How can tokenisation help to finance the world's energy transition?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​


Jennifer Gnana
  • English
  • Arabic

What is tokenisation?

Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets. 

As the world attempts to hit its emissions targets by 2050 and reduce energy poverty, a unique intersection of blockchain and economic development is looking to solve many developmental challenges.

About 940 million people, or 13 per cent of the world’s population, have no access to electricity while about 3 billion people, or 40 per cent of the population, do not have access to clean cooking fuel.

A holistic overhaul of the world’s energy system is expected to disproportionately affect the world’s poor.

Companies such as the Libra Project, which is based at the Abu Dhabi Global Markets, are looking to divert capital away from developed economies and democratise ownership of sustainable assets for those in the developing world.

They are using tokenisation, where a company issues a blockchain token, that provides tradeable partial ownership of a real tangible asset. These tokens also promise sufficient liquidity and can be traded on the secondary market.

“We wanted to make a system where people got paid, not on the amount of profit but on the amount of impact that has been delivered,” says James Spence, co-founder and director of the Libra Project.

“So, back in 2017, that is when everyone was doing their ICO [initial coin offering], blockchain was just coming in, and we did not want to go down that road because we looked at ICOs and thought they were illegal.”

The company, which started in 2016, intends to tokenise small projects in the developing world, with total valuations of $10 million to $15 million.

The token gives owners shareholder rights and leads to transparent and highly democratised decision making, says Mr Spence.

The nascent global tokenisation market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 19.5 per cent from the current $1.9 billion to $4.8bn by 2025, according to research company Markets and Markets.

North America is poised to have the highest proportion of issued tokens.

Tokenisation can help investors to pitch in and fund stranded assets such as an isolated patch of the North American shale basin, which is economically unviable to develop.

Gas from these assets can then be used to power Bitcoin data centres, which are high energy consumers. These data centres offset flared natural gas by channelling it into mining for digital currencies instead.

Tokenisation can play a big role in improving the energy efficiency of big oil producers such as the US, which loses more than half of the energy it produces to inefficiencies.

Iraq, Opec’s second-largest producer, could also reap the benefits of using technology to develop assets. The country faces a massive gas-flaring problem that costs the economy billions of dollars in lost revenue.

Tokenisation could also mobilise investment in energy efficiency, especially as funding for the sector is projected to have fallen by 9 per cent last year.

While tokenisation is being embraced widely by the art world, allowing for the efficient transfer and ownership of assets, it is also being increasingly used in developing energy projects, notably renewables and sustainable infrastructure.

The Libra Project scours the developing world for projects where they can make the biggest social impact. The company uses the UN's Sustainable Development Goals as the yardstick to base their investment decisions.

The UN's SDGs aim to rid the world of poverty, hunger, gender inequality, lack of access to water and sanitation and polluting fuels, among others, by 2030.

“Now energy is just the first scope. Because it is all based on blockchain, we can then consider [several] votes, as we start to build out,” says Mr Spence.

“We look at building renewable energy projects. And then off the back of that and once that is built, 10 per cent of the profits flow into the next vertical, so that is water.”

The company then mobilises the tokenised funds to build water projects focused on sanitation, which also seek to reduce the use of bottled water and the incidence of waterborne diseases. It also funds food, health care and education projects.

The yields for investors holding these tokens can be as high as 14.75 per cent, says Mr Spence.

The Libra Project is currently in the process of trying to lower the threshold for investment to $100, allowing all kinds of investors, particularly those living in the communities, to invest.

Mr Spence says the typical timetable of a power plant project is 12 years.

“What we are doing now is adding liquidity into this,” he says.

Currently, the company is looking to raise funds from accredited and institutional investors who have a minimum buy-in of $100,000.

“We call this the private equity stage of tokenisation,” says Mr Spence.

“Now, as we take this from where we are now to what we want to the call public space, it is going to take about 12 months to get to that regulatory process and we want to be dropping this down to an entry level of $100.”

A Bitcoin mining centre in Texas. Flared natural gas from economically unviable assets is being used to power Bitcoin mining AFP
A Bitcoin mining centre in Texas. Flared natural gas from economically unviable assets is being used to power Bitcoin mining AFP

Tokenisation is also becoming popular in the conventional energy space, which is under mounting pressure to adopt a more sustainable path.

