SSI in the Energy sector: A study

Context

The energy landscape is being transformed as decentralised assets like electric vehicles and other flexible devices are increasingly adopted by consumers. These assets have the potential to provide a significant amount of flexibility to the electricity grid. Allowing them to securely interact with the grid is of key importance. 

One approach which promises a new way of decentralized identification and verification are self-sovereign identities (SSI).  They have the potential to facilitate the integration of flexible assets into the system whilst reducing manual data verification and security-related concerns. With SSI each device, person, company or entity will be able to verifiably present information. The technology is still in its infancy but could contribute to a secure and efficient energy transition. 

This paper, authored by Elia Group and the Branch Business & Informations System Engineering, Fraunhofer Institute of Applied Information Technology FIT, highlights the transformative power that SSI holds. It outlines several SSI use cases, exemplifying how SSI can be employed to redefine identity management and data exchange across the sector. 

Unlocking the potential of SSI will require deliberate, collaborative action to be taken. To ensure SSI is widely adopted, Elia Group believes it is imperative to bring together regulators, industry consortia and forward-thinking companies to verifiy its potential, create standards, address interoperability issues and manage regulatory uncertainties. As an initiator of such discussions, Elia Group is calling for unity and strategic foresight from stakeholders as they join hands on this transformative journey. 

Partners

For the development of the paper we would like to thank the responsible people at the Fraunhofer Fit (Vincent Gramlich, Anne Michaelis, Prof Dr. Jens Strüker & Dr. Marc-Fabian Körner) and Energy Web (Robert Sprunk & John Henderson).