Spanish main electricity provider, Endesa, announced plans to launch a Blockchain Laboratory to jump-start projects relevant for the energy industry. A competition to select the best initiatives will be held from November 1st to January 31st. 

Endesa is the largest electric utility company in Spain. With over 10 million customers, the firm is a subsidiary of Enel, an Italian-based energy multinational. The company generates electricity from nuclear, fossil-fueled, hydroelectric, and renewable resource power plants.

In a press release issued on October 5, the company announced the creation of a Blockchain Lab, along with the launch of an ‘Energy Challenge’ to round up developers, startups, companies, and individuals from all around the world who are looking to develop new products or services using Blockchain technology.

To be part of this initiative, applicants must submit their proposals before January 31, 2017. From February to March Endesa will compile a shortlist of applications for which they will offer support to start collaborative ‘ad-hoc agreements’. Finally, on April 1, Endesa will announce the winners and offer them a formal partnership.

According to Endesa, its goal is to “learn, make mistakes, understand the implications of those mistakes, and to assess the impact of a decentralized world”. Under the ‘Energy Challenge’ brand, Endesa has organized Hackathons and Datathons for Big data experts.