Fossil carbon-based solids, fuels, and gases, like coal, oil and natural gas, are presently the main energy sources for global energy demand (approximately 160.000 TWh). However, fossil energy is increasingly facing headwinds and criticism, not only because of geo-political sensitivities, resource limitations, and price escalations, but also because of its dramatic effects on climate and, thus, on living conditions.  Renewable energy from eternal, natural sources, such as solar, wind, and hydro, stands the best chance of replacing fossil energy as soon as possible. In addition to renewable advancements, principal fossil energy could be cleaned, as it were, through carbon capturing, storage, and recycling. Also nuclear is an option, although generally the most expensive one. 

The cheapest and most abundant renewable energy sources are found in the vast deserts of North Africa and the Middle East. This is the region where Dii Desert Energy, an industry network of over 120 international companies, is enabling the largest clean, or better, green, energy market. Dii’s sister initiative, ‘ZETA Global’ (Zero Emissions Traders Alliance), is aiming at regional and global trade of clean energy, including electrons (electrical power) and molecules (i.e., hydrogen, E-fuels, and iron powder).

Solving the Blockchain Trilemma: Kaspa

Kaspa is often called 'Bitcoin 2.0' as it follows the same decentralized, proof-of-work ethics. However, by solving the blockchain trilemma and the money trilemma (i.e. the saleability trilemma), Kaspa scales, thus, in fact as fast as fiat money - thereby perfecting currency. Due to Kaspa's unforgeable costliness from mining, we believe mining energy securing Kaspa must be abundantly available, climate neutral, and as cheap as possible. This is especially important once operational costs are further decentralized through the development of optical-proof-of-work ASIC-specific miners for Kaspa’s hashing algorithm, kHeavyHash. It is not surprising then that the work of Dii in energy-rich deserts may become of great relevance to the Kaspa community. Hence, a complementing industry initiative has been initiated: Kii (Kaspa Industrial Initiative), which enables Kaspa applications in the industry in general and the ‘green’ financial and energy industry in particular.

Understanding Renewable Electricity and ‘Green’ Molecules’

Clean, emission-free energy may principally be produced from three categories of sources (renewable, nuclear, and fossil plus carbon capturing or re-use (CCUS); however, for the context of the article, we will only cover renewable/green electrons and molecules, such as green power and hydrogen produced by electrolysis. We cover this specific category because renewable electricity (from solar or wind sources) has become the cheapest form of energy in most energy markets. Moreover, renewables are also highly secure as their natural sources are repetitive, geo-politically less vulnerable and eternal. It's important to note that green hydrogen, while revolutionary, will reach competitiveness as soon as carbon emission costs will be factored in properly into the markets (e.g., through 'Cap and Trade' schemes or taxes). 

The most common form of hydrogen produced and used today is still fossil based, ‘gray’ hydrogen made from natural gas or methane through steam methane reformation, causing CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. An emerging quasi climate neutral product, ‘blue’ hydrogen, is also produced from natural gas or methane; however, the emitted carbon is captured, stored, or recycled. However, blue hydrogen's steam-forming process doesn't entirely avoid the creation of greenhouse gasses and, therefore, is not considered renewable, nor is it a true carbon-free energy carrier.

Renewable based, green, electricity is derived from unlimited naturally replenished sources (such as wind, sun, hydropower, geothermal, and biomass) made available for delivery to local or remote interconnected power grids. Green hydrogen is produced by electrolysis, an electrochemical process that uses a green electrical current to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Green hydrogen is called 'net zero' because burning it will lead to carbon dioxide emissions, unlike burning fossil energy.

Hydrogen is the smallest and most abundant chemical element. Apart from chemical and specifi other applications it is a highly promising energy carrier for storing and transporting energy globally. Renewable energy can, thus, be stored via hydrogen (and derived liquid e-fuels, or solid iron powder, etc.) and converted back into electricity through fuel cells or in other industrial uses without emitting greenhouse gases—only heat and water.  

