Fuse, a London-based renewable energy startup, aims 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 that uses blockchain-based technology and tokens in infrastructure projects – in the case of Fuse, renewable electricity.
“When you send power over a power line, there are power losses,” said Alan Chang, co-founder and CEO of Fuse Declutter. “So what you want is for generation to be as close to consumption as possible. And this is something beautiful about decentralized energy sources.”
These sources, Chang said, include home solar charging, home battery and electric vehicle (EV) charging.
“Having local generation and local consumption allows for 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 across the UK. The Fuse team consists of technical alumni from Meta, Citadel, Tesla and Palantir.
The Fuse Energy mobile app allows consumers to monitor their energy consumption in near real-time. This transparency, Chang says, is critical in reducing energy waste and optimizing consumption when renewable sources, such as solar and wind energy, are most productive.
“We want to streamline the entire experience,” Chang said. “Buying solar panels – it shouldn’t be any harder than ordering food online.”
2/5 🔌 Our networks are stifling progress:
Demand is rising, but the development of the network is coming to a standstill. To reach net zero we need to DOUBLE the global electricity grid by 2050, but sustainable projects face decade-long grid wait times. 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, reducing pressure on the electricity grid and lowering costs.
But as Chang explained, just offering consumers the option to help reduce pressure on the grid isn’t enough: customers must 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 energy discounts from Fuse.
In support of Project Zero, Fuse announced Thursday that the company 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 UK customers can benefit from Project Zero, Chang noted, citing regulatory uncertainty, that the Project Zero token is not available globally.
“At this time, given the regulatory landscape in the US, Project Zero will not be available in the US,” Chang said. “Maybe that will change after the election, but like many other people in the crypto industry, we are 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