A blockchain based lightweight peer-to-peer energy trading framework for secured high throughput micro-transactions

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Energy Systems

Background:

• The shift to smart grids and deregulated energy markets necessitates secure and scalable solutions for Peer-To-Peer (P2P) energy trading.
• Traditional blockchain technologies face performance bottlenecks with the high volume of micro-transactions required in P2P energy markets.
• Existing security models are vulnerable to advancements in Internet of Things (IoT) based solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and evaluate a lightweight Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) framework for P2P energy trading.
• To address the performance limitations of traditional blockchains in supporting massive micro-transactions.
• To enhance data security, confidentiality, and accessibility in energy trading through a novel DLT approach.

Main Methods:

• Utilized IOTA, a third-generation DLT based on Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG), for designing the energy trading market.
• Implemented the Masked Authentication Messaging (MAM) protocol over the IOTA framework for secure data sharing.
• Set up a light node using Raspberry Pi 3 and an INA219 voltage sensor for data publishing and retrieval from the Tangle.

Main Results:

• IOTA demonstrated significantly lower confirmation latency and higher throughput compared to Hyperledger Fabric and Ethereum.
• The IOTA framework effectively alleviates reward overhead for micro-transactions.
• Performance analysis showed IOTA's superiority for bundle sizes of 5 and 10, with optimal performance observed for bundle sizes greater than 10.

Conclusions:

• IOTA's Tangle-based DAG solution provides a scalable, quantum-proof, and high-throughput alternative for P2P energy trading.
• The Masked Authentication Messaging (MAM) protocol ensures data confidentiality and accessibility between energy producers and consumers.
• The study provides a guideline for deploying IOTA DLT in the energy sector, improving blockchain performance for micro-transactions.