PermianChain, a natural resources tokenisation platform, allows investors to invest in stranded assets and use them as an energy source to mine cryptocurrency.

The company specialises in communities that are switching away from fossil fuels but may have an asset or two that remain stranded, making them unviable for commercial extraction.

It is also looking to limit the flaring of gas across North American shale basins and channel that into crypto-mining.

“Maybe, [there is] a lack of infrastructure to take that gas to the sales market, or a lack of capital or market incentive to even [use] the gas,” says Mohammed El Masri, founder and chief executive at PermianChain.

“So, in that case tokenising stranded gas is a perfect opportunity because you know it is gas that is not being used at the moment, and it can be put to better use in some other forms or ways on-site without even transporting it anywhere.”

The company channels the gas to power the cryptocurrency mining sector, which is cheaper and more sustainable energy to generate Bitcoin.

The digital currency has stirred a lot of controversy over its energy consumption, with Iran banning crypto-mining last week and blaming it for causing four months of continuous power cuts in the country.

Technicians inspect Bitcoin mining machines at Bitmain Technologies in Inner Mongolia, China. Bloomberg
Technicians inspect Bitcoin mining machines at Bitmain Technologies in Inner Mongolia, China. Bloomberg

PermianChain operates by bringing data centres for mining Bitcoin, which are in the form of shipping containers, on to the sites. The centres then use the gas to produce power through generators that provide electricity for mining. The operation requires no pipeline or infrastructure as it is adjacent to the well-site.

Tokenisation of energy assets is also gaining ground in the solar photovoltaic sector in the Middle East, where companies are encouraging consumers to buy into panels and take ownership of assets.

However, tech-savvy investors are also taking advantage of blockchain's potential to create value and opportunities in trendier assets such as Tesla superchargers.

Fasset, which calls itself a platform for ethical financing of sustainable infrastructure, piloted the tokenisation of a Tesla supercharger in Bahrain earlier this month. The company has offices in London, Bahrain, the UAE, Malaysia and Singapore.

The company partnered with NEC Payments to issue 10 tokens, which allow the users to own part of the supercharger, while also allowing them to use the tokens to charge their Teslas.

“Once you buy into this network, you get discounted rates for using it, so that is why all of our initial users are Tesla drivers,” says Mohammed Raafi Hossain, chief executive at Fasset.

“The token itself is, you can say, a key card or an access point to leveraging the supercharger itself,” he says.

“A typical share on Nasdaq does not give you all of these rights but a tokenised effort combines all of these things. It becomes an asset, becomes a utility, it becomes a key card, all in one.”

MATCH INFO

Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')

Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)

Sarfira

Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal 

Rating: 2/5

if you go

The flights

Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes. 

The car

Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals (more at www.hertz.com/etihad). A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.

The hotels

Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes. 

More info

To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com

 

The specs: 2019 Mini Cooper

Price, base: Dh141,740 (three-door) / Dh165,900 (five-door)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder (Cooper) / 2.0-litre four-cylinder (Cooper S)
Power: 136hp @ 4,500rpm (Cooper) / 192hp @ 5,000rpm (Cooper S)
Torque: 220Nm @ 1,480rpm (Cooper) / 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (Cooper S)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 4.8L to 5.4L / 100km

Grand slam winners since July 2003

Who has won major titles since Wimbledon 2003 when Roger Federer won his first grand slam

Roger Federer 19 (8 Wimbledon, 5 Australian Open, 5 US Open, 1 French Open)

Rafael Nadal 16 (10 French Open, 3 US Open, 2 Wimbledon, 1 Australian Open)

Novak Djokovic 12 (6 Australian Open, 3 Wimbledon, 2 US Open, 1 French Open)

Andy Murray 3 (2 Wimbledon, 1 US Open)

Stan Wawrinka 3 (1 Australian Open, 1 French Open, 1 US Open)

Andy Roddick 1 (1 US Open) 

Gaston Gaudio 1 (1 French Open)

Marat Safin 1 (1 Australian Open)

Juan Martin del Potro 1 (1 US Open)

Marin Cilic 1 (1 US Open)

Sleep Well Beast
The National
4AD

PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES

All times UAE ( 4 GMT)

Saturday
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm)
Burnley v Huddersfield Town (7pm)
Everton v Bournemouth (7pm)
Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
Stoke City v Chelsea (7pm)
Swansea City v Watford (7pm)
Leicester City v Liverpool (8.30pm)

Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United (7pm)

Monday
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (11pm)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher:  Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

Suggested picnic spots

Abu Dhabi
Umm Al Emarat Park
Yas Gateway Park
Delma Park
Al Bateen beach
Saadiyaat beach
The Corniche
Zayed Sports City
 
Dubai
Kite Beach
Zabeel Park
Al Nahda Pond Park
Mushrif Park
Safa Park
Al Mamzar Beach Park
Al Qudrah Lakes 

MOTHER%20OF%20STRANGERS
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Suad%20Amiry%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Pantheon%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20304%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
'The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey'

Rating: 3/5

Directors: Ramin Bahrani, Debbie Allen, Hanelle Culpepper, Guillermo Navarro

Writers: Walter Mosley

Stars: Samuel L Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Walton Goggins

Vikram%20Vedha
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Gayatri%2C%20Pushkar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hrithik%20Roshan%2C%20Saif%20Ali%20Khan%2C%20Radhika%20Apte%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

Monster

Directed by: Anthony Mandler

Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington 

3/5

 

Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica

Best Agent: Jorge Mendes

Best Club : Liverpool   

 Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)  

 Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker

 Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo

 Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP

 Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart

Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)

Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)

Best Women's Player:  Lucy Bronze

Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi

 Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)

 Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)

 Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs

UAE SQUAD

Ali Khaseif, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Khalid Essa, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Salem Rashid, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Mohammed Al Attas, Walid Abbas, Hassan Al Mahrami, Mahmoud Khamis, Alhassan Saleh, Ali Salmeen, Yahia Nader, Abdullah Ramadan, Majed Hassan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Fabio De Lima, Khalil Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Muhammed Jumah, Yahya Al Ghassani, Caio Canedo, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri

RESULTS

Bantamweight title:
Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) bt Xavier Alaoui (MAR)
(KO round 2)
Catchweight 68kg:
Sean Soriano (USA) bt Noad Lahat (ISR)
(TKO round 1)
Middleweight:
Denis Tiuliulin (RUS) bt Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
(TKO round 1)
Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR) bt Joachim Tollefsen (DEN)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 68kg:
Austin Arnett (USA) bt Daniel Vega (MEX)
(TKO round 3)
Lightweight:
Carrington Banks (USA) bt Marcio Andrade (BRA)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 58kg:
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) bt Malin Hermansson (SWE)
(Submission round 2)
Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (CAN) bt Juares Dea (CMR)
(Split decision)
Middleweight:
Mohamad Osseili (LEB) bt Ivan Slynko (UKR)
(TKO round 1)
Featherweight:
Tarun Grigoryan (ARM) bt Islam Makhamadjanov (UZB)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 54kg:
Mariagiovanna Vai (ITA) bt Daniella Shutov (ISR)
(Submission round 1)
Middleweight:
Joan Arastey (ESP) bt Omran Chaaban (LEB)
(Unanimous decision)
Welterweight:
Bruno Carvalho (POR) bt Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
(TKO)

UAE jiu-jitsu squad

Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)

Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)

The specs

Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed

Power: 271 and 409 horsepower

Torque: 385 and 650Nm

Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000

The biog

Hometown: Cairo

Age: 37

Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror

Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing

Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition

RESULTS

Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ) by decision.

Women’s bantamweight
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) beat Cornelia Holm (SWE) by unanimous decision.

Welterweight
Omar Hussein (PAL) beat Vitalii Stoian (UKR) by unanimous decision.

Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) beat Ali Dyusenov (UZB) by unanimous decision.

Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) beat Delfin Nawen (PHI) TKO round-3.

Catchweight 80kg​​​​​​​
Seb Eubank (GBR) beat Emad Hanbali (SYR) KO round 1.

Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Ramadan Noaman (EGY) TKO round 2.

Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) beat Reydon Romero (PHI) submission 1.

Welterweight
Juho Valamaa (FIN) beat Ahmed Labban (LEB) by unanimous decision.

Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) beat Austin Arnett (USA) by unanimous decision.

Super heavyweight
Maciej Sosnowski (POL) beat Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) by submission round 1.

The specs

Engine: 3.5-litre V6

Power: 272hp at 6,400rpm

Torque: 331Nm from 5,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.7L/100km

On sale: now

Price: Dh149,000

 

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

What is tokenisation?

Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.