Distributed-Ledger Resource Accommodation for Surplus Power Trading

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Ordinary households and customers face difficulties in efficiently selling surplus power and purchasing power due to limited access to power trading markets, leading to inefficiencies and increased costs, with no existing technology effectively linking their needs for resource accommodation.

Innovation Solution

A resource accommodation assistance system utilizing a distributed ledger technology, including a storage unit to hold transactions and an arithmetic unit to execute smart contracts, facilitating power sales and commodity purchases between ordinary households and customers, with added premiums for efficient resource exchange.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If ordinary households sell surplus power through conventional power trading markets, then power trading efficiency is improved, but access to trading markets remains limited and complex

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepower trading efficiencyVSAvoidtrading market access complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a retail electric utility as an intermediary between ordinary households and the power trading market. The utility simplifies the trading process by acting as a mediator that handles the complex transactions, allowing households to sell surplus power without directly accessing the complicated trading market infrastructure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent enables the retail electric utility to perform multiple functions: it continues to supply electricity to customers while simultaneously purchasing surplus power from households and facilitating commodity exchanges. This multi-functionality simplifies the overall system by consolidating roles that would otherwise require separate dedicated systems.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Reliability

If customers purchase power from retail electric utilities, then power supply reliability is improved, but cost efficiency deteriorates due to lack of direct power trading options

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepower supply reliabilityVSAvoidenergy cost efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the power supply function with the power purchase function into a single integrated system. The retail electric utility simultaneously supplies power to customers and purchases surplus power from households through the same infrastructure, eliminating the need for separate systems and improving overall cost efficiency while maintaining reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Extent of automation

If smart contracts are used to facilitate transactions, then transaction automation is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetransaction automation levelVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Extent of automationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements self-service through smart contracts that automatically execute transactions based on predetermined conditions. The system performs transactions autonomously without requiring manual intervention, with the smart contract code automatically handling power purchases, commodity exchanges, and payments based on the conditions set in the contract.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentEP3819857B1Resource accommodation assisting system, resource accommodation assisting method, and resource accommodation assisting device
Publication Date: 2025.10.22 HITACHI LTD
  • EP3819857B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3819857B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3819857B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

To enable efficient resource accommodation between an ordinary household and a customer with a predetermined accompanying effect. A resource accommodation assistance system 10 includes a plurality of information processing apparatuses 100 each including: a storage unit 101 configured to hold a distributed ledger 50 storing transactions issued in accordance with events including power sale in which an ordinary household sells power to a retail electric utility, power purchase in which a customer purchases the power which the retail electric utility secures through the power sale, and commodity purchase in which the ordinary household purchases a commodity from the customer with a payment token gained from the retail electric utility through the power sale; and an arithmetic unit 104 configured, in the event of commodity purchase, to execute a smart contract, to carry out a transaction for payment on the commodity purchase using the payment token to which a predetermined premium bearing by the customer is added, and to store, in the distributed ledger 50, the transaction subjected to a predetermined process executed together with another information processing apparatus among the information processing apparatuses.