Episode description

In this episode of the Applied Blockchain Podcast, Adi Ben-Ari speaks with Vikram Seth, Head of Blockchain & Web3 at Shell, about how blockchain, privacy, and decentralised infrastructure are shaping the energy transition and the future of value exchange.Vikram shares insights from his work at Shell and beyond, exploring how distributed technologies can enable cross-ecosystem data sharing while preserving privacy, incentivise sustainable behaviour, and integrate with technologies like AI and IoT to build more resilient systems.

They discuss:

• Blockchain's role in data integrity and decentralised infrastructure
• Privacy-preserving solutions enabling secure data collaboration
• Community-based incentives and transactive energy systems
• Real-world assets and the rise of DePINs (Decentralised Physical Infrastructure Networks)
• How AI, smart contracts, and automation interplay with blockchain
• Why system thinking is key to solving real-world challenges

Resources Mentioned

• The Future of Money by Bernard Lietaer
• The Great Simplification podcast by Nate Hagens
• Ocean Protocol, Fetch.ai, Deep Green
• Gitcoin, Helium Network, Project 2050 (Fuse Energy)
• Brixton Pound and complementary currencies