Inspiring work and research have been done on renewable energy production, storage, transport and trading in many places worldwide. Most advanced are the plans for production and energy exchange between Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. In 2009 Dii had started wirth these developments under the umbrella of the Desertec Industrial Initiative. This is for three reasons: first, according to Emeritus Professor/Dr. Ad Van Wijk, in his work "Hydrogen: The Bridge Between Africa and Europe" and "Green Hydrogen For a European Green Deal: A 2x40 GW Initiative," the Sahara Desert is the world's sunniest region year-round, receiving, on average, 3,600 hours of yearly sunshine and in some areas 4,000 hours - making it a perfect area for solar energy development. 

As Wijk states, "...only a few % of the Sahara deserts covered with solar panels would, in theory, be sufficient to produce all of the energy for the world, 160.000 TWh per year." 

Secondly, the Sahara Desert and the Middle East are some of the windiest regions. On average, the Sahara Desert receives annual wind speeds exceeding 5 m/s while reaching 8-9 m/s in the western coastal regions. For the Middle East, high wind speeds continue in Turkey, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates. Thus, North Africa and the Middle East are perfect areas for wind energy development.

Third, Europe is a structural energy importer – it is, thus, dependent of neighboring and remote regions. This situation will persist and perhaps even intensify as markets move toward net zero emission-based and climate-neutral dominance. This is where renewable energy from regional neighbors comes in. Renewable energy can be produced in North Africa and the Middle East, stored via green hydrogen or other carriers and transported to Europe (and of course in principle worldwide). Europe is home to world-class electrolyzer production, allowing massive green hydrogen production. Moreover, Europe has an intricate natural gas infrastructure and salt caverns. The existing natural gas and hydrogen pipeline system can be converted to transport green hydrogen, and salt caverns offer low-cost hydrogen storage.

In 2019, Hydrogen Europe, the Renewable Hydrogen Coalition, and over 400 companies and NGOs launched an initiative with 449 signatures adopted partly into the "Green Deal" of the European Union. It aims to make the European Union, along with North Africa, Ukraine, and surrounding countries, the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, with green hydrogen as the backbone of this proposal. The report emphasizes the rationale for new, lasting political, societal, and economic cooperation between these regions. A reference for further consideration is a network of 2x40 GW electrolyzers, which could reduce carbon emissions by about 82 million tons annually. 

Recently, a large number of green power and hydrogen projects have been announced in the MENA region, and several are in the development stage.

Dii Desert Energy, Clean Energy from the Deserts

Dii Desert Energy, formerly named 'Desertec Industrial Initiative' (Dii), is an industry initiative to enable competitive renewable energy in and from the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The initiative aimed to meet local energy needs while exporting surplus energy to Europe. The initial focus was on solar thermal technology and long distance cable connections. Supported by major industrial players like Siemens, Eon, RWE and Deutsche Bank, Dii has since evolved to include a broader range of emission-free energy production, carriers, and solutions, such as Photovoltaic (PV) and wind technologies, green hydrogen, E-fuels, and Iron powder, serving regional and, eventually, global markets.

Operating as market enabler and independent think tank based in Dubai, Dii brings together over 120 industry partners across 35 countries. Its mission is to drive the clean energy revolution by fostering collaboration between the private and public sectors, creating jobs, and advancing scientific research. The ultimate goal is for the MENA region to become a "leading climate-neutral, lowest-cost, secure energy powerhouse" for its citizens, industries, and, eventually, global markets by producing, converting, transporting, storing, and trading "net-zero electrons and molecules.

Dii's advisory board guides its operations and is crucial in promoting clean energy policies in their respective countries. In addition to hosting an annual summit and partner meetings, Dii actively encourages its members to research, offering opportunities to contribute primary market information and analysis.

Since the regional and global energy markets shall become climate neutral, Dii initiated in 2013 ZETA Global (Zero Emissions Traders Alliance), which is also based in Dubai. Its mission is to convert traded energy markets from the present purely fossil hegemony toward trading mainly or entirely clean energy, leading to net zero emissions globally in the coming decades. 

From the Very Beginning: A Genealogy of Dii and its Major Achievements

The Club of Rome was founded in 1968 as a think tank of prominent leaders and intellectuals who released a book in 1972, The Limits to Growth, that brought awareness to the environmental impacts of industrialization and consumerism. Club of Rome member and physicist with Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Gerhard Knies, was greatly impacted by the Chernobyl disaster in April 1986 and looking for alternative energy sources. In 1995, while studying the properties of matter and light, Knies realized that the deserts could supply the world with emission-free energy. He posited that six hours of sunlight in the desert could generate enough energy for the world and that energy from the EU-MENA (Europe, Middle East, North Africa) regions could power the World forty times over. 

