Fuse, a London-based renewable energy startup, is looking to reshape the way energy is generated, distributed, and consumed by offering incentives—including cryptocurrency—using mobile apps and decentralized technology.
The initiative is a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN), a fast-growing sector enlisting blockchain-based technology and tokens in infrastructure projects—in Fuse’s case, renewable electricity.
“When you send power down a power line, there are power losses,” Fuse co-founder and CEO Alan Chang told Decrypt. “So what you want is generation to be as close to consumption as possible. And this is a beautiful thing about decentralized energy resources.”
These resources, Chang said, include home solar, home battery, and home electric vehicle (EV) charging.
“Having local generation and local consumption unlocks more efficient generation consumption and therefore lower costs,” he said.
Launched in January 2022, Fuse was co-founded by Alan Chang and Charles Orr and operates and maintains solar and wind farms throughout the United Kingdom. Fuse’s team includes engineering alums from Meta, Citadel, Tesla, and Palantir.
Using the Fuse Energy mobile app, consumers can track their energy usage in near real-time. This transparency, Chang believes, is crucial in reducing energy waste and optimizing consumption when renewable sources, like solar and wind, are most productive.
“We want to streamline the whole experience,” Chang said. “Getting solar panels—it should be no harder than ordering food online.”
2/5 🔌 Our grids are choking progress:
Demand is rising, but grid development is grinding to a halt. For net zero, we need to DOUBLE global grid by 2050, but renewable projects face decade-long grid waits. The current system is not fit for purpose. We need a revolution.…
— Project Zero (@projectzero2050) September 12, 2024
The Fuse app also encourages a concept known as “demand response,” where users adjust their energy consumption based on the availability of renewable energy, which reduces strain on the grid and lowers costs.
However, as Chang explained, just giving consumers the ability to help reduce the strain on the grid is not enough: customers need to be incentivized to participate. This led to the launch of Project Zero and Project Zero token on Solana, which Chang explained will be a utility token that consumers can earn and then use to get discounts on energy from Fuse.
To support Project Zero, Fuse announced on Thursday that the firm had completed a $12 million strategic round led by Multicoin Capital, bringing the company’s total funding to $90 million. Other Fuse backers include Balderton, Lakestar, Accel, Creandum, LowerCarbon, Ribbit, and Box Group.
While U.K. customers will be able to take advantage of Project Zero, Chang noted, citing regulatory uncertainty, that the Project Zero token is not available worldwide.
“Right now, given the regulatory landscape in the U.S., Project Zero will not be available in the U.S.,” Chang said. “Maybe that changes after the election, but like many other people in the crypto industry, we’re observing.”
DePIN is the latest buzzy term in the blockchain industry. Other companies in the growing DePIN industry include high-speed internet provider Spacecoin, cloud resource provider Akash Network, EV charging network PowerPod, and decentralized mapping service Hivemapper.
Edited by Ryan Ozawa