The biggest question facing our planet is; ‘how quickly can we transition to a carbon-free energy system?’
By choosing to eliminate fossil fuels from their energy supply, all organisations and individuals can get us there faster.
Granular Energy provides solutions for managing and trading clean energy. Our tools have been developed to support the recent emergence of 24/7 time-stamped energy certificates as well as traditional ‘annual’ certificates.
The next generation of clean energy offers won't be managed on spreadsheets. Consumers now need transparency over where their energy comes from, down to the hourly level.
We help leading utilities, energy retailers, brokers, energy managers, municipalities and other service providers easily pilot and scale the next generation of clean energy programs whilst also providing an end-to-end energy certificate management platform that helps streamline what they already do today.
Already used by major energy providers in six countries across the US and Europe, we provide scalable solutions that work in all energy markets globally.
If you sell, trade or buy clean energy certificates, you know how complex it can be to keep track of your inventories and open positions in various regions.
Our platform allows capturing your trades and certificate inventories, monitoring your deliveries, mapping your long and short engagements, and managing your market risks.
From certificate lifecycle management to risk control, benefit from an hourly-ready solution to manage your certificates today, and tomorrow.
We are pioneering the development of hourly clean energy markets. Building on our market expertise, we provide a range of solutions to hedge your portfolio and adjust your risk profile at the hourly level.
From “24/7 PPAs” to trading of hourly-shaped certificates, or exchanging of green certificates on specific hours, we are building the next generation of clean energy markets.
Our founders Toby Ferenczi, Bruno Menu and Samuel Cheptou and the team have extensive experience in clean energy and financial markets. They participated in the early development of granular certification through the EnergyTag standards body. At Granular Energy, we are a team united by the common mission of developing 24/7 clean energy markets.
If you share our passion for energy and impact, apply here to join us!
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by Granular and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of Granular. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, Granular takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
Granular SAS
Registered in Paris, France under company number 900060369
5 rue Duranti, 75011 Paris
contact@granular-energy.com
We are delighted to announce we have raised €2 million pre-seed funding
Paris, 14th June 2022
We are glad to announce we have raised €2 million pre-seed funding with investments from Seedcamp, Revent and Powerhouse Ventures.
The funds will allow us to deliver on our mission of creating 24/7 clean energy market solutions. The platform we are developing will help accelerate the shift to a carbon-free grid by harnessing consumer demand to send a razor-sharp price signal that values clean energy according to physical availability.
Henrik Grosse Rokamp, from Revent, shared his thoughts: “Granular Energy’s solution is a paradigm change for the energy market. It will be finally possible for utilities, corporates, and consumers to buy true 100% carbon-free electricity. This is a crucial step and a missing piece to move our society away from carbon emitting energy production and towards addressing climate change in a meaningful way.”
We will use the funds to grow our team, roll out our platform in the UK, and launch in three new EU markets and the US.
Download the full press release in English , French or German .
New Expert Paper Examines Ways to Bring Transparency to the Power Market
A new paper released today by power-market operator Nord Pool, the sector-focused advisory firm AFRY Management Consulting and clean energy management start-up Granular Energy examines how upcoming changes to Guarantees of Origin could transform power markets and accelerate decarbonization, through a new price signal for flexibility.
One of the most significant actions that any individual or organization can take to reduce their carbon-emissions and support the energy transition is to choose to use carbon-free electricity.
Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs) have existed for over 20 years as the mechanism for consumers to reliably attribute electricity from a particular source without the risk of double counting or other fraud. These certificates have been incorporated into European legislation as ‘Guarantees of Origin’ since 2006.
Like nearly all EACs today, Guarantees of Origin (GOs) are still based on ‘annual matching’ of supply and demand, meaning that solar energy produced during daylight hours in summer can be claimed at any point throughout a 12-month window. There is now widespread support to transition this system to a sub-hourly matching period using timestamped energy certificates to enable more credible green energy products and establish an important new price signal for energy storage and flexibility.
This new joint paper explores the application of time-stamped energy certificates (also called granular certificates or GCs) in electricity market design and the potential for this to accelerate the deployment of technologies that deliver clean energy when it is most needed.
Key findings are:
This paper is intended for energy policy makers, regulators, and other relevant industry stakeholders.
Nord Pool and Granular explore new market for renewable hourly certificates
Nord Pool and Granular are currently working closely to explore the possibility of establishing a market framework for trading hourly energy certificates.
