Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, announced the launch of Efforce, a new company aiming to transform and disrupt the energy efficiency market. Efforce is a blockchain-based energy saving platform that democratizes access to energy efficiency projects and investment opportunities, enabling companies to undertake energy efficiency measures at no cost so that they can invest their liquidity in more critical tasks, according to the company.

Wozniak said:

“Energy consumption and CO2 emissions worldwide have grown exponentially, leading to climate change and extreme consequences to our environment. We can improve our energy footprint and lower our energy consumption without changing our habits. We can save the environment simply by making more energy improvements. We created Efforce to be the first decentralized platform that allows everyone to participate and benefit financially from worldwide energy efficiency projects, and create meaningful environmental change.”

According to Efforce, the market for energy efficiency projects has reached a staggering $250 billion, but projects may be inaccessible to smaller players. The company noted that today, investor groups called energy services companies (ESCOs) must have access to large amounts of capital (typically $200,000 minimum) to undertake energy efficiency improvements, yet ESCOs are often unable to turn to traditional banking channels as banks lack the technical expertise to properly assess the return on investment.

By contrast, using the Efforce platform, ESCOs can register an intended energy efficiency project which is then validated by the Efforce team, and Efforce then develops the project with the company, including evaluating the investment need, calculating the anticipated return, and creating an Energy Performance Contract (EPC) that details the savings and the duration of the returns for the company and investors. The Efforce platform then lists the project for crowd contribution, with participants able to buy into the project using fractional or whole tokens called WOZX.

Jacopo Visetti, project lead and co-founder, Efforce, said:

“In these difficult times, many small companies are struggling. They can’t afford to switch to LED lighting, streamline production processes, or even insulate to conserve heat, all of which could save them money in the long term. Efforce allows business owners to safely register their energy upgrade project on the web and secure funding from all types of investors around the world. The companies will then have more available cash to use for other critical projects such as infrastructure or hiring.”

The company listed WOZX tokens for the first time last week on the HBTC crypto assets trading platform, rapidly lifting its market capitalization to $950M.

Visetti added:

“We have created a business model that allows anyone to participate in the greater good of making the world cleaner and healthier, all by leveraging efficiency for economic growth. Energy efficiency is a way to create a sustainable future, and this is a way to help counter climate change, reduce carbon — and make money while you do it.”