The Club of Rome founded the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC) in 2003 as an initiative by The Club of Rome, the Hamburg Climate Protection Foundation (HKF), and Jordan's National Energy Research Center (NERC). This initiative brought together around fifty renewable energy specialists from six European and ten MENA countries. Famously, Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan was a member. TREC went on to find Desertec, short for Desert Technology, to create clean energy from the desert. Knies' vision included creating 100 GW of solar energy from Morocco, Jordan, Tunisia, Egypt, and Algeria and transporting the excess to the European markets. This is equivalent to the production of 100 large nuclear power plants. 

In 2003, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment funded three feasibility studies to confirm its viability. Desertec grew from research studies conducted by TREC, DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft—und Raumfahrt), the German Aerospace Center, and the pivotal 2005 DLR Study. This study laid the groundwork for Desertec, providing detailed technical and economic analyses on harnessing desert solar and wind energy to supply sustainable power to local and European markets.

In 2007, the Desertec white book (white paper), Clean Power from Deserts to the World with 10 billion people", was presented to the European Parliament. The paper, written by a newly founded ‘Desertec Foundation’, outlined the Desertec vision—a plan to harness renewable energy from desert regions to meet growing global energy demands. Within a year, European policies began implementing components of the white paper. In 2008, the French government launched the "Union for the Mediterranean," a solar plan based on the DLR study. 

The Desertec Industrial Initiative (Dii) was launched in 2009 out of Munich, Germany, with an initial vision— to date known as Desertec 1.0—of generating renewable energy from the MENA region to power Europe. Dii Gmbh was founded by eleven companies, and the Desertec Foundation, with Paul van Son as the founding managing director. Gerhard Knies was an advisor to the initiative, which was officially unveiled to the public in July 2009 during a major media event hosted by Munich Re. The initiative quickly gained international attention, with a strong virtual presence. Media outlets praised the Dii initiative, but also raised critical questions.

The original concept aimed to utilize solar thermal plants in the desert to supply up to 15% of Europe's energy needs with power from the MENA region by 2050. Desertec was seen as a beacon of hope for the region, especially after the international financial crisis. 

However, obstacles needed to be overcome, including political instability and challenges with energy transport. Other hurdles included creating fair and open market conditions, updating local and international energy grids, and establishing regulatory frameworks through international cooperation. Cheap fossil energy, which did not (yet) paid any ‘climate bill’ challenged these initially still expensive renewable energy sources. 

By 2012, Dii had expanded to encompass twenty-one shareholders and twenty-five associated partners from 16 countries. During this time, Dii released two pivotal studies, Desert Power 2050 and Desert Power: Getting Started. The Desertec University Network was also established to bring together academic research and collaboration. 

‘Desert Power 2050’, written in partnership with the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (Fraunhofer ISI), outlined the case for desert power, defining its benefits, transmission technology, economic benefits, and more. The report concluded, 

"Today, we can choose to take the first step towards a common market for renewable energy in  EUMENA – a vision of EUMENA supplying itself with sustainable and affordable power for future  generations (p. 133)." 

In June 2013, Dii published ‘DP Getting Started’, a 257-page manual detailing advancing renewable energy in the MENA region. It was co-written by Dii Gmbh, the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), Fraunhofer ISI, The Energy Economics Group (EEG), and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW). This report begins with an overview of the economic landscape in EU-MENA at the time, followed by an analysis of the energy grids necessary to achieve their goal of providing green power by 2050. The paper also discusses the investment framework, transmission regulation, and cooperation strategies. It includes over one hundred figures, tables, and fact boxes, which are used throughout the report to visualize data related to renewable energy potential, economic impacts, and infrastructure within the EU-MENA region.

In 2015, Dii updated its approach, referred to as Desertec 2.0, focusing in the first place on the transition to emission-free energy in the desert nations of the MENA region. Exporting sustainable energy to global markets and Europe would rather occur as soon as local markets are ready for such steps. Dii offered actionable support by eliminating barriers to renewable energy initiatives, encouraging collaboration between public and private sectors, and executing strategic measures to achieve emission-free energy production.

