**3.2 Prosumers and the value of energy data**

We are facing a decentralization of energy production in part due to a new participant in the ecosystem, the prosumer [23]. Prosumers, unlike a traditional consumer—who simply consumes the energy provided by the smart grid—also are able to produce its own energy (**Figure 1**).

The proliferation of prosumers in the energy ecosystem is going to cause that these consumers will have more information and detail than the utility itself, something unthinkable until now where every kilowatt consumed by a home or company is accounted by the energy distributor.

These prosumers may be consuming energy without the utility being aware of it, but they must provide service to the user if it punctually needs more energy than is able to produce, either because of an increase in consumption, because the user has photovoltaic generation on the roof but the day is cloudy, etc.

**93**

*Blockchain: From Industry 4.0 to the Machine Economy DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88694*

measurement.

to Industry 4.0.

them and therefore of their privacy.

of transparency of their processes.

between the collaborating systems.

digital contract in pdf.

real or accurate.

**4. The core value of blockchain in the industry**

In fact, these users have critical information to operate the system that will be

However, the user is increasingly aware of the value of these data and not only because of their impact on the energy ecosystem. Starting from the detail of energy consumption, it is possible to infer a quite exhaustive profile of the user and, for

The following transformation of the energy sector could be precisely based on the exploitation of these data, and thanks to blockchain, users could have control of

After analyzing the results of different proofs of concept and the benefits provided, we could say that blockchain can bring a number of differential features

Perhaps the most popular is the decentralization of processes and business models. Blockchain provides by definition the intermediation between two parties in a reliable way [24] that is why many processes and organizations whose main value is the intermediation between parties can be optimized thanks to blockchain technology. We will therefore see intermediaries that adopt technology to be more efficient and robust, thus being able to offer a better service at more competitive prices or consortiums of companies that invest in creating themselves platforms to

At the same time, blockchain offers an unalterable record of the history of any asset or industrial good, so traceability on that record is natural for blockchain technology. In addition, this record can be shared with third parties in an exercise

Blockchain offers a really efficient synchronization of processes; it provides us with a single consensuated vision of the information related to industrial assets and processes, something really important in cases where different players and informa-

Finally, we should emphasize the blockchain capacity for process automation thanks to being a reliable source of information by offering a synchronized, consensual, and unalterable record on which we can also have a non-repudiation of the information, as each participant signs each of their transactions as if it were a

As we have already commented, automating our industrial processes based on information from third parties is really risky if the source is not reliable. Unlike the technologies that we usually handle, blockchain offers us that certainty, even an evidence that can be used to claim a third party if the recorded information is not

manage their relationships without depending on current intermediaries.

tion systems must be coordinated to achieve a common industrial objective. It is a perfect synchronization technology, resilient to network microcuts or failures of the systems involved in the industrial process. These usual deficiencies of the traditional technologies generate incoherencies in the data and consequently incorrect decision-making due to a bad synchronization of the information shared

example, to carry out a very good segmentation for marketing impacts.

extremely valuable for the stakeholders of the energy system in order to optimize their processes and ensure the stability of the network. It will allow them also to predict energy demand more accurately, avoiding deviations in the daily markets, improving the balance of the grid, and so on. Even in the case of large consumers, some companies offer optimized energy savings based on a baseline

**Figure 1.**

*Smart grid architecture and energy flows including prosumers.*

*Computer Security Threats*

reliability and service continuity.

report signed by the energy company itself.

**3.2 Prosumers and the value of energy data**

able to produce its own energy (**Figure 1**).

is accounted by the energy distributor.

*Smart grid architecture and energy flows including prosumers.*

photovoltaic generation on the roof but the day is cloudy, etc.

is a much more automated and resilient grid and offers unprecedented levels of

The smart grid itself is a network of IIoT devices and is also considered a critical infrastructure, so everything mentioned above about the advantages of using block-

Traceability is also relevant in the energy industry; therefore, at the end of 2018 ACCIONA announced, in collaboration with Tecnalia, the first proof of concept for the use of blockchain to trace the renewable origin of energy. In this case the fundamental objective of traceability is to guarantee the renewable origin of the

Even so, since the initial experimentation, there are several utilities that have made different proofs of concept, and we must distinguish between (i) the traceability of energy from its point of origin, with information collected from the IIoT itself (smart meters of the power plant) or (ii) the traceability made retrospectively based on the data that the utility itself (not the machines) introduces in the blockchain. The first one gives a total guarantee and trustworthiness; in the second case, the reliability is given by the utility itself and does not have a superior value than a

Equally important is the interoperability and sovereignty of the data in a smart grid in which different operators and manufacturers collaborate with a common industrial objective—the grid resilience—but with competing business objectives.

We are facing a decentralization of energy production in part due to a new participant in the ecosystem, the prosumer [23]. Prosumers, unlike a traditional consumer—who simply consumes the energy provided by the smart grid—also are

The proliferation of prosumers in the energy ecosystem is going to cause that these consumers will have more information and detail than the utility itself, something unthinkable until now where every kilowatt consumed by a home or company

These prosumers may be consuming energy without the utility being aware of it, but they must provide service to the user if it punctually needs more energy than is able to produce, either because of an increase in consumption, because the user has

**3.1 Energy sector considerations regarding the previous section**

chain in IIoT devices obviously applies directly to this industry.

energy and thus differentiate the energy generated in a sustainable way.

**92**

**Figure 1.**

In fact, these users have critical information to operate the system that will be extremely valuable for the stakeholders of the energy system in order to optimize their processes and ensure the stability of the network. It will allow them also to predict energy demand more accurately, avoiding deviations in the daily markets, improving the balance of the grid, and so on. Even in the case of large consumers, some companies offer optimized energy savings based on a baseline measurement.

However, the user is increasingly aware of the value of these data and not only because of their impact on the energy ecosystem. Starting from the detail of energy consumption, it is possible to infer a quite exhaustive profile of the user and, for example, to carry out a very good segmentation for marketing impacts.

The following transformation of the energy sector could be precisely based on the exploitation of these data, and thanks to blockchain, users could have control of them and therefore of their privacy.
