We started as the Blockchain Initiative Energy+ (BCI-E+) in 2017, when many projects focused on how to tap the potential of blockchain technology for the energy market. However, it quickly became apparent that blockchain can be a good option in some cases, but that many use cases can be better mapped with other trechnologies (see also „Decision tree for blockchain“). As early as 2019, we therefore decided to open up to other technologies. This culminated in 2022 in the new formation as the Technology Initiative Energy+ (TIE+) under the umbrella of edna Bundesverband Enerhiemarkt & Kommunikation e.V. (Federal Association for Energy Market & Communication).
Technologies and platforms such as Gaia X or the blockchain will have a strong impact in the energy market in the coming decades. Because with their help, many processes can be made more efficient and information can be made available to all market partners in a more transparent and easier to use way. This will significantly simplify the major challenge of the energy transition, namely the decentralization of the energy market. New technologies can thus accelerate the structural change of the energy market, streamline processes and fundamentally guarantee greater security as well as validity of data.

In addition to Gaia X and Blockchain, there are numerous other innovation technologies that will significantly change processes in the energy industry in the future. These include, for example, Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning (ML), New User Experience (UI/UX), Robotic Process Automation (RPA) or even next-generation databases.

TIE+ wants to investigate possible applications and suitable frameworks based on concrete business models. From an extensive list of topics, at first three task fields were defined:

• Technology (including the development of a show case)
• Markets (including analysis of the impact of Blockchain on existing market (roll) models)
• Regulation (including information offers for politics and regulation)

At the time of TIE+’s foundation, there was no such interest-group in existence focused on the specifics of the energy industry. Therefore, this initiative was deliberately not founded as an edna project group, but as an independent platform in which also non-edna-members can and should participate.

Nor is membership of the Blockchain Energy Initiative dependent on a specific industry affiliation. TIE+ addresses companies from all areas of business, such as IT service providers, the traditional energy industry, start-ups or new energy providers.

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