At this time, the emphasis was on making the industry network truly international, including partners from the MENA region, China, the US, India, the EU, etc. Dii relocated from Munich to Dubai. Following this phase, an acceleration phase commenced in 2017 under the leadership of Cornelius Matthes. This current phase, Desertec 3.0, emphasizes green power and molecules such as hydrogen and derivatives, including the preparations for exporting emission-free energy to the international markets.

Dii's MENA Hydrogen Alliance, under Chairmanship of Frank Wouters, was established in early 2020 to unite private and public sector stakeholders with academia, aiming to develop green hydrogen economies. This initiative provides a platform for collaboration, conducts studies, offers impartial advice, proposes necessary policy frameworks, and educates stakeholders on the hydrogen value chain, including the export of energy carriers.

In 2023, Dii kicked off a new effort, the Zero Emissions Traders Alliance (ZETA). Zeta is operating out of Dubai under leadership of Jan Haizmann. The initiative aims to create a global network for clean energy traders, putting Dii's "no emissions" vision into action. ZETA is designed to reduce and ultimately prevent greenhouse gas emissions based on market mechanisms. Dii Desert Energy will play a key role by guiding climate-conscious traders, suppliers, and off-takers in the MENA region.

ZETA is a nonprofit to create an honest energy market for physical and virtual clean energy products. It achieves this a.o. through the "Clean Energy Hub" platform, a marketplace for buyers and sellers of green molecules and electrons. It was established in the Netherlands and operates out of Dubai. Specific objectives include developing the platform, encouraging development, encouraging natural price-discovery, educating stakeholders, and serving as a networking hub for industry professionals. 

One key to Dii's success is its extensive network of influential partnerships. ACWA Power, the market leader in renewables in the MENA region and based in Saudi Arabia, is a key partner. They also manage the World's largest seawater desalination plant and are actively involved in hydrogen exports. Another significant partner of Dii is the State Grid Corporation of China, which controls the largest power grid globally, supplying energy to over one billion people. Neom/Enowa, ThyssenKrupp and recently Smart Energy are also Dii's strategic partners. 

Dii hosts its Annual Summit and two to three Dii Partner Meetings annually. These meetings are invitation-only and hosted by Dii partners across Europe and/or MENA. They bring together all levels of Dii partners, VIP guests, high-level politicians, and other important stakeholders. The 14th Dii Desert Energy Leadership occurred on October 15, 2024, in Vienna, Austria. The summit's theme was "Trillions for Tripling," where global leaders, developers, utilities, and investors will meet to discuss strategies for accelerating the transition to (sub) zero-emission energy. 

Paul van Son, who has held executive positions at Siemens, TenneT, and RWE/innogy, also co-founded the EFET (European Federation of Energy Traders). Established in the late 1990s, this organization, which is now called 'Energy Traders Europe', is focused on promoting open, transparent, and efficient energy markets in Europe. EFET became famous globally by working on standard contracts for energy trading, improving market regulations, and advocating for efficient and competitive trading systems, particularly electricity, gas, and green certificates.

Paul van Son, who has served Dii since its start, is now its President. He is also Chairman of ZETA and since 20024 the Chairman of Kaspa Industrial Initiative (Kii).

From Dii to Kii: Kaspa Industrial Initiative’s Mission

Kaspa Kii (Kaspa Industrial Initiative) promotes the steady and careful adoption of Kaspa across industry sectors from strategy to practical implementation. This includes outlining the conceptual and practical use of Kaspa in key financial and industrial processes, giving guidance, and launching pilot projects to showcase its capabilities. Kii also supports startups with hackathons and grants, advocates for Kaspa as a global reserve asset, and develops micro-finance solutions for underserved communities. A regulatory advisory board will be established for global compliance.

