According to a recent report, French officials plan to invest about $569 million in state-level blockchain projects over the next three years. In the same report, officials expressed a desire to create a more bitcoin-mining-friendly environment in France. Despite these potential initiatives, the country's commitment to the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries seems tenuous – just last month, France's central bank failed to endorse a plan involving the sale of bitcoin at thousands of tobacco kiosks. Meanwhile, Spanish renewable energy company ACCIONA Energía launched the GREENCHAIN project, which will use a blockchain platform to track the supply chain of renewable energy from five wind and hydro facilities in Spain to four corporate customers in Portugal in real time. According to reports, ACCIONA Energía will be the first entity in Spain and Portugal to trace renewable energy through blockchain technology and allow clients to certify from any location in the world that 100 percent of the energy supplied is green.
In South Korea, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced plans to launch its maritime blockchain pilot project, which will promote efficiency in the country's container shipping industry. The port-logistics pilot will run for one year out of the Port of Busan, the country's largest port, and the fifth-busiest container port worldwide. The pilot is part of the South Korean government's overall strategy to raise $204 million for blockchain technology by 2022.
For more information, please check out the following links:
- France: Gov't Report Recommends $570 Million Blockchain Investment
- ACCIONA will extend blockchain traceability to its renewable generation globally
- Spanish Renewable Energy Operator to Trace Electricity Generation With Blockchain
- South Korean Government Trials Blockchain for Shipping Efficiency Boost
- Korean Gov't Pilots Blockchain for Logistics Innovation in Country's Largest Port
- South Korea Pilots Blockchain in Busan
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