Industry News A Blockchain Company plans to raise Billions of Dollars for Electric Buses in China

A Blockchain Company plans to raise Billions of Dollars for Electric Buses in China

August 21, 2018

The problem of blockchain adoption remains a pressing one for the development community. While the ebb and flow of prices of the cryptocurrency domain are taking and adding users, the level of blockchain adoption and further development seems to be in a state of flux.

As time goes by, there is no lack of news about companies and startups developing blockchain applications for all manner of uses. In recent months, even entire regions vowed to become hubs for development of decentralized databases of all types, including those that would be applied on a national level. The angle for these decisions is clearly visible and a win-win for everyone involved.

Yet, the actual fruits of this development are still to be presented on any major user platfrom, even on a level of a city, where the user base would be relatively limited. Recent news, however, provides some hope that the blockchain development and application can take on a truly big target. Unsurprisingly, the news comes from China and it connects renewable development on a huge level with an IT management and control aspect.

Seven Stars Cloud Group Funding Round

AI and blockchain tech company called Seven Stars Cloud Group (SSC) has managed to attain a huge deal and get the green light to raise over $24 billion. The money will go into funding a large-scale upgrade of electric buses for the biggest full-service operator in China. The company’s press release stated on Monday that the contract had been created with the NTS Ltd (National Transportation Capacity Co).

Under it, Seven Stars Cloud will provide fixed income lease products that are finance-based using its blockchain. The same network is regularly compliant and will split into two campaigns. One will be locally-based which the other will be open to the global market.

Using these international as well Chinese funding, the company which is traded on Nasdaq plans to raise over $8 billion and an additional $15 billion over the subsequent three-year period. For China, the SCC will raise money using the sales of fixed income products, while for the international campaign will focus on both fixed income as well as asset digital products. The process, like many other digital ventures including eSports and other platforms, combined a two-pronged funding effort but is taking place under one banner.

NTS Capacity and the Chinese Electric Bus Plans

NTS represents the largest full-service electric bus operator in China. It provides lease financing, sales, real-time data services and a charging network for their vehicles. Bruno Wun, SSC CEO and Chairman stated that such an asset-backed and large-scale contracts would be a groundbreaking opportunity for any blockchain company in the world. He said that it will serve as an example of how the traditional industry can gain so much from the specialized products of the digital age, in this case, the blockchain technology.

The capacity of the company for these services will surely grow because of the fact that the Chinese plan asks for replacing all current buses with electric alternatives by the end of 2021. This is why the current estimates show the electric bus operation industry to be worth about $145. This includes new systems of vehicles and their support networks, but also the upgrade and replacement procedures that will also take place in this period.

A Decision of Necessity

2021 seems like a short time frame for such a huge change in a country the size of China. But, there is a pressing need for change when it comes to the factor of pollution in the same nation. A decade ago, Beijing then hosted the Summer Olympics. The city and the whole country made a huge and concentrated effort on the same area to get rid of pollution. These toxins were mainly coming from commuter traffic and industrial production all around the capitol.

After much effort and a waste amounts of money, Beijing was ready to receive numerous tourists and athletes without the fear of many of them getting sick on the count of the polluted air. The activities surrounding this process clearly resulted in a successful event, but it shows that even years before now, pollution was a very worrisome problem.

Today, there are clear signs that show it is an even bigger issue than before. With countless premature deaths and chronic conditions caused by polluted air, China is wasting a lot of money because of this. Even if the simple humanitarian reason for cleaning the environment is taken out, there is a big practical necessity of trying to get to grips with communal pollution. Electric buses seem like a great way to approach this process and their presence could have an immediate effect on many Chinese urban areas.

Merging Green with Blockchain

The merger of blockchain and green tech is something that is a common sight in the new mining facilities, many of which are trying to tap into renewable power to run the mining rigs. Here, however, it could be an even more potent combination. Aside from the fact that blockchain networks could do plenty of logistical elements like calculating efficiency and distribution of the vehicles on particular routes, the tech could also embed alternative payment means for the same companies.

This means that a bus fare could be paid using bitcoin or any other digital currency without producing any unnecessary work for the company in terms of payment processing. The clear financial benefit is also important in this regard and the fact that this project possesses that potential is a great boon to its feasibility.

Lastly, while many of these advantages are important, the key factor here is the support of the Chinese state, fueled by an environmental and health crisis in many of its urban centers. With this, the project stands a chance to change the perception of what is blockchain capable of, but also do this in the upcoming years, instead of decades. For the blockchain development community, this would mean an entrance to the main door for many additional government-based projects, not just in China, but throughout the world.

Source: CoinDesk