What is Grid 2.0 ?

We all hear talk about the 4th industrial revolution. It has been discussed extensively at the last two Davos World economic summits. Energy, Communications and transport are converging in this 4th industrial revolution. Grid 2.0 is the matching iteration of the electricity Grid. To understand it we need to look at the basics.

Old style traditional Grid

Underpinning today’s $1.6 Trillion global electricity market is a legacy of regulated business models and centralized electro-technical design. We know this as GRID 1.0 - powered by large centralized fossil or Nuclear power plants, and typically laid out in a radial fashion with expensive redundant circuits. Energy is supplied by big incumbent utilities to consumers who have little say over the price of power or where it is sourced. This has resulted in artificially high energy prices and lack of incentives to innovate.

The emergence of low cost solar as the lowest cost form of new generation should be a game changer, reducing costs and putting choice into the hands of consumers and communities. But the big players aren’t about to disrupt themselves and potential rent profits.

Grid 2.0 is rather a reworking of the grid into a meshed style network, allowing for the two way flow of power. Other features are:

1. Decentralized energy from renewable's. Given this is produced in residential areas this is is cheaper, cleaner and closer to the demand - releasing the potential of solar, wind power, batteries, electric vehicles and smart devices.

2. Segregating the customer facing components of electricity retail businesses from their wholesale operations, then facilitating aggregation and risk sharing and

3. A Blockchain DLT platform to accelerate the transition to Grid 2.0 with energy services directly accessible by consumers and communities.