UCL
8.9.2021 10:03:32 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
University College London (UCL), a top-10 globally ranked university, has published a significant new research paper on the varying environmental impacts of different distributed ledger technologies (DLT). The paper examined the energy consumption of second-generation consensus models such as Proof-of-Stake, which promise to provide more favourable energy consumption characteristics than their Proof-of-Work predecessors. Researcher’s at UCL’s Centre for Blockchain Technologies (UCL CBT) quantified and compared the energy demands of six second-generation systems: Algorand, Cardano, Ethereum 2.0, Hedera Hashgraph, Polkadot, and Tezos. The full paper can be found here .
The research paper found that Hedera Hashgraph had the lowest overall energy consumption of the systems studied. Dr. Paolo Tasca, Executive Director at UCL CBT, said: “At this point, the benefits of Proof-of-Stake are well-recognised and understood in the blockchain space. However, through this research we have found that not all Proof-of-Stake networks are created equally. This is something that both investors and adopters need to be wary of when selecting their network of choice. While it’s fantastic to see that Ethereum 2.0 will be Proof-of-Stake, looking at these results it’s clear that we need to remain vigilant of its potential environmental impact.”
The research was conducted by UCL CBT by formalizing a basic mathematical consumption model for validator-based Sybil attack resistance schemes. This model allows quantifying the energy consumption per transaction based on common input variables, such as the number of validators and the throughput characteristics of the system analysed.
Ultimately, the study found that the energy needs of the varying consensus protocols was dependent on the number of active validators. The UCL researchers warned that distributed ledger technology (DLT) networks need to be wary of the effect of different design choices in their architecture over energy consumption, as well as of the quality of the hardware used by the node operators. The research concluded that DLT networks must remain focused on environmental friendliness as scale increases.
Dr. Tasca concluded: “The findings of this study are a fantastic starting point for improving existing DLT design options, as well as developing new consensus protocols while keeping sustainability front of mind. We found that, through applying contemporary throughput and validator counts, Hedera Hashgraph has the most favourable energy consumption characteristics.”
For more information, download the full report at: http://blockchain.cs.ucl.ac.uk/blockchain-energy-consumption/
About University College London
Founded in 1826 in the heart of London, UCL is London's leading multidisciplinary university, with more than 13,000 staff and 42,000 students from 150 different countries. Ranked 8th in the world by QS World University Rankings in 2022, University College London is amongst the best universities in the world. It was the first university in England to welcome students of any religion and the first to welcome women on equal terms with men. UCL's founding principles of academic excellence and research aimed at addressing real-world problems continue to inform its ethos to this day through focusing its research endeavours on the Grand Challenges of Global Health, Sustainable Cities, Cultural Understanding, Human Wellbeing, Transformative Technology, and Justice & Equality. UCL’s dedication to world-class research, education and innovation is recognised through its globally recognised ranking. In the most recent Research Excellence Framework, UCL was the top-rated university in the UK for research strength.