Energy Sector

Since Kaspa is produced based on energy and capital expenditures, Kaspa Kii is looking into how Kaspa can help make local and global energy systems and markets climate-neutral, more cost-efficient, and secure. The integrity of renewable energy and fossil carbon capture, storage, or re-use can be best guaranteed based on secure Kaspa Layer 1 from source to sink. Kaspa’s sensorship resistance and permissionless end to end information handling are key to guarantee integrity and value stability. Kaspa may, thus, play a vital role in electricity production, conversion into molecules, transport, storage, distribution, monitoring consumption, and optimizing demand processes. Kii is developing ideas on Kaspa digital assets for funding climate-neutral energy projects, making green investments more accessible and better business cases. By developing decentralized clean energy trading platforms in a global context, Kii helps create a more efficient and resilient energy ecosystem.

Kaspa Kii and Desert Energy Initiative (Dii)

Kaspa Kii's focus on the energy sector is significantly informed by Kaspa Kii board members Paul van Son and Rory O'Neal's experience with the Desert Energy Initiative (Dii), which has been operational for more than fifteen years and successfully fostered a network of major industrial players across Europe and the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region to harness renewable energy from deserts. Building on the experiences of Dii Kii, the objective is to create a similar collaborative network to promote Kaspa's technology among industrial stakeholders. It serves as a market enabler, showcasing its real-world applications. 

Kaspa Kii board member Rory O'Neil has been interested in the blockchain space since 2015, when he first began creating proofs-of-concept for decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN). He discovered Kaspa in 2022 and was impressed by its capability to address the blockchain trilemma, achieving enhanced scalability, security, and transparency. For O'Neil, having a high-throughput solution that does not compromise security is essential when developing solutions for large industrial clients.

In an interview for Kaspa.com, O'Neil noted that the emissions trading market is projected to reach 2 trillion USD by 2030, highlighting the importance of processing thousands of transactions per second to meet industry demands. He highlighted the significance of secure, fast, and scalable information handling and exchange in large energy systems, projects, and traded markets. The mission of emission-free energy and related market-enabling work of Dii requires collaboration among hundreds of companies across multiple countries and continents. Transparent and integer solutions foster honesty among all parties involved and build trust.   

Kaspa Kii Dublin Conference

In September 2024, Kaspa Kii hosted the "Kaspa and Enterprise" conference in Dublin, bringing together Kaspa enthusiasts worldwide. At the event, Kaspa core developers Michael Sutton and Shai Wyborski spoke about exciting developments in the Kaspa network. Kii Chairman Paul van Son underlined the importance of connecting people to achieve Kii's mission of achieving widespread use of Kaspa. Also, members from Kaspa Kii debuted Kaspa Kii initiatives. 

Several pilot programs were unveiled during the Kaspa Kii event, including an initiative to automate "if this, then that" tasks, a project aimed at tokenizing yield-generating assets, and efforts to decentralize industries focusing on member empowerment. 

Ideas and Programs for Kaspa Applications in the Industry

The ideas and programs that have been identified in the Kaspa Dii Dublin Conference are listed and further discussed below (in random sequence).

KasUnion: Decentralized Finance

Credit unions have long enabled communities by providing decentralized, member-driven financial services. A new pilot project aims to bring credit unions into the digital age through decentralized finance (DeFi), integrating their foundational principles with cutting-edge technology. As organizations owned and maintained by their members, credit unions offer each individual a voice in decision-making. However, they face significant challenges, such as limited access to capital and operational financial hurdles, which can hinder their ability to thrive in a rapidly evolving digital economy.

KasUnion, a platform built on Kaspa's technology, seeks to address these challenges by offering credit unions the tools they need to adapt. With a global reach spanning 180 countries, credit unions are vital in providing financial services. KasUnion will enhance this role by offering a scalable, cost-effective solution for onboarding the roughly 375 million global credit union users to Kaspa's network. Accessible via smartphones, the platform will enable real-time cross-border transactions, micro-transactions, and tokenized assets, such as mortgages and loans. Automating smart contract lending will streamline processes and reduce the risk of fraud, while the low transaction fees will make financial services more accessible.

Additionally, KasUnion empowers members through decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), ensuring they maintain direct control over decisions. This approach lowers the barriers to account opening and increases financial inclusion, particularly for the one billion people globally who remain unbanked. By 2030, digitizing credit unions on the Kaspa network represents a 250 billion USD market opportunity, potentially transforming how financial services are delivered to underserved communities worldwide.

