Honda and GM team up to explore blockchain potential in smart grid and electric car interoperability

Automotive giants General Motors and Honda are teaming up for joint blockchain research focused on electric vehicles and smart grids, Nikkei reported.

The project aims to explore whether electric vehicles could stabilize the supply of power in smart grids, which use renewable energy, including solar and wind power. Electric vehicles’ storage batteries could help stabilize these unstable sources of power.

GM and Honda plan to develop ways to retrieve information, such as the data exchanged between electric vehicles and power grids. Going forward, the blockchain trial could see electric vehicles becoming revenue streams for their owners by allowing them to earn fees by storing power in car batteries and exchanging it with the grid.

Per the report, the project will be carried out under the framework of the Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative (MOBI).

Launched last year, MOBI is a blockchain consortium that aims to make transportation safer, more affordable, and more widely accessible. Founding members include BMW, Ford, General Motors, Groupe Renault and others. Honda joined the initiative last month, becoming the first Japanese automaker to do so.

The joint research project is slated to commence this month with other prospective partners to join later.

GM previously filed a patent for a blockchain-based solution for managing data from autonomous vehicles, Cointelegraph reported. Earlier this year, its financial services arm, General Motors Financial Company joined the Spring Founding Industry Partners (SFIP) Program that aims to enhance data security.