SBIR Phase II: Transforming Complex Utility Transaction Management

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is empowering the 68 million U.S. natural gas consumers and their transaction managers and partners to access transaction status in real time, enjoy continuous control of their transactions, settle transactions in time scales less than the industry’s current monthly accounting cycle, and enjoy heightened levels of security. The United States natural gas industry has operated in its present physical form for more than a century, and over the past four decades the industry has evolved through various policy and regulatory actions to open transaction participation to thousands of parties. In other industries, the past two decades have introduced digital capabilities that share transaction information and automate select functions, but these developments have not enjoyed infusion in natural gas transaction management processes. The proposed solution will serve as a platform for industry innovation by multiple parties, reducing transaction cost and increasing speed. This innovation will have applications in other industries characterized by complex, multi-party transactions. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to advance blockchain innovations and related technologies to transform complex natural gas utility transaction management processes across production, transmission, distribution and consumption functions. The proposed solution will accelerate the development of third-generation smart contracting frameworks with user-friendly/interactive human-machine-interfaces (HMI) and predictive and interactive smart contracting functionalities based on artificial intelligence, and with advanced cybersecurity measures. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.