Blockchain-based applications and energy effective electric vehicle charging - A systematic literature review, challenges, comparative analysis and opportunities

Blockchain is a secure distributed system having a shared resource that enables participants to read and update a common shared ledger in a decentralized fashion. It provides an immutable and tamper-resistant distributed ledger with no central authority and no single point of failure. Consensus protocols are the backbone of any blockchain system as these protocols enable participant nodes to reach an agreement in a trustless environment. The performance of a typical blockchain system largely depends upon selecting the best-fit consensus protocol. Blockchain has influenced many application areas apart from crypto currencies such as document verification, copyrighting of art and craft, verification of counterfeit products and electric vehicle (EV) charging. This review paper discusses various consensus mechanisms in public, private, and consortium-based blockchains. The review study also covers the impact of consensus protocols on the performance scalability of the blockchain solution. The blockchain application area focused in this study is related to electric vehicle management and charging. The paper elaborates on how blockchain is enabling energy-efficient and secure EV charging. It also covers energy trading in a typical EV environment.