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Public sector Healthcare Energy and utilities Automotive Transport and logistics Retail Manufacturing Consumer electronics UTILITY WEEK | 6TH - 12TH OCTOBER 2017 | 5 ENERGY Electron awarded grant for blockchain Technology company Electron has been awarded a government grant to prove how blockchain can transform the market for balancing the electricity grid. The company has received an undisclosed sum from the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund to scale and integrate a blockchain trading platform, which will allow electricity consumers to be paid to adjust their energy consumption. According to Electron, the platform will allow multiple parties to co-ordinate and share the value of a single consumer's action, which is known as "collaborative trading" "Blockchain is not just about a technology," said chief executive Paul Ellis. "It is a revolutionary new way of transacting business without a central intermediary. "Removing this intermediary enables new, better models of co-operation on an efficient, demonstrably fair platform." The platform has also been awarded 2017 tech pioneer status by the World Economic Forum (WEF). £250 The annual value of free cinema tickets Eon is offering to tempt customers on to its new fixed rate dual fuel tariff. "We want transformational change in the energy market" Labour's shadow secretary of state for business and energy, Rebecca Long-Bailey, tells the Labour party conference she hopes the party can exceed its manifesto commitment that 60 per cent of energy is provided from renewable power sources by 2030. See Lobby, p10 Car manufacturer Nissan is to team up with Ovo Energy to launch a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) service as part of a programme to accelerate the adoption of home battery storage. The V2G service will launch in January 2018, allowing customers to sell excess energy back to the grid at peak times. Vodafone has released its annual IoT barometer, which tracks global uptake of Internet of Things applications across industries. The report shows cross-sector use of IoT technology has more than doubled since 2013, with 29 per cent of organisations now saying they use it. Energy and utilities are ahead of the curve, according to the report, with 35 per cent now reporting that they have live IoT applications. Ørsted Dannish company Dong Energy is changing its name to Ørsted to signal its permanent move away from fossil fuels. The name is a reference to Danish scientist Hans Christian Ørsted who spear- headed several scientific develop- ments, including the discovery of electromagnetism in 1820. See Stockwatch, p13 Number of connected devices Why adopters are using IoT To increase revenue To reduce costs To increase efficiency 21% 10,000+ devices 1,000-10,000 devices 18% 16% 16% 36% 14% 21% 10% 9% 29% 25% 20% 3% 7% 14% To manage risk Efficiency is the most common reason behind companies using IoT. But it's just one of the benefits. Those organisations that have adopted IoT are connecting more devices. 25% 49% 55% 49% 49%