottarelli, M., Al-Khateeb, H., Ersotelos, N.T., Kanyaru, J., and Nahar, V. (2020). Cyber Defence in the Age of AI, Smart Societies and Augmented Humanity, Springer.
23. LoC—A new financial loan management system based on smart contracts10.1016/j.future.2019.05.040 ↗
24. An energy trade framework using smart contracts: Overview and challenges10.1109/MNET.011.1900573 ↗
25. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement10.7326/0003-4819-151-4-200908180-00135 ↗
26. Górski, T. (2022). Reconfigurable Smart Contracts for Renewable Energy Exchange with Re-Use of Verification Rules. Appl. Sci., 12.10.3390/app12115339 ↗
27. Peer-to-peer energy trading in a microgrid leveraged by smart contracts10.1016/j.rser.2021.110900 ↗
28. Suthar, S., and Pindoriya, N.M. (2020, January 17–19). Blockchain and smart contract based decentralized energy trading platform. Proceedings of the 21st National Power Systems Conference (NPSC), Gandhinagar, India.10.1109/NPSC49263.2020.9331883 ↗
29. Peer-to-peer electricity trading system: Smart contracts based proof-of-benefit consensus protocol10.1007/s11276-019-01949-0 ↗
30. Cali, U., Sebastian-Cardenas, D.J., Saha, S., Chandler, S., Gourisetti, S.N.G., Hughes, T., Khan, K., Lima, C., Rahimi, F., and Tillman, L.C. (2022, January 24–28). Standardization of Smart Contracts for Energy Markets and Operation. Proceedings of the IEEE Power & Energy Society Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Conference (ISGT), New Orleans, LA, USA.10.36227/techrxiv.19142081 ↗
31. Lakshmi, G., and Thiyagarajan, G. (2021, January 11–13). Decentralized energy to power rural homes through smart contracts and carbon credit. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Electrical Energy Systems (ICEES), Chennai, India.10.1109/ICEES51510.2021.9383683 ↗
32. Poverty mitigation via solar panel adoption: Smart contracts and targeted subsidy design10.1016/j.omega.2020.102367 ↗
33. A Survey of Blockchain Applications in the Energy Sector10.1109/JSYST.2020.2998791 ↗
34. Peer-to-peer energy trading in virtual power plant based on blockchain smart contracts10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3026180 ↗
35. Danielius, P., Stolarski, P., and Masteika, S. (2020). Business Information Systems Workshops: BIS 2020 International Workshops, Colorado Springs, CO, USA, June 8–10, 2020, Revised Selected Papers 23, Springer.
36. A comprehensive hierarchical blockchain system for carbon emission trading utilizing blockchain of things and smart contract10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121124 ↗
37. Kumari, A., Shukla, A., Gupta, R., Tanwar, S., Tyagi, S., and Kumar, N. (2020, January 6–9). ET-DeaL: A P2P Smart Contract-based Secure Energy Trading Scheme for Smart Grid Systems. Proceedings of the IEEE INFOCOM 2020—IEEE Conference on Computer Communications Workshops (INFOCOM WKSHPS), Toronto, ON, Canada.10.1109/INFOCOMWKSHPS50562.2020.9162989 ↗
38. Damisa, U., Nwulu, N.I., and Siano, P. (2022). Towards Blockchain-Based Energy Trading: A Smart Contract Implementation of Energy Double Auction and Spinning Reserve Trading. Energies, 15.10.3390/en15114084 ↗
39. Tonev, I. (2020, January 9–12). Energy Trading Web Platform Based on the Ethereum Smart Contracts and Blockchain. Proceedings of the 12th Electrical Engineering Faculty Conference (BulEF), Varna, Bulgaria.10.1109/BulEF51036.2020.9326010 ↗
40. Study of blockchain based smart grid for energy optimization
41. Karthik, P.K., and Anand, R. (2020, January 13–15). Energy Trading in Microgrids using BlockChain Technology. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Intelligent Computing and Control Systems (ICICCS), Madurai, India.10.1109/ICICCS48265.2020.9121050 ↗
42. A Secure and Decentralized Blockchain Based EV Energy Trading Model Using Smart Contract in V2G Network10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3081506 ↗
43. Botticelli, M., Moretti, F., Pizzuti, S., and Romano, S. (2020, January 23–25). Challenges and opportunities of Blockchain technology in the energy sector. Proceedings of the AEIT International Annual Conference (AEIT), Catania, Italy.10.23919/AEIT50178.2020.9241119 ↗