K-MIF, Kaspa Mobility Insurance

Kaspa Kii is developing K-MIF, the Kaspa Mobility Framework, a modular, decentralized framework for autonomous vehicles and personal mobility insurance. The global autonomous vehicle and personal mobility insurance market, valued at 880 billion USD, is expected to reach 1.2 trillion USD by 2027. As autonomous vehicles and ride-sharing expand, insurance policies are evolving to become more flexible, transparent, and responsive. New models offer real-time coverage that can adjust to individual trips, with automated claims processing powered by AI and real-time data. 

KAS-PIP, Parametric Insurance Platform

The Kaspa Industrial Initiative (Kii) is driving the adoption of Kaspa's technology across multiple facets of the insurance industry, including parametric insurance, with the KAS-PIP, Kaspa Parametric Insurance Platform. Parametric insurance offers pre-defined payouts triggered by specific events (such as weather). Using real-time data, parametric insurance can drastically reduce payout times from the traditional 30 days to mere hours or minutes, making it particularly advantageous for responding to emergencies. Kaspa's platform enhances this process by reducing overhead and improving efficiency. This shift is projected to save up to 14 billion USD annually by 2030 and reduce insurance fraud by up to 60%, while the market for automated claims processing is expected to grow to 50 billion USD.

Applications of parametric insurance are expanding, particularly in areas like travel and renewable energy. For example, startup Otonomi uses this model to cover roughly 6 trillion USD of assets transported annually in the marina and cargo industry, leveraging blockchain for automation and transparency. Kaspa's scalable, low-cost platform can also support rapid disaster response, offering real-time solutions for both governments and private sectors.

Stablecoins and Financial Services

In addition to the pilot programs highlighted at the Kaspa Kii "Kaspa and Enterprise" event in Dublin, the organization is developing a fully compliant stablecoin within the Kaspa network. This digital asset will play a crucial role in sectors such as finance, where stability and regulatory adherence are paramount.

Excitement is building around initiatives that bridge Kaspa to the global financial system, poised to redefine how businesses interact across finance, energy, and other sectors. Kaspa's powerful and scalable BlockDAG technology continues to evolve, with numerous innovative solutions on the horizon. As a market facilitator, Kaspa is establishing seamless connections to the traditional finance world, ensuring it meets the demands of global commerce.

Central to this strategy is WarpCore, a game-changing project designed to enhance Kaspa's interaction with the global financial system. By bridging the innovative capabilities of Kaspa with the requirements of international commerce, WarpCore will pave the way for the introduction of a stablecoin. This stablecoin aims to bolster Kaspa's appeal to businesses by providing a reliable and compliant digital asset for various transactions. The initiatives surrounding WarpCore, GigaWatt Coin, and ZET-EX represent a significant leap toward a sustainable and scalable financial ecosystem that aligns with global energy transition efforts, fostering a cleaner, more efficient world powered by Kaspa technology.

WarpCore: Cross-Border Payments

WarpCore enables faster and more secure cross-border payments, eliminating long-standing time and cost barriers in international transactions. Adhering to strict global standards ensures global interoperability and encourages the institutional adoption of Kaspa.

WarpCore is built on two key international compliance standards:

1. ISO 20022 Compliance: ISO 20022 is a global messaging standard adopted by financial organizations in over 70 countries. By adhering to this standard, Kaspa effortlessly links together data points from all ISO 20022-compliant institutions, "ensuring that Kaspa can speak the language of global finance" (Kaspa Kii YouTube).

2. ISO 24165 Digital Token Identifiers: ISO 24165 is the standard for adding digital token identifiers to Kaspa's digital coins, enhancing financial transaction transparency and traceability.

WarpCore adheres to ISO compliance through its optional middleware layer, which connects financial institutions to the decentralized Kaspa BlockDAG. This middleware converts transaction data into ISO 20022 format, making it compliant with banking frameworks. This also allows for the management of KYC and anti-money laundering checks. This results in optimized operations that reduce the reliance on costly intermediaries, thus boosting institutional cash flow and capital efficiency. By leveraging Kaspa's speed and scalability, WarpCore enables institutions to take advantage of the full range of decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.

