Blockchain is no longer simply a buzzword thrown around by mainstream institutions, as significant and fully operational programs and pilots have been presented at the Blockchain Expo Europe 2022 in Amsterdam.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of mainstream companies from various industries began to explore ways in which blockchain technology could be used to improve processes and products..
After two years of social distancing and working from home, the time has come to reap the rewards of the seeds sown, as evidenced by some intriguing updates from big companies that are using blockchain technology.
The world of business consulting, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, as well as the energy sector are delivering solutions that work with blockchain and that seem to have demonstrated the broad spectrum of usefulness that the burgeoning technology promises.
Cointelegraph was present at the event and was able to speak with several speakers who showed how their companies use technology to drive innovation.
EY, the global business consultancy, has been hard at work building enterprise-grade blockchain capabilities for the past three years.. Federico De Poli, who leads the global development of EY’s OpsChain functionality, explained how the company has spent more than $100 million over the last three years to create a fully operational product solution.
Driving adoption by businesses has been keyhelping customers navigate a new environment, building security-focused privacy tools, and helping businesses run business processes on the Ethereum blockchain.
As de Poli explained, EY Opschain and the company-owned EY Blockchain Analyzer are two main tools that use blockchain technology:
“Opschain products are our set of products for business. We have traceability, which is our most used tool, which is being used in production by various clients in different industries. We have a contract manager that is being used in a first test: it is a tool that helps us make digital contracts between the parties”.
EY Public Finance Manager also enables governments to track the spending of fundswhich demonstrates the great utility of blockchain solutions.
Healthcare and pharmaceutical companies also flocked to the RAI convention center in Amsterdam. Alex Popa, Associate Director of Blockchain for Pharma Supply Excellence, MSD (Merck), described a pilot project aimed at addressing the problems of multifaceted health networks.
Blockchain technology offers practical solutions to problems such as expensive, inefficient and vulnerable systems. Merck has carried out a pilot project to combat a vexing problem in the industry and drug counterfeiting using Hyperledger Fabricwhich allowed patients in Hong Kong to verify the authenticity of medicines from their origin.
Jessica Lee, Head of Blockchain for Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Commercial North America, also showed a pilot use case for a value-based healthcare system to share data privately, securely and transparently using blockchain technology.
Sabine Brink, Head of Blockchain at Shell, gave a compelling presentation focused on the digital innovation in the energy sector. One of the main conclusions was growing use of blockchain technology to drive transparency in energy.
The company is involved in several blockchain-powered projects deployed on public blockchains to tackle a long-standing propensity for the energy sector to work in silos. One of the highlights was the Shell’s work in support of Avelia, a sustainable, blockchain-based aviation fuel traceability system, which aims to decarbonise air transport.
Highlighting that 90% of airline emissions are attributable to business travel, Avelia acts as a sustainability product as a service for corporate travelers and airlines to book and claim sustainable aviation fuel:
“Energy is being distributed and decentralized, and it’s hard to imagine centrally orchestrating it. There’s no other way to do it on a global scale, and blockchain has a big role to play.”
Discussions with conference delegates and speakers highlighted the Obvious advances in the development of blockchain solutions that work in all sectors. Technology has driven innovation across industries, and leading companies are doing their part to drive new use cases and solutions for blockchain-based systems.
Clarification: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information set forth herein should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial movement involve risks and it is the responsibility of each person to do their due research before making an investment decision.
Keep reading:
Investments in crypto assets are not regulated. They may not be suitable for retail investors and the full amount invested may be lost. The services or products offered are not aimed at or accessible to investors in Spain.