In an effort to help homes become both greener and energy producers Ikea are testing solar panels on the roofs of a miniature wooden village, built to 1:50 scale and incorporating Blockchain technology.The concept is designed to track and improve the traceability of electrical power that a building is able to produce, for ‘microgrid” tokens.
The mock up energy self-sustaining model village is powered by solar panels enabling, households to sell any excess electricity or indeed able to buy some from their neighbours, if required, through a Blockchain. All of the buildings are hardwired together to create a microgrid for energy sharing and trading in what Ikea claims is a fully scalable model.
According to a report by Mckinsey, “By 2020 the number of smart cities will reach 600 worldwide, and 5 years later almost 60 percent of the world’s GDP will be produced in them. Digital technologies could become the engine of economic progress, and blockchain, without a doubt, could be one of them”.
A number of countries are already exploring similar ideas. China has already set plans in motion to create hundreds of smart cities by 2025, to support its growing population.
Estonia has started integrating Blockchain technology into many of its government services, including its legislative processes, healthcare and ID and energy data management.
Meanwhile, Dubai has created it’s ‘Smart City Initiative’ which aims to transform the city into the world’s first Blockchain powered city by 2020.