GigaWatt Stablecoin

As part of the broader vision for a sustainable energy future, the introduction of GigaWatt Coin marks a significant milestone for Kaspa Kii. There is increasing demand for stablecoins from traditional financial institutions, as they are designed to maintain a stable value, providing institutional investors access to digital assets with minimal volatility. In fact, in 2023 alone, global stablecoin transactions reached roughly 7 trillion USD—surpassing the combined transaction volume of both MasterCard and PayPal.

To meet this demand, Kaspa Kii is actively collaborating with third parties to develop GigaWatt Coin, an energy-backed stablecoin with hybrid collateralization that supports the creation of a zero-carbon world. GigaWatt Coin complies with international regulatory frameworks and could be backed by a smartly balanced basket of e.g. fiat and sustainable real-world assets, including carbon and renewable assets, green power LCOE, green bonds, and physical energy infrastructure. The coin can be fractionalized down to the kilowatt hour, making it accessible to anyone and further decentralizing the energy market. A unique feature of this coin is that carbon credits are locked away with each transaction. Over time, this shifts the asset from being carbon-neutral to carbon-negative, removing more carbon from circulation with every use.

ZET-EX: Net Zero Energy Exchange

In addition to GigaWatt Coin, Kaspa Kii is introducing ZET-EX, the Zero Emission Trading Exchange, pronounced "Z-Tex." ZET-EX is set to revolutionize carbon markets and sustainable energy trading by enabling the exchange of green hydrogen and e-fuels—crucial components for decarbonizing energy-intensive industries. Green hydrogen, created through water electrolysis using renewable energy, generates zero or near-zero carbon emissions. At the same time, e-fuels—carbon-neutral synthetic fuels—are produced by combining green hydrogen with captured CO2.

ZET-EX emerged from the Zero Emissions Traders Alliance (ZETA) vision, which aims to establish transparent, interconnected, and sustainable energy markets, particularly within the MENA region. ZETA's vision aligns with Kaspa's mission to create decentralized energy markets that encourage participation from all sectors through fractalization, standardization, and transparency.

Kii Academy

The Kii Academy, a new initiative by Kaspa Kii, aims to drive innovation within the Kaspa ecosystem by offering project financing from €25,000 to €20 million. It supports new innovators through hands-on developer training, startup accelerators, and university partnerships. Additionally, the Certified Kaspa Applications program ensures that only secure, thoroughly vetted projects meet the highest standards, reinforcing trust in the ecosystem with a strong focus on security and quality.

Airspace3D: Space Integrity

Airspace3D, developed by Kaspa Kii, offers real-time management of airspace for drones and other low-altitude aerial devices. The platform facilitates a decentralized distribution of airspace corridors, enabling secure tokenization of airspace. This innovative approach benefits aviation regulators, logistics companies, and urban planners, contributing to the development of future smart cities.

AssetMint: Tokenization

Designed in collaboration with traditional asset owners, AssetMint is an institutional-grade platform built on the Kaspa network that specializes in tokenizing high-value assets, including real estate, private equity, and commodities. This platform enhances liquidity and enables fractional ownership while ensuring smooth integration with institutional portfolios. With a strong focus on security and a well-structured smart contract infrastructure, AssetMint empowers asset holders to unlock capital, offering institutional investors clear and efficient access to exclusive markets.

Kaspa Kii is also working with hedge funds, as seen at the recent Dublin event, where crypto hedge fund CIO Siam Kidd, known as "The Realistic Trader," spoke about his fund's investment in Kaspa. He mentioned that he plans to allocate 30% of his inflows to Kaspa. He explained that he is so bullish on Kaspa due to its ability to process micro-transactions and facilitate the tokenization of real-world assets on-chain.

OliveChain: Food Integrity

Another pilot program, OliveChain, was announced. It aims to transform the olive oil industry using Kaspa's BlockDAG technology. The global olive oil market is valued at €18 billion and faces significant challenges, including a staggering 80% of Italian extra virgin olive oil being mislabeled or adulterated. This leads to economic losses and consumer distrust. To address these issues, OliveChain intends to introduce transparency and increase sustainability by tokenizing olive trees, thus creating a decentralized marketplace that ensures end-to-end traceability.

By allowing fractional ownership through unique non-fungible tokens (NFTs), OliveChain democratizes access to these assets, enabling anyone globally to own a stake in the trees. This innovation provides unprecedented liquidity to an asset class that has traditionally been illiquid. To trace their origins, consumers can scan QR codes on olive oil bottles, fostering trust and transparency.

