The launch of Energi Mine鈥檚 new cryptocurrency Energi Token means that users are rewarded for being energy conscious.
Omar Rahim, CEO of Energi Mine, was an energy trader in a past life and has worked for big energy companies, oil companies and funds throughout Europe.
Now he is working to push innovation in the industry with the help of the company鈥檚 new cryptocurrency Energi Token聽鈥� a type of digital cash 鈥� which launched on September 15th.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an energy token built on the blockchain,鈥� Rahim told 老九品茶Cloud.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an ecosystem designed to reward energy efficient behaviour so if you take low-carbon transport or buy an efficient appliance you鈥檒l get energy tokens.
鈥淭hese then have a financial value and can also be used to charge your EV (electric vehicle)聽or pay your energy bills.鈥�
The Manchester-based company is on a mission to innovate within the industry, and also builds聽artificial intelligence technology that tracks energy markets and helps people achieve lower energy bills.
鈥淚t hit me there was an informal tier system in the market,鈥� Rahim continued.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got the big funds at the top with banks, then energy companies, then consumers. The only reason that consumers were paying too much was a lack of access to information.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking to really bring the cost down by demystifying the whole technology.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e trying to do, and I try not to use the word disruptive, but we鈥檙e trying to change an industry that鈥檚 been monopolised for the last 40-50 years.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really democratising that, and it鈥檚 resonated with a lot of people.
鈥淯ltimately our business has to be solving a real-world problem and that problem is a lack of transparency in the energy market.鈥�
However although it鈥檚 aiming to do good with its tech, the biggest challenge the company has faced is a fear of the very technology it鈥檚 using.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to addressing the fear factor around what AI is and often stories in the mass media tend to be negative so our challenge is to explain how it can be used in a practical sense,鈥� Rahim said.
鈥淚t often gets a bad press because people see it as killer robots, but AI is advancing at such a pace anyway.
鈥淚t鈥檚 taking away some of the more basic tasks that will allow humans to focus on more complicated things.
鈥淭he big effect will be that we鈥檒l have more time to spend on聽leisure activities and intellectually stimulating tasks.鈥�
A key result of this progress for Rahim and his team is on a more localised level, putting the North on the map.
鈥淚 really feel passionately about bringing tech to Manchester because previously lots of our partners were in Silicon Valley or London,鈥澛爃e said.
鈥淢anchester鈥檚 getting more of a reputation for having tech businesses 鈥� we鈥檙e building a cutting-edge AI and blockchain business here and we want the tech community to engage with what we鈥檙e doing.鈥