The aim is to develop a spot market for hourly certificates to bring transparency, liquidity and efficiency to the expanding clean energy market.
Bruno Menu, one of the founders of Granular, says: “Demand for clean energy from consumers is at an all-time high, with major businesses pursuing commitments to source clean energy on a 24/7 basis. Enabling more organisations to achieve this goal will require a transparent and liquid market for hourly certificates.”
Julien Cossé, Director Strategy and Business Development at Nord Pool, adds: “25 years ago, Nord Pool invented the blueprint for electricity trading across Europe. Now we are working with Granular to explore a new concept for trading renewables that uses Nord Pool’s proven exchange infrastructure.
“Increasing need for clean energy requires us to incentivise 24/7 carbon-free production to fulfil a 24/7 demand, so that consumers can know that, at any given time, they are consuming carbon-free electricity. We believe hourly certificates can deliver that.”
Next will come the launch of market design workshops with market participants from various European countries. Great Britain will be a key focus, with workshops planned for early 2022.
Interested parties can contact exchange@granular-energy.com to learn more and register for the workshops.
Teemill among first companies to track hourly renewable electricity use
Sustainable e-commerce platform and clothing manufacturer Teemill is one of the first companies to track its renewable electricity use from supplier Good Energy in real time. Teemill can now track exactly where its electricity is sourced from every hour of the day, achieving renewable matching for over 95% of the time in an initial trial. Good Energy, powered by software provider Granular Energy, is matching renewable generation to Teemill’s consumption, and delivering this insight.
Good Energy has matched the company’s electricity usage to two generators, a hydro and an anaerobic digestor site, to achieve the initial 95% time-based matching. The new transparency further demonstrates Teemill’s commitment to sustainability and tracing its environmental footprint. Time-based matching improves the accuracy of Teemill’s carbon accounting by revealing the carbon intensity for each hour of activity.
Good Energy is one of the first energy suppliers in the UK to provide hourly sourcing to its customers. A longstanding critic of certificate based greenwashing in energy supply, time-based matching is a significant part of how it goes further to provide real renewable electricity.
Ordinarily ‘100% renewable’ electricity supply is guaranteed via unit-based certificates (such as REGOs) to match customers’ demand over 12 months — which does not reflect the physical reality of energy system or help integrate renewables . Good Energy has always forecast customer demand to match with the output of the +1700 renewable generators it sources power from in half hour units, successfully achieving around 90% real-time matching for several years. The Granular Energy platform is now taking this a step further by giving Good Energy’s customer Teemill visibility into their hourly matching.
Nigel Pocklington, CEO of Good Energy, said: “There is widespread agreement that the unit-based system we have now, where certificates can be traded without suppliers buying renewable power, is not fit for purpose. Moving to a time-based certification system is an essential part of cracking down on greenwashing and giving customers the true picture of where their energy is coming from.
“Given Good Energy has been matching renewable generation to customer demand in this way for years, it is right that we take the lead in this space. Thanks to Granular Energy, we are now able to do that with a perfect pilot partner in Teemill.”
Granular Energy’s portfolio management platform allows Good Energy to manage, optimize and allocate certified production to consumption on an hourly basis. This provides Good Energy a foundation to create a 24/7 carbon free energy offering to end-customers. The company is amongst the first users of the platformy alongside some of the world’s biggest energy companies.
Toby Ferenczi, co-founder of Granular Energy, commented: “Thanks to Good Energy, Teemill has become one of the first companies to be able to see where their electricity comes from each day. This matters because by striving for round-the-clock clean energy supply they are accelerating the shift to a carbon-free energy system.”
Mart Drake-Knight, co-founder of Teemill, said: “We look at our business as a system and within that system we look to drive positive impacts in every area, especially in our use of resources and energy. Being able to track our energy use this way means we not only know what we’re using, but where it is coming from, just as we do with the materials we use to make our clothing. That means all our partners, from major companies and international charities to the smallest operations, can have total confidence in our supply chain.”
This project contributes to the global drive towards greater transparency in energy procurement, known as ‘24/7 carbon-free energy.’ Recently, organisations such as Google, Microsoft and the US Federal Government have made commitments to source carbon-free energy on an hour-by-hour basis, in an effort to have greater carbon reducing impact through their energy purchases.