The OliveChain model serves as a prototype for various industries with similar characteristics, highlighting the potential for tokenization of any asset that produces a yield. The broader implications of this project are that it could be replicated across many industries facing certification, traceability, and yield generation issues. OliveChain aims to enhance the olive oil sector and symbolizes a broader push for transparency and efficiency in supply chains, offering a turn-key solution to diverse industries grappling with similar challenges.

To learn more about the Kaspa Kii initiatives, please visit their website, YouTube channel, and X.com accounts.

Additional Resources

Energy Transition: Emission Free Energy from the Deserts, Paul van Son and Thomas Isenburg, Smart Books 2020

Hydrogen: Hydrogen-Europe_2x40-GW-Green-H2-Initative-Paper.pdf (hydrogeneurope.eu)

GEIDCO: Clean Energy Research - Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization | GEIDCO

Hydrogen: The Bridge Between Europe and Africa: Hydrogen-the-bridge-between-Africa-and-Europe-5-9-2019.pdf (profadvanwijk.com)

Green Energy for All: How Hydrogen and Electricity Carry our Future

Dii Publications: https://dii-desertenergy.org/publications/

The Ab Annual Summit: https://www.smartenergy.net/13th-dii-desert-energy-leadership-summit/

Global Energy Solutions For Prosperity and Climate Neutrality: https://global-energy-solutions.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/210521_Interview_Paul_van_Son_EN-1.pdf

Timeline

• 1968 – The Club of Rome is founded as a think tank of prominent leaders and intellectuals.

• 1972 – The Club of Rome released The Limits to Growth, raising awareness of industrialization’s environmental impact.

• April 1986 – The Chernobyl disaster occurs, prompting Gerhard Knies to search for alternative energy sources.

• 1995 – Knies realized that desert solar energy could theoretically supply the world's energy needs.

• 2003 – The Club of Rome established the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC) in collaboration with the Hamburg Climate Protection Foundation (HKF) and Jordan's National Energy Research Center (NERC).

• 2003-2005 – The German Federal Ministry for the Environment funded feasibility studies on desert solar power, including the pivotal 2005 DLR Study, which lays the groundwork for Desertec.

• 2007 – TREC’s The Desertec White Book, Clean Power from Deserts to the World with 10 Billion People, was presented to the European Parliament, outlining the vision for desert-based renewable energy.

• 2008 – The French government launched the Union for the Mediterranean, a solar plan inspired by the DLR study.

• 2009 (July) – The Desertec Industrial Initiative (Dii) was launched in Munich, Germany, as Desertec 1.0, aiming to generate renewable energy in the MENA region to power Europe. Paul van Son was the founding managing director.

• 2012 – Dii expands to 21 shareholders and 25 associated partners from 16 countries. The initiative releases two key studies:

• Desert Power 2050 (in collaboration with Fraunhofer ISI)

• Desert Power: Getting Started (co-written with DIW Berlin, Fraunhofer ISI, EEG, and IfW)

• 2013 (June) – Desert Power: Getting Started, a 257-page guide on advancing renewable energy in MENA, is published.

• 2015 – Dii transitions to Desertec 2.0, shifting focus to emission-free energy within MENA and later expanding to export markets. The headquarters moved from Munich to Dubai.

• 2017 – Dii entered an acceleration phase, making the industry network more international, including partners from MENA, China, the U.S., India, and the EU.

• 2020 – Dii established the MENA Hydrogen Alliance to develop green2019 – Hydrogen Europe and the Renewable Hydrogen Coalition, along with over 400 companies and NGOs, launched an initiative to support green hydrogen adoption.

• 2023 – Dii initiated the Zero Emissions Traders Alliance (ZETA), operating out of Dubai, aiming to transition traded energy markets toward clean energy and achieve net-zero emissions globally in the coming decades.

• 2024 (July) – The Kaspa Industrial Initiative (Kii) officially launched, aiming to drive industrial adoption of Kaspa’s high-performance Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG)-based Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). 

• 2050 (Future Goal) – The European Union aims to become the first climate-neutral continent, with green hydrogen as a key energy source.