44. Akhras, R., El-Hajj, W., Majdalani, M., Hajj, H., Jabr, R., and Shaban, K. (2020, January 15–19). Securing Smart Grid Communication using Ethereum Smart Contracts. Proceedings of the International Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing (IWCMC), Limassol, Cyprus.10.1109/IWCMC48107.2020.9148345 ↗
45. Demystifying Distributed Ledger Technologies: Limits, Challenges, and Potentials in the Energy Sector10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3007935 ↗
46. Blockchain Based Trading Platform for Electric Vehicle Charging in Smart Cities10.1109/OJITS.2020.3004870 ↗
47. Smart contract formation enabling energy-as-a-service in a virtual power plant10.1002/er.7381 ↗
48. Smart contract for distributed energy trading in virtual power plants based on blockchain10.1111/coin.12388 ↗
49. Alkaeed, M., Soliman, M.M., Khan, K.M., and Elfouly, T.M. (2020, January 8). Distributed Framework via Block-chain Smart Contracts for Smart Grid Systems against Cyber-Attacks. Proceedings of the 11th IEEE Control and System Graduate Research Colloquium (ICSGRC), Shah Alam, Malaysia.10.1109/ICSGRC49013.2020.9232544 ↗
50. Integrating blockchain technology into the energy sector—From theory of blockchain to research and application of energy blockchain10.1016/j.cosrev.2020.100275 ↗
51. Design of integrated energy market cloud service platform based on blockchain smart contract10.1016/j.ijepes.2021.107515 ↗
52. Hedging Volumetric Risks of Solar Power Producers Using Weather Derivative Smart Contracts on a Blockchain Marketplace10.1109/TSG.2022.3181256 ↗
53. Alao, O., and Cuffe, P. (2022, January 22–26). A Taxonomy of the Risks and Challenges of Embracing Blockchain Smart Contracts in Facilitating Renewable Electricity Transactions. Proceedings of the IEEE PES/IAS PowerAfrica, Kigali, Rwanda.10.1109/PowerAfrica53997.2022.9905345 ↗
54. Zielińska, A. (2020). E3S Web of Conferences, EDP Sciences.
55. Baig, M.J.A., Iqbal, M.T., Jamil, M., and Khan, J. (2020, January 4–7). IoT and Blockchain Based Peer to Peer Energy Trading Pilot Platform. Proceedings of the 11th IEEE Annual Information Technology, Electronics and Mobile Communication Conference (IEMCON), Vancouver, BC, Canada.10.1109/IEMCON51383.2020.9284869 ↗
56. Ji, Z., Guo, Z., Li, H., and Wang, Q. (2021). Automated scheduling approach under smart contract for remote wind farms with power-to-gas systems in multiple energy markets. Energies, 14.10.3390/en14206781 ↗
57. Budak, C., Erdogan, U., and Kufeoglu, S. (2022, January 9–12). Smart Contract Development for Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading. Proceedings of the IEEE 7th International Energy Conference (ENERGYCON), Riga, Latvia.10.1109/ENERGYCON53164.2022.9830493 ↗
58. Perk, B., Bayraktaroglu, C., Dogu, E.D., Safdar Ali, F., and Okasap, O. (2020, January 7–10). Joulin: Blockchain-based P2P Energy Trading Using Smart Contracts. Proceedings of the IEEE Symposium on Computers and Communications (ISCC), Rennes, France.10.1109/ISCC50000.2020.9219696 ↗
59. A survey on blockchain-enabled smart grids: Advances, applications and challenges10.1049/smc2.12010 ↗
60. Smart contract for electricity transactions and charge settlements using blockchain10.1002/asmb.2570 ↗
61. FederatedGrids: Federated Learning and Blockchain-Assisted P2P Energy Sharing10.1109/TGCN.2022.3140978 ↗
62. Lazaroiu, G.C., Kayisli, K., Roscia, M., and Steriu, I.A. (2022, January 18–21). Smart Contracts for Households Managed by Smart Meter Equipped with Blockchain and Chain 2. Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Application (ICRERA), Istanbul, Turkey.10.1109/ICRERA55966.2022.9922779 ↗
63. Application of Blockchain and Smart Contract to Ensure Temper-Proof Data Availability for Energy Supply Chain
64. Perekalskiy, I., Kokin, S., and Kupcov, D. (2020, January 19–21). Setup of a local P2P electric energy market based on a smart contract blockchain technology. Proceedings of the 21st International Scientific Conference on Electric Power Engineering (EPE), Prague, Czech Republic.10.1109/EPE51172.2020.9269186 ↗
65. Górski, T., and Bednarski, J. (2020). Computer Aided Systems Theory–EUROCAST 2019: 17th International Conference, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, February 17–22, 2019, Revised Selected Papers, Part I 17, Springer.
