First Demonstration Experiment for Energy-Trading System EDISON-X Using the XRP Ledger

Abstract

We developed a blockchain-based energy-trading system called EDISON-X to manage the buying and selling of electricity usage rights (i.e., tokens). Students buy UPX and SPX tokens to use electricity supplied from the utility company’s distribution lines and solar PV panels installed on the roof of the school building, respectively. In July 2022, 17 students from our school dormitory participated in an experiment to validate the operation of the EDISON-X system. Based on the results of this experiment, we describe an energy-trading system using blockchain technology for the effective usage of renewable energy. We developed topology and network science methodologies to understand the characteristics of energy trading. This study examined the hypothesis that market transactions become less active when “cavities” appear using topological data analysis. The preliminary results suggest that this hypothesis is plausible.