# A Systematic Analysis of Real-World Energy Blockchain Initiatives
## 4 Results and Discussion
### Ro5: Determine Technical Trends  
A summary of technical trends extracted from the original dataset illustrate the prominence of classified energy applications (Figure 6), blockchain platforms (Figure 7), and consensus algorithms (Figure 8). Although these details are particularly useful for establishing the current approaches and trends, such trends should be regularly evaluated to ensure changes based on best-practices are captured. However, such longitudinal analysis greatly depends on accurate and accessible information being openly shared by grid operators and energy providers.  
Figure 6 illustrates prominent energy blockchain applications, with decentralised energy trading and cryptocurrencies comprising almost 50% of energy blockchain initiatives. While the more popular applications centre on the democratisation of energy for individuals, groups and communities, the less popular applications (e.g., metering and billing) are more oriented towards organisations that may improve their ability to manage particular operating scenarios using blockchain technology (e.g., replacing centralised databases for metering).  
Figure 5: Level of information sharing by type of applications.  
Figure 7 illustrates the prominence of different blockchain platforms across energy blockchain initiatives. The analysis shows Ethereum as the most prominent platform (44.33%), with Energy Web (12.37%), Hyperledger Fabric (7.22%) and Proprietary/Custom (7.22%) platforms demonstrating significantly lower adoption.  
Figure 8 illustrates the prevalence of consensus algorithms used to commit transactions to energy blockchains. Interestingly, despite well-known concerns regarding scalability and performance, the analysis highlights Proof-of-Work (49.4%) as the most commonly used consensus algorithm, with Proof-of-Authority (15.66%) and Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (15.66%) demonstrating some signs of adoption. Of course, the adoption of particular consensus algorithms may be influenced by the contemporary nature of energy blockchains, whereby early adopters and researchers utilise the platform's default consensus model, or make choices derived from mainstream media (e.g., the Bitcoin phenomenon) that may not be directly applicable or useful to energy applications. However, provided  
Figure 6: Classified energy blockchain applications.  
Figure 7: Blockchain platform adoption for energy blockchains.  
sufficient information can be shared amongst practitioners and researchers, best-in-class methods and approaches shall invariably emerge to guide the selection of platforms and consensus algorithms for energy applications.  
The trends relating to energy blockchain applications, blockchain platforms, and consensus algorithms are undoubtedly useful for developers and researchers investigating the technology within the energy sector, but inferring or developing best-practices for real-world energy blockchains cannot be easily achieved without additional information, such as (a) blockchain and infrastructure integration approaches (e.g., interdisciplinary protocols), (b) accounting methods for energy transactions (e.g., energy losses during transmission), and (c) disclosure of technical impediments (e.g., poor scalability or maintenance), to name a few.