66. Buterin, V. (2023, October 12). A Next-generation Smart Contract and Decentralized Application Platform. Available online: https://ethereum.org/669c9e2e2027310b6b3cdce6e1c52962/Ethereum_Whitepaper_-_Buterin_2014.pdf.
67. Carlson, K.W. (2019). Safe artificial general intelligence via distributed ledger technology. Big Data Cogn. Comput., 3.10.20944/preprints201906.0149.v1 ↗
68. Blockchain standards and government applications
69. Smart Contract Development: Challenges and Opportunities10.1109/TSE.2019.2942301 ↗
70. Shurman, M., Obeidat, A.A.R., and Al-Shurman, S.A.D. (2020, January 7–9). Blockchain and Smart Contract for IoT. Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Information and Communication Systems (ICICS), Irbid, Jordan.10.1109/ICICS49469.2020.239551 ↗
71. Web3: A comprehensive review on background, technologies, applications, zero-trust architectures, challenges and future directions10.1016/j.iotcps.2023.05.003 ↗
72. Is a ‘smart contract’ really a smart idea? Insights from a legal perspective10.1016/j.clsr.2017.05.007 ↗
73. Smart Contracts, Blockchain, and the Next Frontier of Smart Contracts, Blockchain, and the Next Frontier of Transactional Law Transactional Law
74. Implementing decentralized auctions using blockchain smart contracts10.1016/j.techfore.2021.120786 ↗
75. Enhancing vendor managed inventory supply chain operations using blockchain smart contracts10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3028031 ↗
76. A novel decentralized platform for peer-to-peer energy trading market with blockchain technology10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.116123 ↗
77. What blockchain can do for power grids?10.1016/j.bcra.2021.100008 ↗
78. Blockchain-enhanced trading systems for construction industry to control carbon emissions10.1007/s10098-022-02292-3 ↗
79. Smart contracts in energy systems: A systematic review of fundamental approaches and implementations10.1016/j.rser.2021.112013 ↗
80. EdgeChain: An edge-IoT framework and prototype based on blockchain and smart contracts10.1109/JIOT.2018.2878154 ↗
81. Blockchain for Internet of Energy management: Review, solutions, and challenges10.1016/j.comcom.2020.01.014 ↗
82. Mylrea, M., Nikhil, S., and Gourisetti, G. (2017, January 18–22). Blockchain for Smart Grid Resilience: Exchanging Distributed Energy at Speed, Scale and Security. Proceedings of the Resilience Week (RWS), Wilmington, DE, USA.10.1109/RWEEK.2017.8088642 ↗
83. Blockchain for precision irrigation: Opportunities and challenges10.1002/ett.4059 ↗
84. Juszczyk, O., and Shahzad, K. (2022). Blockchain Technology for Renewable Energy: Principles, Applications and Prospects. Energies, 15.10.3390/en15134603 ↗
85. Standardizing Smart Contracts10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3202550 ↗
86. The limits of trust-free systems: A literature review on blockchain technology and trust in the sharing economy10.1016/j.elerap.2018.03.005 ↗
87. Can Blockchain Strengthen the Internet of Things?10.1109/MITP.2017.3051335 ↗
88. Blockchain in government: Benefits and implications of distributed ledger technology for information sharing10.1016/j.giq.2017.09.007 ↗
89. Blockchain Technology in Business and Information Systems Research10.1007/s12599-017-0505-1 ↗
90. How Can Blockchain Technology Disrupt the Existing Business Models?