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+CityxChange is set to put the IOTA (MIOTA) Tangle technology to the test again in a multi-point, smart city project that has just received the green light and funding from the European Union.
Greenlit and Funded
Following the successful partnership with Taipei to create the first ever blockchain based smart city project, IOTA with +CityxChange will take on this much more expansive challenge over the next five years. Working with the cities of Trondheim, Limerick, Alba Iulia, Pisek, Sestao, Smolyan and Voru to become smart, positive energy cities, with the goal of using digital services to generate more energy than they consume and to share their experiences with cities all across Europe.
IOTA, as part of this visionary project, has another opportunity for the network to prove its utility in a real-world situation, before a massive audience. The platform will play a critical role in the +cityxChange project by offering decision making support and providing the tools participants require to be successful. The final result is hoped to be a positive energy block that reduces energy use and wastage using peer to peer energy trades through a flexible local depository.
As this is a community-based project +cityxChange is looking for a top-down change in energy use behavior from local authorities. According to the Head of Business Development at IOTA, Wilfred Pimenta:
“Smart cities is one of the fastest growing cross-sectorial arenas of innovation for IOTA. Building on our work and partnerships across mobility, energy or data marketplace, these smart city ecosystems bring it all together. The +CityxChange consortium gathers many public and private partners around an ambitious open innovation and co-creation initiative. This is 100% aligned to IOTA Foundation’s DNA and we can’t wait to get started.”
The project is expected to get started in on January 1, 2019. The entire project is to be funded jointly with 20 million Euros coming from the European Research and Innovation program, Horizon 2020. This will be matched with 10 million Euros from some of the project partners which will go to ensuring implementation in the first two project cities of Limerick and Trondheim.
Success Could Mean Euro-Wide adoption
The successful undertaking of a project this size could make or break the IOTA platform. Success may lead to mass adoption of the platform by businesses small and large across Europe and the world. Co-founder and co-chair of IOTA foundation, David Sønstebø added:
“The IOTA Foundation is excited about the approval of the first official Horizon 2020 project in which we are actively participating. Being able to explore and demonstrate the utility of IOTA within the smart city context in numerous cities across Europe will be incredibly valuable going forward. The fact that NTNU, Norway’s largest university, is heading this effort is tremendous. We have had a good relationship with NTNU and the municipality of Trondheim for quite some time now, and the Foundation expects this collaboration to strengthen our bond and output. As a Norwegian, I am personally ecstatic about this project.”
Iota’s cryptocurrency has not reacted to the news, declining a further 4.8% on the day and trading at just over a dollar.
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