Chapter 12: The Fintech Revolution Knocks Out the Financial Problems in the Energy Efficiency Sector: The Case of EFFORCE

In recent years, we have been living through two epochal transformations in business: the new approach to sustainability and digital transformation. In this chapter, we analyse how these two phenomena intersect. To tackle this research question, we first discuss the opportunities and the limits of the energy efficiency sector, specifically referring to the role of green investments and the challenges of Energy Service Companies (ESCos). Thereafter, we introduce the leading technologies of the digital–financial revolution and illustrate the main features that characterise fintech, especially highlighting the role of blockchain and tokenisation in the energy efficiency sector. Through the analysis of the EFFORCE case, we highlight how in practice fintech and blockchain are supporting the crossing of certain limits of the energy efficiency sector and sustaining green investment.