Great news! Porsche, based in Germany is embracing the blockchain technology in their own new project.

The announcement was made on 22 February 2018 via Porsche’s website. According to it, the influential company is collaborating with the XAIN startup, located in Berlin to test an application based on the blockchain algorithms directly in vehicles. This innovation “makes the Zuffenhausen-based company the first automobile manufacturer to implement and successfully test blockchain in a car”.

About the blockchain- based application

The company assures that transactions managed on this technology are highly secured and proceeded faster. According to the official Press Release, the application includes “locking and unlocking the vehicle via an app, temporary access authorisations and new business models based on encrypted data logging”. The last one is more of a future project in order to develop the autonomous driving functions.

“We can use blockchain to transfer data more quickly and securely, giving our customers more peace of mind in the future, whether they are charging, parking or need to give a third party, such as a parcel delivery agent, temporary access to the vehicle. We translate the innovative technology into direct benefits for the customer”, said the Financial Strategist at Porsche– Oliver Döring.

The services are fast and secure

So, according to Porsche’s statement, the applications based on the blockchain are fast and secure. In this way, the cars are becoming an intermediate between the digital technology and direct offline connection, which is provided by a server.

The app is faster, due to the reducing time it needs to process the actions. It takes only 1.6 seconds to open and close the car using the blockchain application. These actions can’t be modified once are processed on a blockchain algorithm. Another advantage is that anyone can access and monitor their car remotely.

“Moreover, the technology makes it possible to assign temporary access authorisations for the vehicle – in a secure and efficient manner. A protected connection to vehicle data and functionalities can be established using blockchain.“, according to the Press Release.

Also, the application based on the blockchain technology is using Smart Contracts to connect the third-party providers. In this way, there is no need for an additional hardware.

New business models based on blockchain

Additionally, the automobile manufacturer is planning to launch new blockchain-based business models. The data will be secured in a distributed system and the only one to control it will be the user.

“The future of autonomous driving will see improved functions on offer: Local data can be used to obtain regional learning effects, which can be shared securely with other vehicles. The customer can make use of swarm data, which is protected at the same time.”, according to Prosche‘s Press Release.

About XAIN

A lot of users are already asking themselves why such an influential company like Porsche would collaborate with a startup enterprise like XAIN. Well, the XAIN team won in the summer of 2017 the contest entitled “Porsche Innovation Contest”, which was organized on the blockchain subject. After this, these two companies became contributors. They worked together over three months to design and test new applications.

“Blockchain was introduced into the Porsche Panamera using an energy-efficient mining process from XAIN”. Concomitant, the automobile manufacturer Porsche is working to design a new application based on the blockchain technology to improve the charging and parking areas.

“XAIN offers various blockchain and artificial intelligence solutions, with a particular focus on intelligent industrial applications. Together with researchers from the University of Oxford and Imperial College London, XAIN has developed a blockchain system in recent years, which significantly reduces the energy consumption of mining.”. That’s how Porsche believed that the solutions provided by XAIN are also compatible with mobile devices and vehicles.

Porsche is the first automobile manufacturer in the world to embrace the blockchain technology. The application is still in the test period. But, soon, it will be a real success and an important subject to discuss about.