Image courtesy of EcoGen Technologies.
Barcelona Metropolitan catches up with John Domantay, founder and director of EcoGen Technologies, a blockchain-based company with a sustainable vision. Domantay explains the development of pods that mine cryptocurrencies using renewable energy, while also proposing a solution for areas that have unreliable access to electricity or that lack access to electricity entirely.
What is EcoGen Technologies? Who came up with it?
A few of us initially looked at purchasing some land some time ago to create a renewable energy farm but realized that although there were a lot of renewable projects slated for development within Victoria, there were issues connecting to the electrical network, causing delays to projects such as the Dundonnell and Mortlake South wind farms, and even prevented construction of some large scale solar farms such as the Carwarp solar farm near Mildura.
We jokingly then discussed mining crypto with the energy instead of feeding it back to the grid. A few months later, we met someone who set us on the path of setting up a crypto mining venture. We spoke to a few more friends and within two weeks, we had 50 founders from all walks of life, from public and private sectors, entrepreneurs, government advisers and even health professionals.
It was from the setup of the mines that we were able to work out the energy requirements of running and set about working on a solution to sustainably generate our own electricity to not only save energy costs in the long term, but to also minimize our carbon footprint. We already had ample solar energy generated during the day but the trick was to keep it going for 24 hours.
The amount of electricity required for the mines is quite high and we knew this amount of energy generation was also needed in many other applications. Even more so, if we could come up with a containerized, or at least a rapidly deployable solution. EcoGen Technologies is thus working on the convergence of decentralized, renewable energy and finance.
What is the purpose of EcoGen Technologies?
EcoGen Technologies aims to provide a solution for off-grid, renewable energy that can be utilized where access to power is either currently lacking, or has been cut off.
By having a cryptocurrency mining rig attached to each pod, there is also the ability to convert surplus energy into cryptocurrency.
Why is there such a need for a company like this?
Many of our founders, including myself, are first generation Australians and have experienced first hand, inconsistent access to electricity, from rolling brownouts where access to electricity was only on certain times of the day, to blackouts caused by natural disasters.
Our energy generating pods, being portable and have the ability to be quickly deployed, would be useful in circumstances where the grid is down, or where there is no reliable source of electricity. Microgrids can be created with the use of our pods.
Currently, nearly one billion people live in communities without access to power, three quarters of which experience multidimensional poverty and live below the poverty line (which is $2.15 USD a day). Within that group, 96% are deprived of cooking fuel, 86% live in precarious housing, 83% lack a sanitation facility and over half get their drinking water from unimproved sources or have to travel more than 30 minutes from their homes to get clean water. Our pods not only generate clean energy, they also have the ability to mine crypto using the excess energy, which can then, in turn, provide an income to the community that is self generating.
Are there any other ways to mine cryptocurrencies?
Creating new cryptocurrency is essentially adding new blocks to the blockchain network. There are many ways that this is achieved, such as by proof of stake, proof of capacity, proof of authority, etc. These are also known as consensus mechanisms, and basically help guarantee that all nodes on the network are synchronized and that the transactions are legitimate. As every blockchain network has a different application and desirable outcome, the same consensus mechanism cannot be used for all applications.
“Mining” cryptocurrency usually refers to the proof of work consensus mechanism, where miners solve complicated mathematical puzzles that require extensive computational power which in turn, require large amounts of energy. The largest cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Etherium are based on this type of mechanism, albeit Etherium is transitioning into proof of stake.
Is sustainability necessary in the crypto industry?
Sustainability is absolutely necessary not just in the crypto industry, but globally in everything we do. The current energy crisis experienced worldwide, coupled with climate change, is only exacerbating this problem.
What sets you apart from other sustainable blockchain companies?
EcoGen is different from other Blockchain companies in that we are combining the power of blockchain with another large real-world problem, which is the generation of clean energy that is off grid.
We do so by combining the decentralized nature of cryptocurrency to provide an ability to generate a digital asset that can be exchanged for goods and services irrespective of currency, while also being able to provide power that is not necessarily reliant on the old, outdated electricity network that, in most cases, wasn’t designed with renewables in mind.
What has the business achieved so far?
We were founded in September 2021 and raised $700,000 in two weeks.
We set up a crypto mining operation currently running at seven gigahashes per second (GH/s).
We created the first iteration of the Renewable Energy Pod with an aim of providing a minimum viable product in the next six months, utilizing the latest in renewable energy technology combining solar, wind and battery storage.
Are there any other factors that differentiate EcoGen Technologies?
Unlike most new ventures, we actually limited the amount of investment each person was able to make in the company. Also, in line with our community values, each founder has an equal vote.
It was a pleasure to learn more about Domantay’s vision for sustainable, reliable, off-grid energy sources and the company's ethical approach to generating profit. As we all make efforts to be more sustainable, we can’t help but be intrigued to see how this company progresses over the next few years.
Discover more about EcoGen Technologies on the website at ecogentech.io.
Sponsored by EcoGen Technologies.