3 Mission-Critical Platforms Delivered for UK Energy Transition Leader
Working on three strategic platforms: A flexible grid management system, a market-wide half-hourly settlement system, and an enterprise integration platform
Executive Summary
The client is a UK-based energy company is leading the transition to a low-carbon future, offering services and solutions that help businesses and households reduce carbon footprints and manage energy consumption efficiently.
The Problem
The client embarked on several innovative projects simultaneously, and realised they didn’t have all the skills in-house to complete these projects. They needed to build a solid foundation to scale, specifically around cloud infrastructure and AI.
The Solution
Zartis embedded a cross-functional engineering team consisting of 10+ team members to develop three strategic platforms: a flexible grid management system for distributed energy resources, a market-wide half-hourly settlement system, and an enterprise integration platform connecting field operations with Microsoft Dynamics 365.
The Outcomes
Through our collaborative efforts with the client, we have successfully delivered innovative product solutions that align with their vision of a low-carbon future. These 3 core products enhanced operational efficiency and supported the integration of renewable energy sources by:
- Enhancing the flexibility of the energy grid
- Transforming energy settlement processes
- Improving system integration
The Client
- Industry: Energy and Utilities
- Size: 200+
- Geography: UK-based with national operations
- Tech Stack: Python, Java, C#, AWS, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Spring Boot
A UK-based energy company dedicated to accelerating the transition to sustainable energy systems. The company provides grid management solutions, energy settlement services, and smart infrastructure for distributed energy resources including solar, battery storage, and EV charging networks.
The Business Challenge
The UK energy sector is undergoing unprecedented transformation as the grid evolves from centralised fossil fuel generation to decentralised renewable sources. This shift demands sophisticated software platforms capable of managing millions of distributed energy resources in real-time; solar panels, home batteries, and EV chargers that both consume and produce electricity.
The company needed to simultaneously deliver three complex platforms:
One to manage grid flexibility, another to revolutionise UK market settlement processes, and a third to integrate field operations with enterprise systems. Each platform was critical to their strategic positioning in the rapidly evolving energy market.
Why Traditional Approaches Weren't Working
Highly-specialised skills proving hard to find
Building energy grid software requires a rare combination of expertise: deep technical knowledge in real-time systems, understanding of energy market regulations, experience with enterprise integration at scale, and specialised cloud architecture for AI-driven platforms. The client recognised they lacked this specific expertise internally.
Time constraints to go-to-market
Hiring senior engineers with this specialised skill set would take 6+ months minimum in the competitive UK tech market, and even then, building an entire platform engineering team would require significant investment in recruitment, onboarding, and organisational overhead.
With three critical platforms needing simultaneous development to meet market opportunities, they needed a partner who could bring both strategic architecture expertise and hands-on engineering delivery, immediately.
Why They Chose Zartis
Zartis embedded a team of senior engineers directly into the client’s product organisation across a multi-year partnership.
Discovery & Planning: The engagement began with an architecture and infrastructure assessment focused on building a scalable foundation for the client's AI-driven energy platforms. Zartis brought both cloud architects and hands-on engineers to address immediate scaling needs whilst planning for long-term growth.
Execution Model: The Zartis team operated as embedded product teams, not staff augmentation. Engineers took ownership of complete platform components—from architecture decisions through production deployment—whilst collaborating closely with client product managers and domain experts.
Knowledge Transfer: Throughout the multi-year engagement, Zartis engineers documented architectural decisions, established development best practices, and mentored internal team members on the new platform patterns and technologies.
Our approach
What We’ve Built & Delivered
Flexible Grid Management Platform
A platform designed to enhance UK energy grid flexibility by managing distributed energy resources—solar panels, batteries, and EV chargers at scale.
Key Deliverables
Core Platform Components
Developed and maintained essential components enabling seamless integration of diverse energy resources with automated scaling
Real-Time Performance
Implemented continuous performance monitoring and optimisation ensuring platform responsiveness for real-time energy management
User-Centric Interface
Designed operator interfaces balancing complexity of grid management with intuitive user experience
Integration Architecture
Built using Python, Asyncio, OpenLeadr, and Tortoise ORM with MySQL and InfluxDB for time-series data, deployed on AWS
Market-Wide Half-Hourly Settlement System
A system revolutionising UK electricity market settlement by enabling half-hourly consumption tracking, enhancing billing accuracy and supporting renewable energy integration.
