GM and Honda publish specs for decentralized electric car charging network

A Honda and GM-led working group has unveiled a global standard for using distributed ledger technology to create decentralized electric vehicle charging networks.

The Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative has launched a global standard for integrating blockchain technology into a decentralized vehicle charging network.

The storage of excess energy generated by wind or solar is a big problem for the renewable energy industry as batteries are very expensive.

Electric vehicles already have significant storage capacity so there's been a lot of work around plugging them into decentralized energy grids to store renewable energy.

MOBI's Electric Vehicle Grid Integration Working Group's first design specifications seek to lay the foundation for decentralized charging networks that better utilize excess green energy, detailing systems for "Vehicle-to-grid-integration," "Tokenized carbon credits," and "Peer-to-peer applications."

"Electric vehicles, chargers, and electricity producers can have a secure identity, communicate with a standard messaging format, and automatically record transactions such as charging, generation, and exchange on a distributed ledger."

The EVGI Working Group launched in May, with top automotive companies Honda and General Motors co-chairing the organization.

Distributed ledger technology firms Accenture, IBM, the IOTA Foundation, and R3 are also notable members of the group.

Senior project engineer at Honda R&D Europe, Christian Köbel, emphasized the "Massive transition" the energy sector is currently undergoing from "Centralized power generation in big power plants, towards more distributed and volatile power generation:".

Green energy is increasingly emerging as a major frontier for blockchain technology, with Ripple and Energy Web Foundation announcing the 'Energy Web Zero' protocol to decarbonize distributed ledger networks last week.