Energy Blockchain Technology for EV Charging

Hygge Energy, pronounced as Hoo-gah Energy, is a blockchain energy startup that aims to change how electricity is generated and distributed.

Although solar is considered one of the best sources of energy, nowhere in the world solar energy contributes even 10% of the country’s energy mix. To speed up the adoption of rooftop solar, Hygge Energy has developed a platform that can maximise the profits for solar rooftop owners by accounting for the carbon credits. The company is working on disruptive blockchain technology in the energy sector that would not only reduce the cost of electricity but will also enhance the overall stability and performance of the system.

Hygge Energy is based out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The startup is doing projects in Canada, the USA, the UK, and India. In India, Hygge is doing projects in multiple states, including one with the government of Meghalaya in Cherrapunji and another in Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh. The company has also collaborated with the Indian Oil Corporation to improve the EV charging infrastructure across the country. The main product of the company is software that tracks the generation and utilisation of energy to account for the carbon credit. All the data is processed in the IoT-enabled Hygge Box.

“Hygge Energy is about local generation, local absorption of clean energy, which finally creates a net zero community,” says Prateek Saxena, CEO, Hygge Energy. “Our main patent and software are about the tracking of the renewable generation.”

To create carbon credit, apart from generation, it is essential to know where the generated power is being consumed. Because carbon credits are not only a function of renewable generation but also a function of consumption. Hygge’s patented software tracks the generation and consumption within a community (where Hygge’s platform is available) in each instance, that is, the data is recorded for each millisecond.

The artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms developed by the company decide when to charge a battery or when to utilise the energy stored in the battery and how to record the data; everything is done through the Hygge Box. AI then identifies the maximum carbon-intensive application, and it allocates that unit of renewable generation to that application.

“Hygge’s patents are all about how we track renewable generation, how we ensure and track where it has been consumed, and then how it is getting converted into carbon credits,” says Prateek.

It is just a matter of accounting, tracking, and allocating. And if you can do it in a proper auditable way, then that is approved by the UN for carbon credit calculation. So that’s what the Hygge platform does. The artificial intelligence and the company’s unique way of using blockchain nodes embedded within the Hygge Box is an innovative way to reduce energy consumption and maximise profit for the users.

Prateek says, “Blockchain technology is considered a very energy-intensive technology. And hence we went for a pattern which is unique, which is low energy intensive blockchain technology, which is embedded on Hygge Box, which is an IoT box, and not on Cloud. We are probably one of the first few startups capable of doing it.”