Key Deliverables
Data Services System
Built comprehensive data handling and processing pipeline using agile methodologies to meet evolving market requirements
Regulatory Compliance
Architected system to comply with UK energy market regulations and governmental standards
Enhanced Billing Accuracy
Implemented sophisticated data reporting capabilities enabling transparent, accurate consumer billing
Scalable Processing
Developed using Java, Spring Boot, and SonarQube with AWS infrastructure
Enterprise Integration Platform
An integration platform connecting field service management for EV chargers and smart metres with Microsoft Dynamics 365, enabling real-time operational coordination.
Key Deliverables
Dynamics 365 Integration
Developed robust integration layer linking operational systems with Microsoft Dynamics 365 for streamlined field management
Real-Time Data Flow
Implemented real-time data exchange enabling immediate access to critical field information for faster decision-making
Scalable Architecture
Designed platform for easy expansion as service offerings grow
Multi-Technology Stack
Built using C#, Azure DevOps, and GitHub for seamless enterprise integration
Our approach
Key Technical Decisions & Trade-Offs
Multi-Platform Coordination
Rather than treating these as three separate projects, we architected shared infrastructure components and established common patterns across platforms. This enabled faster delivery whilst maintaining consistency and reducing long-term maintenance burden.
Why This Mattered:
Managing three simultaneous platform builds with shared cloud infrastructure (AWS) and common observability tools created economies of scale. Lessons learned on one platform (e.g., security patterns, deployment automation) could be rapidly applied to others.
Time-Series Database Architecture for Grid Data
For the grid management platform handling millions of distributed energy resources, we chose InfluxDB specifically for time-series data alongside MySQL for relational data. This dual-database approach recognised that grid telemetry (voltage, frequency, power flow) behaves fundamentally differently than configuration or user data.
Why This Mattered:
Energy grid operations generate massive volumes of time-stamped sensor data—attempting to store this in a traditional relational database would create performance bottlenecks and storage inefficiencies. InfluxDB’s columnar storage and built-in downsampling enabled efficient querying of historical patterns whilst maintaining real-time write performance.
Operating two database systems adds operational complexity, but the performance gains for time-series queries (10-100x faster) were essential for real-time grid optimisation algorithms.
Managing three simultaneous platform builds with shared cloud infrastructure (AWS) and common observability tools created economies of scale. Lessons learned on one platform (e.g., security patterns, deployment automation) could be rapidly applied to others.
Asynchronous Processing for Real-Time Grid Response
The grid management platform uses Python’s Asyncio framework to handle thousands of concurrent connections to distributed energy resources (solar panels, batteries, EV chargers) without blocking operations.
Why This Mattered:
When grid operators need to adjust power output across thousands of devices simultaneously—for example, responding to frequency drops or managing peak demand—the system must send commands and receive confirmations in parallel, not sequentially. Traditional synchronous processing would create unacceptable latency.
Business Impact:
This architectural choice enables the platform to coordinate distributed energy resources at the speed required for grid stability (sub-second response times), which is critical for maintaining grid frequency within regulatory limits (49.5-50.5 Hz in the UK).
Security and Availability by Design
Managing live grid infrastructure demands different security and reliability standards than typical software platforms. The grid management platform was architected with multiple layers of protection:
- Zero-trust security model: Every device connection authenticated and encrypted, with granular access controls preventing compromised devices from affecting the broader grid.
- Circuit breakers and fallback modes: If cloud connectivity is lost, devices fall back to safe default behaviours (e.g., stop charging during grid stress) rather than causing instability.
Why This Mattered:
A software bug or security breach in grid management software could destabilise the electricity network affecting thousands of homes and businesses. The platform needed to be architected for resilience, not just performance.
Real-World Impact:
During a major AWS service disruption in a different region, the platform maintained 100% uptime through automatic failover, proving the investment in multi-region architecture was justified.
OpenLeadr Protocol for Grid Interoperability
For the grid management platform, we implemented the OpenLeadr (Open Automated Demand Response) protocol, an international standard for communicating with distributed energy resources.
Why This Mattered:
Rather than building proprietary communication protocols that would lock the client into specific hardware vendors, OpenLeadr ensures the platform can integrate with any compliant device—solar inverters, battery systems, EV chargers, and building management systems from multiple manufacturers.
Business Impact:
This decision future-proofs the platform as new device types and manufacturers enter the market. It also accelerates customer onboarding since the platform can integrate with existing infrastructure rather than requiring hardware replacement.
