Enel: Tokenizing renewable energy assets on Algorand

The tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) on blockchain makes it possible for ordinary people to invest in things that were once only available to big corporations. Blockchain’s impact now extends to the energy sector, where tokenization is creating new models for renewable energy ownership and distribution.

In January 2025, Enel, the largest private electricity distribution company globally, introduced an innovative approach to green energy infrastructure ownership in Italy. The company sought to make sustainable energy far more accessible to ordinary citizens. To accomplish this, it looked to blockchain. Through the collaboration with fintech solutions provider Conio, Enel developed a product for the fractional ownership of solar panels and wind farms on the Algorand blockchain. 

Packaged as the ebitts program for its customers, this product enables ordinary Italian residents to virtually self-produce renewable energy from fractions of utility-scale solar panels and wind farms , use the power they generate to reduce their electricity bills, and even sell the oversupply they produce. With the advantages of blockchain, all of this is done transparently and efficiently, with energy production and value tracked on chain in real-time. 

Highlights:

• • • Enel’s decision to collaborate with Conio exposes its customers (12M in Italy alone) to blockchain technology, tokenized real-world assets, and even cryptoasset-wallets, in a way designed to hide all the complexities:
      
      “What we have done is design the wallet in a way that it automatically handles all the complexities of blockchain technology,” explains Christian Miccoli, CEO and Founder of Conio. “This means that [everything down to] the Algo tokens that you need in your wallet to pay the transaction fees are completely hidden from the user. They don't need to understand blockchain and crypto at all.”

• • • Blockchain technology, as well as Conio’s rigorous adherence to European regulations, allowed this product to be built – from first contact to first customers – in 11 months.
      
      “If you look at the timeline, it's quite astonishing,” added Miccoli “They contacted us on February 24th. By March 18, we gave them the architectural design and specs on how to set up the tokenization. It took a couple of months for internal approval, but then we were ready to launch by mid-December 2024.”

• • • According to Conio, the so-called “Energy Utility Tokens,” representing solar and wind panel ownership and energy production value, are the first implementation of a Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) token in Europe.
      
      “It is all new regulation,” said Miccoli. “MiCA is completely new, and this is the first implementation of a MiCA token in Europe. Regulators confirmed to us that we were the first project in Europe doing real-world asset tokenization.”

The challenge

Many people want to use green energy but face practical obstacles. Most Italian residents living in apartment buildings lack the physical space, infrastructure access, and property rights to install personal solar panels. Even for those who can install panels, the cost often proves too high for a single household to manage.

The renewable energy industry is also difficult for regular people to invest in. Large energy projects typically only accept big investors who can contribute millions of euros. Despite growing public interest in sustainable energy, retail investors are excluded from participating in large-scale renewable energy projects.

The legacy system for managing energy investments is not built to facilitate the financing of many small investors. It struggles to track ownership shares, calculate how much energy each person's share produces, and distribute the benefits. These technical problems make it difficult to create investment options that work for everyday people.

To address these issues, Enel, with the help of Conio,  built a blockchain-based solution that could address all the shortcomings and welcome retail customers into the sustainable energy economy while providing them with cheaper options, and even the potential to make money.

“There are complex systems at play in this product. But the great thing is that using a blockchain, you are able to limit the interaction with legacy systems, which is a thing that is sometimes overlooked, but it's a major advantage of working with tokenization… With the tokenization framework, you are able to do things that would be almost impossible to do with legacy systems.”

 

– Christian Miccoli, CEO and Founder, Conio

The solution

Enel and Conio's collaboration began unexpectedly in February 2024 with a simple inquiry, received through Conio’s “contact us” form. Conio's experience with tokenization and strong regulatory compliance record made them an ideal partner for Enel's renewable energy initiative.

The solution – marketed as the ebitts program for Enel customers – uses the Algorand blockchain to enable fractional ownership of solar and wind farms. Algorand proved ideal for this product for several reasons: its track record of zero downtime, support for regulated, MiCA-compliant Euro tokens, and carbon-neutral footprint, which aligned with Enel's sustainability goals.

The project is set up with two different tokens* – colloquially named “Energy Utility Tokens” – on Algorand. The first represents ownership of the power-producing infrastructure; when you buy in, you receive tokens that show exactly how much of the solar or wind farm you own and how much energy is expected to offset from your usage. The second token tracks the power your asset produces. Every hour, the system checks how much electricity your portion generated and sends you tokens to represent that power.

Learn more: Algorand layer-1 features

Behind the scenes, oracles connect the power plants to the blockchain. These oracles take information from the plant’s power meters and record it onto the Algorand blockchain, so everyone can see exactly how much power is being made. For example, if your portion of a solar farm generates 2 kilowatt-hours of energy, you will automatically get tokens reflecting that exact amount. This automation, and the instant, on-chain token transfers it prompts, creates a clear record that can't be changed. 

The results

The ownership model Enel has conceived offers clear advantages over traditional solar panel installation. Rather than installing personal solar panels, users invest in professionally managed industrial-scale facilities, that work for them as a virtual power plant. This approach eliminates maintenance concerns, provides insurance coverage, and benefits from economies of scale.

Users can also combine different energy sources – mixing solar and wind power to ensure consistent energy production throughout the day and night. For example, a resident can choose 79% solar and 21% wind power or go for a more balanced split to better suit power generation both day and night.

The system tracks how much energy users’ tokens produce each hour. If they produce more power than they use, Enel gives the user credit for that extra energy. 

Conclusion

This implementation shows how blockchain technology can play a critical role in the energy transition towards clean energy, and expanding access to this economy for everyday people. Using Algorand, Enel and Conio created a system that lets regular people invest in and benefit from renewable energy in unprecedented ways.

The project's speed demonstrates how Algorand's technology, with its efficiency and scalability, helps big companies move quickly into new areas, and highlights the blockchain’s unique ability to meet the needs of even the largest-scale enterprises. Most importantly, it proves that blockchain can solve real problems while remaining simple enough for everyday users who might not know anything about the technology behind it.

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