Skip to main content

The operating system
for renewable energy.

We're changing how renewable energy works by connecting generators and users directly, with energy matched, traded and settled automatically every half hour.

Affordability

Lower, fairer energy costs

Buy direct from renewable generators, without the wholesale market markup.

Traceability

Traced to source

Every kWh traced to the generator that made it, not bought as certificates.

Stability

Prices you can plan around

Rates agreed for the term you choose, not set by the wholesale market.

Select your side

Which side of the grid are you on?

For businesses and organisations

Stable, predictable energy costs.

Your sites are supplied straight from named renewable generators, at rates agreed against generation, without the wholesale markup.

Keep your spend local. Back renewable projects near your sites and turn your energy bill into a social value story for your customers, tenders and ESG reports.

Skip the middleman. Less parties involved in your contract means better prices for your business.

Reporting that shows the exact source of your energy. Meter data for every half hour to track consumption and support your compliance reporting.

Forklift aisles and racking inside a distribution warehouse

A better way to
buy and sell renewable energy.

Whether you use energy, generate it or do both, UrbanChain connects you directly.

Renewable generators

Wind · Hydro · Solar · Biogas

Buy from named, local renewable generators.

UrbanChain

Generation and demand matched for every half hour of the day

Supplied direct, at rates agreed for your term.

Consumer

The traditional route

Wholesale market / PPAs

Unstable prices · Exposed to
Energy price spikes · Extreme weather · Geopolitical conflict

Broker

More middlemen, higher costs

How it works

Generation matched to demand, at every scale.

UrbanChain matches renewable generation to demand every half hour, whether it’s one organisation’s own sites, a local market of businesses, or a business with sites across the country.

An example client matches its own sites. Its solar farm, wind turbine, hydro scheme, AD plant and depot roof supply its offices, warehouse and retail site first.

  • Solar
  • Wind
  • Hydro
  • Anaerobic digestion
  • Consumption
  • Both (fill shows own power used)
Your private market
Hydro scheme
Depot
Wind turbine
Offices
Warehouse
Retail site
Solar farm
AD plant
Wider portfolio Covering 0.3 MWh

Indicative visual. Simplified map, approximate locations, example sites.

14:30 – 15:00

Generated 0.8 MWh
Consumed 1.2 MWh

Where the consumed energy came from

  • Solar 0.6 MWh 47%
  • Wind 0.1 MWh 5%
  • Hydro 0.1 MWh 9%
  • Anaerobic digestion 0.1 MWh 10%
  • Wider UrbanChain market 0.3 MWh 29%

Across the day

  • Solar
  • Wind
  • Hydro
  • Anaerobic digestion
  • Wider UC market
  • Surplus to market
  • Required consumption
  • Local renewable generation
  • Required consumption
1.5 MWh 0

A better route to market

More than an export tariff.
More flexible than a PPA.

How selling through UrbanChain compares with the usual routes to market - with the flexibility a big corporate contract can’t offer.

Export tariff Typical SEG or export deal
No: What you're paidWhat you're paid: A set export or wholesale-linked rate
No: Price certaintyPrice certainty: Rates can change at renewal
Partly: Who buys your powerWho buys your power: Your supplier
No: TraceabilityTraceability: None - it joins the grid pool
No: Size of siteSize of site: Larger sites are often turned away
No: FlexibilityFlexibility: One standard tariff, set by the supplier
No: Use it across your own sitesUse it across your own sites: Not available
Traditional PPA Typical long-term offtake
Partly: What you're paidWhat you're paid: A fixed or wholesale-linked price
Partly: Price certaintyPrice certainty: Fixed, typically on long terms
No: Who buys your powerWho buys your power: Usually a single offtaker
Partly: TraceabilityTraceability: Usually certificate-based (REGOs)
Partly: Size of siteSize of site: Mostly large assets
Partly: FlexibilityFlexibility: Long contracts negotiated with large corporates
Partly: Use it across your own sitesUse it across your own sites: Possible with a sleeved PPA, usually for large portfolios
UrbanChain Private energy market
Yes: What you're paidWhat you're paid: A price you set in your contract agreement
Yes: Price certaintyPrice certainty: Fixed terms you choose, from 1 to 15 years
Yes: Who buys your powerWho buys your power: Multiple creditworthy buyers
Yes: TraceabilityTraceability: Matched every half-hour, meter to buyer
Yes: Size of siteSize of site: From a rooftop array to a multi-MW farm
Yes: FlexibilityFlexibility: Bespoke terms, structure and buyers shaped around your site
Yes: Use it across your own sitesUse it across your own sites: Yes - with an optional private energy market

Regulated supply

Not a broker.
A licensed supplier

As an Ofgem non-domestic licensed energy supplier, we are required to settle your energy use every half hour under the Balancing and Settlement Code. If the energy we buy and the energy you use ever differ, the imbalance charge comes to us, not you.

How we're regulated

Ofgem

Supply licence

Non-domestic electricity supply, regulated by Ofgem.

Licensed
Elexon BSC

BSC party · Elexon

Settled under the Balancing and Settlement Code, like the rest of the GB market.

Signatory
Elexon ESNA

ESNA · Elexon

Accredited Exempt Supply Notification Agent, so we can register and settle exempt supply arrangements.

Accredited

Thought leadership · As seen in The Independent

We need to free renewable energy from wholesale market volatility

Renewables now produce over half of UK electricity, yet they are still priced off volatile fossil fuels. This film explains why the market structure, not renewable energy, is the problem.

  • Dr Somayeh TaheriCEO and Co-founder, UrbanChain
  • Julian DeneeChief Financial Officer, UrbanChain
  • Charlie ParryChief Growth Officer, UrbanChain
Read the articleWe need to free renewable energy from wholesale market volatility
  • Explainer · UrbanChain

    Local energy networks for generators

    Our animated explainer on how small renewable generators connect to local energy networks to sell their power at better, more stable prices, matched with nearby businesses instead of the wholesale market.

  • Explainer · UrbanChain

    Local energy networks for prosumers

    Generate and use your own power? This explainer shows how local energy networks let you use your generation across your own sites and sell any surplus directly, instead of exporting it at wholesale rates.

  • Interview · Bae HQ

    Building one of the UK’s fastest-growing tech companies

    Amardeep Parmar from Bae HQ talks to Dr Somayeh Taheri about how a research scientist built UrbanChain into one of the UK’s fastest-growing tech companies.

Articles and news

Get in touch.

Interested in joining? Discover how the UrbanChain energy operating system could work for your business. Our team will be in touch within 3 working days.

Fields marked * are required. Our team will be in touch within 3 working days.