Granular Energy is a start-up providing solutions for 24/7 clean energy. Granular Energy’s team of experienced professionals, with backgrounds in energy and financial markets, is developing solutions to facilitate the transition to 24/7 energy sourcing for electricity suppliers and corporate consumers. Granular Energy’s mission is to accelerate the transition to a carbon-free electricity system.
Good Energy is a generator and supplier of 100% renewable power and an innovator in energy services. Since it was founded over 20 years ago, the company has been at the forefront of the charge towards a cleaner, distributed energy system. Its mission is to support UK households and businesses generate, store and share clean power. The company boasts a 100% renewable energy mix, provided by 1,700 independent generators of wind, biogeneration, solar and hydroelectric power. Its support for renewables was recognised last year when it topped the Which? Eco Providers table comparing the sustainability of energy suppliers. Based in Chippenham, Wiltshire, it employs more than 250 staff and has more than 270,000 customers. Visit www.goodenergy.co.uk
Founded in 2014, Teemill is the world’s biggest dedicated circular economy e-commerce and supply chain platform. It works with more than 10,000 brands, including global NGOs and businesses, media, online content creators, influencers and side hustlers, providing an open-access circular design and supply chain platform. Its users include Greenpeace, WWF, BBC Earth, Google, Selfridges, Fortnum and Mason, and Lush.
Find out more and see how products are made at teemill.com
New system to track electricity by the hour launched in Great Britain
A consortium of leading energy organisations led by hourly certificate focused start-up Granular and including European power market Nord Pool, Elexon, Energy System Catapult and Unicorn, is launching a new mechanism for hourly renewable energy certificates in Great Britain.
The move comes off the back of a global drive towards greater transparency in energy procurement, known as ‘24/7 carbon-free energy.’ Recently, organisations such as Google, Microsoft and the US Federal Government have made commitments to source carbon-free energy on an hour-by-hour basis, in an effort to have greater carbon reducing impact through their energy purchases.
In existing energy certificate schemes, such as the UK’s Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO), renewable generation and consumption are matched on an annual basis. This fails to reflect the ‘real world’ situation, where the availability of renewable energy fluctuates from hour-to-hour.
The certification system, which has been designed to comply with the EnergyTag guidelines, will allow participants to receive hourly certificates for their power generation in the Certigy registry, managed by established Guarantee of Origin registry provider Unicorn.
Using Granular’s management platform, energy users will be able to verify, for the first time, where their electricity is coming from on an hourly basis. Participants will also be able trade these hourly certificates bilaterally or on a centralised auction managed jointly by Granular and Nord Pool, to improve their level of hourly matching. The mechanism will also allow participation for storage, so that certificates can be stored and re-issued later. These certificates, combined with an exchange to trade individual hours, will create an important price signal that drives investment in the technologies needed to reach a fully carbon-free grid.
The new certification system will be initially launched as a pilot project, which will start at the end of April with a series of stakeholder engagement workshops and is still open to new participants.
Nicholas Rubin, market architect at Elexon said: “Great Britain has committed to achieving a fully decarbonised power system by 2035. In order to accelerate this transition, Elexon is supporting initiatives that contribute toward decarbonising the power sector and achieving net-zero.”
National Grid ESO and Energy System Catapult are also supporting this new initiative, realising the potential benefit that an hourly signal on renewable availability can bring to the whole electric system.
Toby Ferenczi, co-founder of Granular, commented: “Hourly energy tracking is vital to building trust in clean energy claims and creates a razor-sharp price signal that will accelerate investment in the technologies needed to deliver clean energy 24/7 worldwide.”
Julien Cossé, Director Strategy and Business Development at Nord Pool, added “Nord Pool is very excited to support Granular in exploring a centralised exchange for hourly energy certificates, providing the trust, transparency and liquidity that nascent market needs. As a pioneer of power markets in Europe, working with Granular is a natural fit for Nord Pool.”
Filip Král, Certigy Product Manager at Unicorn, said “Providing Certigy registry for this exciting initiative was a no-brainer for us. We are certain that granular certification is the next big step in evolution of EAC.”
To find out more email: gb-demonstrator@granular-energy.com
24/7 clean energy describes the ambition to have 24/7 Carbon-free Energy (CFE), meaning that every kilowatt-hour of electricity consumption is met with carbon-free electricity sources, every hour of every day, everywhere.
Hourly certificates are a system available for consumers to verify their electricity source on an hourly basis.
