Iota announced the news in an official blog post on Aug. 30. Per the announcement, Iota is partnering with Jaguar Land Rover and French energy RD center Engie Lab Crigen for the demonstration.
The demonstration aims to show the public both the source and use of a Jaguar I-Pace’s energy at the Trondheim Powerhouse, the building whose inauguration forms the background for the proof-of-concept.
Distributed ledger technology (DLT) company Iota partners with auto manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover for a proof-of-concept (PoC) demonstration for tracing car energy with DLT.
Tracking energy source and usage
Russell Vickers, the manager of Jaguar Land Rover’s vehicle-as-a-service engineering group, commented on what he believe this PoC suggests for the future of energy-conscious smart cities. He remarked:
“This agile initiative demonstrates vividly how cities can transform both infrastructure and transportation into a sustainable and mutually beneficial ecosystem. We are excited to let the public see how energy-positive buildings and vehicles such as the I-Pace in this demonstration can create positive sustainability innovation in line with Jaguar Land Rover’s Destination Zero strategy.”
The Jaguar I-Pace’s Iota smart wallet
According to the report, the Jaguar I-Pace contains an Iota-backed smart wallet that could be used for energy-charging – a so-dubbed “Green Charging” feature – that is similarly traced by Iota’s DLT. This would provide I-Pace owners with the ability to charge their cars exclusively with renewable energy.
Additionally, the I-Pace’s smart wallet currently lets users earn IOTA by letting the car automatically report data relevant to road conditions, including information on potholes, weather and traffic, per the announcement. This currency can then be used for paying services such as tolls, parking and charging.
Iota’s Trinity wallet
At the beginning of June, the Iota Foundation unveiled a new smart wallet for its Iota tokens. This wallet, called the Trinity wallet, reportedly included a biometric authentication and Keepass-compliant security, among other features.
Italian Winery Adopts Interactive Screw-Caps With Blockchain Verification
Piedmont winery, Vigneti Massa, is launching the 2018 vintage of its wines with near-field communication (NFC) and blockchain-enabled caps. As reported by The Drinks Business on Jan. 22, Vigneti Massa is the first winery in Europe, and the second globally, to adopt Guala Closures Nestgate technology.
Guala developed the technology with Luxembourg-based software company, Compellio. By tapping an NFC-equipped smartphone against the bottle’s screw-cap, consumers can get information about the wine-growing region, the vineyard, and the vine that the wine came from. The platform also provides tasting notes and expert reviews.
Additionally, the authenticity of the wine can be verified as the connected closures are linked with a blockchain platform that provides a unique identification code for each bottle. Winery co-owner Walter Massa explained the importance of this feature:
“One phenomenon that is not talked about much is the counterfeiting of great wines … As well as providing a new experience for the consumer, the NFC system guarantees the fight against counterfeiting and the ‘black market’ for these pearls of nature, assuring their authenticity and traceability.”
Technology not just for high-end wines
The NFC-closures will be applied to Vigneti Massa’s Derthona wine, along with three of its most prestigious cru: Derthona Costa del Vento, Derthona Montecitorio and Derthona Sterpi.
Previous vintages of these wines are available from between $25–50 per bottle online, so this is far from a feature that is only available for the super rich, and over time the technology could filter down to even more affordable price points.
Italian Banks Successfully Test Data Reconciliation Via Blockchain
The Italian Banking Association (ABI) successfully processed the reconciliation data of an entire year of local banking activity on a blockchain platform.
The association announced the successful test of the Spunta Project’s system in a press release published on Oct. 12. The successful test of the framework has been first announced by Italian media at the end of September though with little details.
Platform viability has been demonstrated
Now ABI reveals that the test has seen 200 million data entries being processed by the blockchain banking reconciliation system, effectively simulating one year of Italian banking activity.
The successful test allegedly demonstrates the sustainability of the verification procedure and the platform itself.
The data has been introduced to the platform through 35 nodes distributed throughout Italy. Eighteen Italian banks – comprising 78% of the country’s banking workforce – are part of the project.
Implementation to come in 2020
The recently amended banking agreements will reportedly allow for the system to be implemented by March 1, 2020. As Cointelegraph reported, ABI first announced the intention to deploy blockchain technology in mid-June.
The Spunta Project is coordinated by the association’s research organization, ABI Lab, and sees participation from system integration firm NTT Data, decentralized data storage platform Sia and enterprise blockchain firm R3 with its Corda network.