About the UCL Centre for Blockchain Technologies (UCL CBT)
UCL CBT is the world’s largest research centre on blockchain technologies by number of associates. Founded in 2015 by Prof. Paolo Tasca and Prof. Tomaso Aste, its mission is to research the effects of Distributed Ledger Technologies and Blockchain into our socio-economic systems and to promote the safe and organic development and adoption of Blockchain-based platforms.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210908005169/en/
Social Media:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Altasciences and Evidence Matters Advance AI-Driven Drug Development With Nonclinical Automation Breakthrough7.7.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
Altasciences, a fully integrated early-phase drug development organization, and Evidence Matters, a pioneer in clinical trial data science, are pleased to announce a successful proof-of-concept (POC) of RegulatoryFlow (“RegFlow”), following the announcement of the companies’ strategic collaboration in August 2025. The POC demonstrated the extension of AI-driven efficiencies from clinical reporting into nonclinical workflows, marking a significant step forward in accelerating drug development timelines. Building on proven results in clinical reporting, where the collaboration has achieved up to first-draft clinical study reports (CSRs), the teams have now successfully applied similar AI capabilities to nonclinical data through high-quality parsing of raw and SEND datasets in a proof-of-concept. This advancement aligns with the Altasciences Acceleration Platform, designed to fast-track drug development across the early-phase development continuum. “This milestone reflects the power of in
SS&C Expands Tokenized Investment Capabilities with Digital Cash Settlement7.7.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
Building on live tokenized fund issuance and distribution capabilities, SS&C extends its innovation roadmap to support the next stage of digital investment markets SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSNC) today announced plans to enable digital cash settlement for tokenized investment transactions using regulated forms of digital cash, including stablecoins and tokenized commercial bank deposits. The announcement builds on the successful launch of SS&C's live tokenized fund issuance and distribution capabilities earlier this year following the acquisition of Calastone in 2025. SS&C already enables asset managers to bring tokenized versions of traditional investment funds to market through the infrastructure and connectivity they already use, helping bridge traditional and digital investment markets. As interest in tokenized investment products continues to grow, the market is increasingly looking beyond tokenization towards the infrastructure needed to support digital transactio
Gurobi Launches Intelligence Hub to Deliver AI-Guided Workflows Across the Optimization Lifecycle7.7.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
The Hub introduces specialized AI agents designed to make optimization more accessible for all users. Gurobi Optimization, LLC, the leader in decision intelligence technology, today announced the launch of the Gurobi Intelligence Hub, the new home for Gurobi’s AI-powered optimization agents. The Intelligence Hub is designed to help users build, understand, troubleshoot, and interact with optimization models more effectively. Together, the Hub’s specialized agents leverage generative AI to guide users through workflows across the optimization lifecycle, creating new opportunities to make optimization more accessible, intuitive, and valuable for a broader range of users.The Modeler combines guided workflows with Gurobi’s optimization expertise to help users move from business problem to production-quality optimization model. Through an iterative process that helps refine requirements, validate assumptions, and develop acceptance tests, the Modeler gives users confidence that their model
Quaise Energy Raises $134 Million in Initial Close of Series B to Build World’s First Superhot Geothermal Power Plant7.7.2026 14:01:00 CEST | Press release
Prelude Ventures led the round, with participation from JERA Co., Inc., Japan's largest power generation company, and Idemitsu Kosan, one of Japan's largest integrated energy companies Series B equity is the first component of a diverse financing that includes project-level capital and debt Quaise's millimeter wave drilling system is approaching one kilometer of depth at its Central Texas field site Series B proceeds fund Project Obsidian in Central Oregon, the world’s first commercial superhot geothermal power plant Quaise Energy, a leading developer of utility-scale superhot geothermal energy, today announced the first close of its Series B financing, raising $134 million with additional equity and debt capital expected to close imminently. The round was led by Prelude Ventures, with strategic investments from JERA and Idemitsu, two of Japan's largest energy companies. Nearly all existing investors, including Safar Partners, participated in the round. This press release features mult
UMA Unveils Its Vision for the Next Generation of Humanoid Robots7.7.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
At Machina Summit, UMA unveils the design of its first humanoid robot and introduces Real-Time Learning, a new AI architecture that enables robots to learn new skills through demonstration rather than programming. At Machina Summit, UMA, a Physical AI company, unveiled the design of its first humanoid robot and introduced Real-Time Learning, a learning architecture that enables robots to acquire new skills through demonstration instead of manual programming. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260707215927/en/ The announcement comes as aging populations, industrial reshoring, and the energy transition place increasing pressure on labor markets across advanced economies. According to Korn Ferry, the global economy could face a shortage of 85 million workers by 2030, representing as much as $8.5 trillion in unrealized economic output. Against this backdrop, UMA is developing a new generation of intelligent robots bu
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom