Unlocking the Future of Energy with Energy Web Circles

Solving energy challenges through collaboration, innovation, and industry driven solutions

The energy industry is at a turning point. With decentralization on the rise, evolving regulatory demands, and an urgent push for sustainability, industry leaders must innovate together. That’s why Energy Web is excited to launch Energy Web Circles — a new initiative that brings together enterprises, regulators, and technology providers to create software solutions for today’s energy challenges.

A New Model for Collaboration

Energy Web Circles are designed to cut through traditional silos by focusing on key issues faced by the energy sector. Each Circle zeroes in on a specific challenge or opportunity, ranging from decentralized identity management, zero carbon electric vehicle charging, to carbon-aware computing and advanced grid management. These groups offer structured, flexible environments where participants can create solutions, share insights, and help shape emerging industry standards.

Introducing the First Circle: Universal Energy ID

Our inaugural Circle, Universal Energy ID, sets the stage for a more secure and interoperable energy ecosystem. As energy markets become increasingly decentralized, the need for a transparent and standardized identity framework grows. The Universal Energy ID isn’t just an identity solution — it’s a trust layer for the decentralized energy economy. It enables secure, seamless, and interoperable transactions that are essential for modern energy systems.

What is the Universal Energy ID Circle?

The Universal Energy ID Circle is a collaborative initiative aimed at developing and deploying a decentralized identity and credentialing system for the energy sector. The primary goal is to create a trusted and verifiable identity infrastructure that enables seamless transactions, regulatory compliance, and secure access control across the energy ecosystem. The Circle is designed to foster the development and integration of the EnergyID framework to enable Digital Product Passports (DPPs), e.g. to manage the lifecycle of batteries. For a DPP, this means that information about a product can be stored and updated across a network of various participants (manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, consumers, regulators) without relying on a central entity, making it resistant to censorship and single points of failure. By implementing DPPs, enterprises can drive innovation in electric mobility, enable circular economy practices, and comply with evolving regulatory requirements.

What Does the Solution Look Like?

At the core of this initiative is the EnergyID DID method, a W3C-compliant Decentralized Identifier (DID) specifically tailored for energy applications. This method provides a secure, tamper-proof way to authenticate energy-related assets, organizations, and individuals. This framework empowers electric mobility providers, distributed energy resource (DER) operators, and digital product passport managers to build trust and security into their transactions, setting a new standard for the industry.

The solution comprises:

• Universal EnergyID Wallet — A digital identity wallet that allows energy stakeholders (such as utilities, DER owners, and EV users) to store and manage their decentralized identifiers and verifiable credentials.
• Verifiable Credentials (VCs) — These digital attestations enable secure proof of identity, asset ownership, and regulatory compliance in energy transactions.
• Interoperability Layer — Designed to integrate with existing identity management systems and ensure compatibility with global standards such as eIDAS 2.0.
• Trust and Governance Framework — A decentralized governance structure ensuring that credential issuance and verification are secure, reliable, and universally accepted.

How It Works in Practice

• For Electric Vehicle Charging: EV owners can use their Universal EnergyID to authenticate at any charging station, ensuring trusted, frictionless access without relying on siloed authentication systems.
• For Distributed Energy Resources (DERs): A solar panel or battery storage unit can have a unique, verifiable identity that allows grid operators to authenticate its participation in energy markets.
• For Energy Data Sovereignty: Consumers can control who has access to their energy data, ensuring privacy and security while enabling seamless energy transactions.
• For Regulatory Compliance: Businesses and energy providers can automatically prove adherence to compliance standards through digitally signed verifiable credentials.

Key Benefits of Universal Energy ID

• Unified Identity Management: It provides a single standard for managing identities across energy, electric mobility, and beyond, eliminating fragmentation.
• Proven Adoption: Major enterprises and OEMs are already adopting this framework, demonstrating real-world traction.
• Regulatory Alignment: Built to align with standards like eIDAS and Digital Product Passports, it ensures both compliance and scalability.
• Open and Interoperable: The solution is integrated with leading open-source identity frameworks, including OWF and ACA-Py, making it adaptable to various use cases.
• Secure Communication: Worker nodes in Energy Web act as DIDComm mediators and relayers, ensuring secure, reliable communication in decentralized identity ecosystems.
• Automated Billing: The system supports automated and trustworthy billing for energy consumed and produced, reducing administrative friction

Join the Movement
Energy Web Circles are open to all businesses interested in advancing digitization and decarbonization in the energy sector. Whether you’re an existing Energy Web member or a new partner, your expertise is welcome. By joining a Circle, you will:

• Shape Emerging Standards: Play a direct role in developing the technologies and protocols that will define the future of energy.
• Access Exclusive Insights: Gain early access to research, reports, and discussions that keep you at the cutting edge.
• Collaborate Globally: Work alongside leaders in energy, sustainability, and technology to drive innovation and change.

Call to Action: Join the Universal Energy ID Circle or create your own Circle

If digital identity, verifiable credentials, and seamless interoperability in energy can create value for your business, the Universal Energy ID Circle is for you. Whether you’re an enterprise ready to integrate decentralized identity solutions or a regulator committed to enhancing compliance mechanisms, now is the time to get involved. Or do you have a compelling use case or a challenge that could benefit from industry-wide collaboration?

The future of energy is collaborative, decentralized, and digital. With Energy Web Circles, you have the opportunity to drive that future — today. To learn more about our initiative and discover how you can participate, visit Energy Web or reach out to katy.lohmann@energyweb.org

Join the Universal Energy ID Circle today by contacting: commercial@energyweb.org