25 August, 2023: Energy software technology company Powerledger has revealed its fast and reliable “Powerledger Blockchain” for the global energy industry.

Powerledger Blockchain will support Powerledger’s own applications, and third-party applications, as well as be open for public domain electricity use cases, interested in introducing new services and products to the market.

“Our mission with blockchain is part of our larger goal of making energy both green and affordable, to decentralize the grid, and to allow for the acceleration of the energy transition to renewable energy,” said Powerledger Technical Director & Co-founder John Bulich.

The former escrow model, in which customers held POWR tokens in escrow to gain access to applications, has been phased out and replaced by the transaction fee model. 

This new model functions across two tiers: the layer 1 blockchain level and the application level. At the layer 1 blockchain level, the fee structure mirrors that of Solana, with the basic transfer costing 0.000005 of the native POWR token. Meanwhile, each application operating on the Powerledger Blockchain has the flexibility to implement its own distinct fee structure.

“We’ve been testing our Powerledger Blockchain within a permissioned environment, but are now confident that our blockchain is ready to become public-facing,” said Mr. Bulich.

As part of the transition, Sparkz tokens, which previously served as a unit of account in the early stages of our blockchain's development, have been phased out.

“In this new phase, applications built on top of the Powerledger Blockchain have the flexibility to introduce their own business logic and tokens, similar to the concept of SPL tokens on Solana's network. This approach allows for enhanced customization and functionality tailored to specific application needs,” said Mr. Bulich.

Powerledger is inviting teams to build on the blockchain, with the aim of aiding the growth of an ecosystem of products that facilitate the energy transition.

“We encourage developers to bring their applications to our blockchain. Given its initial design as an electricity transaction blockchain, it's a perfect choice for high-frequency throughput applications. This potential for diverse applications will also increase the rewards for validators and delegates,” said Mr. Bulich.

In the interest of accessibility, Powerledger has also lowered the minimum POWR staking requirements to 2500 POWR. And towards the end of the year, the minimum requirement will be removed entirely.

“Our new blockchain helps bring the energy sector closer to our ultimate goal, which is to democratize renewable energy,” said Mr. Bulich. 

Powerledger has more than 30 projects in 10 countries including Europe, Asia Pacific, North and South America, including some of the largest distribution and transmission utilities, businesses, energy retailers, and property developers globally. 

More information can be found in our lightpaper exploring the potential for energy in blockchain.