Global Energy Game Changers – Blockchain in the energy sector: evolving business models and law

Blockchain, cryptocurrencies and smart contracts are said to have the potential to disrupt established business models in a range of industries. Are they about to revolutionize the energy sector? Or are the various energy-related use cases proposed for them just interesting thought experiments?

In Issue 8 of our Global Energy Game Changers series, we aim to get behind the hype. We provide an overview of the technology and analyze, with case studies, the principal applications of blockchain so far identified in the oil and gas and electricity sectors and beyond.

• Why do so many oil majors, trading houses and banks seem to think that blockchain could provide a new digital infrastructure for global commodity trading?
• Is blockchain the key to Big Oil unlocking the true power of Big Data?
• There is a lot of excitement among both utilities and tech startups about blockchain reshaping electricity markets. Is this misplaced, or just premature?
• How might blockchain and smart contracts mesh with some of the existing contractual and regulatory frameworks that underpin the energy industry?