As consumers, we’re used to accessing programs and software in exchange for signing over our personal data, and in that sense, we’ve become the product. Our information is often shared far beyond what’s required for an app to function, and this has led to major breaches of our privacy. Decentralization is part of the solution, and so is transparency in data sharing. Verv, a UK-based green energy startup, is creating a data marketplace in which its consumers are decision-makers when it comes to monetizing their energy usage data.

Verv recently announced plans to create a new data marketplace for energy, in partnership with data sharing ecosystem Ocean Protocol. In an interview last month, Verv CEO Peter Davies explained how this peer-to-peer energy trading platform works. The new marketplace incentivizes Verv’s customers to share their energy data in exchange for savings on their energy bill.

Who Profits?

Verv’s partnership with Ocean Protocol gives energy consumers a choice in whether or not their data is shared, as well as the flexibility to turn sharing on and off at any time. Consumers receive a savings on their energy bills, while third parties buying their data can use it to track purchasing or appliance use habits. Verv unlocks vast amounts of data around consumption, purchasing habits, suppliers, and home appliances, some of which extends beyond the energy industry.

Verv has a peer-to-peer renewable energy trading platform with an AI-based IoT hub. This gives it the ability to sample home energy data at super-high frequencies, unlocking previously unavailable energy usage data.

The other half of this partnership, Ocean Protocol, sees the potential for a vast blockchain-based ecosystem capable of expanding to share and sell data in a safe, secure, and transparent way. Both companies are interested in artificial intelligence and see future potential in its ability to read our data and create new insights.

Compliant Data Sharing

By partnering with the Ocean ecosystem, Verv will not only have the opportunity to use the company’s data trading system but also create a new-form marketplace that puts consumers in control, allowing them to monetize their data in a secure manner that is fully compliant with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.

As part of the collaboration, Bruce Pon, Founder of Ocean Protocol Foundation, will join Verv’s Advisory Board. Speaking of the partnership, Pon said, “Verv is developing AI technology that uses data to save energy and costs for homeowners, while supporting sustainability and smarter homes. We are excited to work with them to build a data marketplace that uses the data availability and service verification proofs of Ocean Protocol.”

Verv CEO and Founder Peter Davies added, “Ocean Protocol will facilitate a multitude of data marketplaces, one of which will be the Verv energy marketplace for electricity data. This will allow our consumers to have control over their own data [and whom] they give it to, giving them the chance to benefit financially from sharing it with third parties.”

Verv has already conducted the UK’s first physical peer-to-peer trade of energy on the blockchain during one of its live trials in London, and now the Verv team will be focused on this data marketplace. As both Verv and Ocean look to create a whole new data system, it will be exciting to see how it adds value to our already data-driven society. Verv is currently conducting an Initial Token Offering for its VLUX token, with the pre-sale now live.