These are the revelations of a survey by Schneider Electric and greenbiz.com , with 236 companies worldwide participating. Eighty-one percent of respondents have either taken or planned measures to improve energy efficiency, reports produktion.de . But only 30% have considered state-of-the-art technologies, such as micro grids, energy storage devices or cogeneration in their deliberations. Furthermore, only 23% have demand response strategies or want to introduce them in the near future.

According to Schneider Electric, one reason for these results is that often coordination between purchasing, operating and sustainability departments doesn’t work very well. This applies especially to consumer goods and industrial companies. Inefficient data capture and forwarding doesn’t stop there: At 45%, data is extremely decentralized and processed at the local or regional level.

But maybe this can be part of the solution: The Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT) is currently carrying out f ield testing in Landau to research decentralized and regional power exchange as a possible model for tomorrow’s energy market. Around 20 private households form an independent energy market for the test, exchanging their power on a platform based on blockchain technology. The researchers believe this could save costs for electricity transport and reduce the construction of power lines.