Today Indian IT firm Wipro announced that it had implemented a trading and fulfillment platform that leverages blockchain. The commodity being traded is small-scale liquefied natural gas (ssLNG), and the client is German company Uniper Global Commodities.
ssLNG is an emerging sector where LNG is used in its liquid form for marine bunker fuel, for trucking, or by electricity utilities in remote areas. In this particular case, the Uniper LNG-for-trucks subsidiary Liqvis is involved. Uniper has a market capitalization of more than €10 billion ($11.8 billion) and is involved in power generation in Europe and Russia as well as global energy trading.
Uniper’s Dr. Grigory Shevchenko said that blockchain would enable “business volume growth without needing a lot of additional headcount to manage transactions.”
The blockchain platform covers order and supply placement, delivery of goods, validation of the state of goods and bill settlements. Paper based transactions are being automated and as a result, transparency will be significantly improved. Blockchain enables “Uniper to modernize its trading platform, reduce friction, improve process efficiency and simplify settlements in business processes,” said Sarat Chand Wipro VP of Utilities for EMEA.
This isn’t the first blockchain LNG solution, with VeChain inking a deal with Shanghai Gas in China. And in terms of commodities, there are numerous blockchain solutions with the OOC Oil and Gas Blockchain consortium leading the way.
