Factom, one of the earliest cryptocurrencies to pitch blockchains to enterprises, is participating in a U.S. government-funded trial of the technology to protect the national power grid.

Announced Thursday, TFA Labs, an internet-of-things (IoT) security startup, is experimenting with Factom’s protocol to validate that devices on the grid aren’t infected with malware.

Backed by a nearly $200,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the project aims to improve the security of millions devices.across America.

TFA Labs is looking at storing raw data, such as the health and status of devices, on the Factom blockchain. Also, the company wants to assign a digital identity to the firmware, or permanent software installed on devices. If the files are manipulated, they’ll produce a cryptographic hash that does not match the digital identity, indicating something is wrong with the file.

“We can store raw data or data hashes of the data, It’s ideal for IoT device use.” – Dennis Bunfield, CEO of TFA Labs

The first phase will last until March when TFA aims to have a prototype for the use case. If the experiment gets to phase two, TFA Labs will collaborate with device manufacturers and could get close to $1 million in funding from the DOE

Factom is separately working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to record camera and sensor data on the blockchain and with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to see if the tech can digitize records of individuals who live in remote parts of the world.

Enterprise users can develop on the startup’s protocol using familiar coding languages, said Greg Forst, marketing chair for Factom Protocol.

“We’re data-centric and enterprise-grade whether that’s a government or startup or anybody in between,” – Greg Forst,

Factom has been in existence since 2014 and was able to raise $1.1 million after a successful token offering in 2015 giving investors the Factom cryptocurrency which is currently just outside the top 100 cryptocurrencies by marketcap.