Real-Time Data Exchange for Enterprise Integration
The Dynamics 365 integration platform was architected for real-time bidirectional data flow rather than batch processing, despite the added complexity.
Why This Mattered:
Field engineers installing EV chargers or smart metres need immediate access to customer data, service history, and installation specifications. Similarly, installation data needs to flow back to Dynamics 365 immediately for accurate billing and asset tracking. Batch processing would create delays affecting both customer experience and operational efficiency. Real-time integration enabled faster installations, immediate billing accuracy, and better customer experience.
the results
Outcomes & Impact
Delivery & Execution
Three Strategic Platforms Delivered
Successfully developed and deployed three mission-critical platforms supporting UK energy transition—grid flexibility management, market settlement, and enterprise integration
Multi-Year Partnership
Sustained collaboration demonstrating long-term value creation, not just project delivery
10+ Engineer Team Deployed
Cross-functional team embedded across multiple product squads, bringing both architecture expertise and hands-on development
Zero-Downtime Migrations
Platforms deployed to production without service disruptions, critical for live grid operations
Performance & Scale
Platform ranks first in load forecast accuracy for 1-5 day ahead time periods for major utility customers
Platform processes data from one of the largest global smart metre portfolios, delivering near real-time analytics with unprecedented accuracy
UK utility partners (major Distribution System Operators) using platform to plan network reinforcement and identify DER hotspots through 2035
AWS multi-availability zone deployment maintained 100% uptime even during regional service disruptions
Global Scalability Achieved
Platforms now support customers across multiple international markets—Americas, Europe, and Asia—with consistent performance (confirmed in client testimonial)
Sub-Second Grid Response Times:
Asynchronous architecture enables real-time coordination of distributed energy resources meeting UK grid frequency requirements (49.5-50.5 Hz)
New Capabilities Enabled
AI-Enabled SaaS Platform
recognised as best-in-class by industry analysts (Frost & Sullivan)
Real-time Grid Flexibility Management
at unprecedented scale (45M+ metres) previously impossible with legacy systems
Long-Term Grid Planning
with visibility into DER uptake scenarios through 2035, enabling network reinforcement planning
Behind-the-Metre (BTM) Insights
identifying which metres have future flexibility for demand response programmes
Integrated Field Operations
connecting installation teams with enterprise systems for EV chargers and smart metres in real-time
Multi-Market Scalability
demonstrated across Americas, Europe, and Asia
Technical Foundation & Quality
AI-Driven Accuracy Ensured
Proprietary AI trained across 52 million metres delivers forecasting accuracy critical for grid operations during high volatility periods
Regulatory Compliance Achieved
All three platforms meet UK energy market regulatory requirements (Balancing and Settlement Code for settlement platform)
Production-Ready Architecture Designed
Platforms built with security, availability, and observability from day one—not added retrospectively
Code Quality Standards Implemented
SonarQube integration for settlement platform ensuring maintainability and correctness for financial calculations
Vendor Interoperability
OpenLeadr protocol implementation enables integration with any compliant device manufacturer, avoiding vendor lock-in
Operational Efficiency & Market Impact
Near Real-Time Analytics
Platform delivers actionable insights enabling utilities to be predictive and proactive rather than reactive
Extreme Weather Response
Enhanced forecasting capabilities proven critical during major weather events, with platform featured in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reports for grid reliability improvements
Multiple Major Deployments
Platform deployed at scale with international utilities, retail energy providers, and municipal operators across multiple markets
What this enabled next
Acquisition After the Platform Expansion
The three platforms delivered by Zartis created a technical foundation for the client’s next phase of growth in the UK energy market. The flexible grid management platform positions our client to integrate emerging energy storage technologies and AI-driven demand response. The settlement system provides the data infrastructure needed for future market innovations.
The subsequent market position led to acquisition by leading Enterprise Rate Platform provider, creating end-to-end solution for utilities.
Strategic Value Beyond Initial Engagement
What began as a tactical need to add engineering expertise has evolved into a strategic partnership. Zartis engineers are now embedded across multiple product squads, contributing not just to execution but to technical strategy and architectural decisions. The relationship has become a competitive advantage; enabling our client to move faster, scale more efficiently, and attract enterprise customers who need confidence in platform reliability.
Accelerating Energy Transition Through Technology
The shift to distributed renewable energy requires sophisticated software platforms and specialised engineering expertise. Zartis combines deep technical knowledge with hands-on execution to deliver measurable outcomes for energy sector innovators.