Analysis and Application of Verifiable Computation Techniques in Blockchain Systems for the Energy Sector

Frontiers in Blockchain

卷:4

Ulrich Gallersdörfer ¹  Bernd Steinkopf ¹  Florian Matthes ¹  Alexander Bogensperger ³  Andreas Zeiselmair ³ 

[1] Department of Informatics, Software Engineering for Business Information Systems, Chair of Informatics 19, Technical University of Munich, Garching/Munich, Germany;

[2] FfE, Munich, Germany;

[3] TUM Graduate School, Technical University of Munich, Garching/Munich, Germany;

关键词: verifiable computation;    blockchain;    energy;    peer-to-peer energy markets;    zero knowledge proof (ZKP);    trusted oracles;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fbloc.2021.725322

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The energy system is becoming increasingly decentralized. This development requires integrating and coordinating a rising number of actors and small units in a complex system. Blockchain could provide a base infrastructure for new tools and platforms that address these tasks in various aspects—ranging from dispatch optimization or dynamic load adaption to (local) market mechanisms. Many of these applications are currently in development and subject to research projects. In decentralized energy markets especially, the optimized allocation of energy products demands complex computation. Combining these with distributed ledger technologies leads to bottlenecks and challenges regarding privacy requirements and performance due to limited storage and computational resources. Verifiable computation techniques promise a solution to these issues. This paper presents an overview of verifiable computation technologies, including trusted oracles, zkSNARKs, and multi-party computation. We further analyze their application in blockchain environments with a focus on energy-related applications. Applied to a distinct optimization problem of renewable energy certificates, we have evaluated these solution approaches and finally demonstrate an implementation of a Simplex-Optimization using zkSNARKs as a case study. We conclude with an assessment of the applicability of the described verifiable computation techniques and address limitations for large-scale deployment, followed by an outlook on current development trends.

【 授权许可】

Unknown