EnergyTag is an independent, non-profit, industry-led initiative to define and build a market for hourly electricity certificates that enables energy users to verify the source of their electricity and carbon emissions hour by hour. The Granular GB scheme will comply with the latest version of the guidelines published by EnergyTag.
The UN 24/7 Carbon Compact is an ambitious global programme to accelerate the decarbonisation of the world’s electricity systems to mitigate climate change.
Guarantees of Origin (GO) are green labels or ‘trackers’ that guarantee one MWh of electricity as having been produced from renewable energy sources.
Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin (REGO) is the UK declination of the European Guarantees of Origin scheme.
Joint Energy System Catapult and Elexon report on carbon tracking : Energy System Catapult published a joint report (‘Accurately Tracking Carbon in Electricity Markets’) in autumn 2021, jointly authored with Elexon. The report recommended that carbon should be tracked through the electricity system in real time and space from generator to consumer. This would help to rid the market of greenwashing energy tariffs and accelerate decarbonisation of the power system by 2035. This is very much in line with the approach being developed by EnergyTag.
Granular is a start-up providing solutions for 24/7 clean energy. Granular’s team of experienced professionals, with backgrounds in energy and financial markets, is developing solutions to facilitate the transition to 24/7 energy sourcing for electricity suppliers and corporate consumers. Granular’s mission is to accelerate the transition to a carbon-free electricity system.
Nord Pool, Europe’s leading power market, delivers efficient, simple and secure trading across Europe. The company, which is majority owned by Euronext, offers day-ahead and intraday trading, clearing and settlement, and additional services, to customers regardless of size or location. Today 360 companies from 20 countries trade on Nord Pool’s markets.
Nord Pool operates markets in the Nordic and Baltic regions, Germany, Poland, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg and the UK. Nord Pool is a Nominated Electricity Market Operator (NEMO) in 15 European countries, while also servicing power markets in Bulgaria, Croatia and Georgia. In 2021 Nord Pool had a total turnover of 963 TWh traded power.
National Grid ESO – a legally separate business within the National Grid group – operates Great Britain’s electricity system today, whilst building a clean, green and fairer system for tomorrow.
It moves electricity around the country’s high-voltage network to balance supply and demand in real-time, using a mix of power generation sources to make sure electricity is available wherever and whenever it’s needed.
National Grid ESO is operating one of the fastest decarbonising, and most reliable, electricity systems in the world and its goal is that by 2025 it will be able to run the system with 100% zero carbon-generated electricity. It is at the heart of the transition to net-zero.
Unicorn is a renowned European company providing the largest information systems and solutions in the area of information and communication technologies. We are focused on providing solutions, which provide a high added value while also delivering a competitive business advantage to its clients. We have been serving our clients since 1990 and over the years, we have developed a number of high-end, large-scale solutions, which are being used to serve the IT needs of important companies in many of the key sectors of the economy. Moreover, we provide the Plus4U Internet service in which we offer a large portfolio of services based on robust software solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises, and end users.
Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) is a net zero innovation centre, set up to accelerate the transformation of the UK’s energy system and ensure UK businesses and consumers capture the opportunities of clean growth. As an independent, not-for-profit centre of excellence ESC bridges the gap between industry, government, academia and research. ESC takes a whole-system view of the energy sector, to identify and address innovation priorities and market barriers, in order to decarbonise the energy system at the lowest cost.
Elexon is vital to the operation of the wholesale electricity market. We compare how much electricity generators and suppliers said they would produce or consume with actual volumes. We work out a price for the difference and transfer funds accordingly. This involves taking 1.25 million meter readings every day. The rules are set out in the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC). We administer the Code and provide and procure the services needed to implement it. Our expertise and impartiality give our customers the confidence that the BSC operates efficiently and accurately.
How green is your electricity? Granular Energy and partners launch hourly certificates project in Germany
Berlin/Hamburg/Paris - 11th May 2023
To reach a carbon-free future, the integration of more and more electricity from renewable sources is crucial. Energy certificates with higher granularity can make an important contribution to this by creating prices signals that encourage the use of grid-friendly technologies such as energy storage or flexible charging of electric vehicles.
Green electricity pioneer LichtBlick, the transmission system operator 50Hertz and the start-up Granular Energy have started a pilot project in Germany to enable hourly level transparency on green electricity sources. As part of the project, several corporate customers of LichtBlick can now track the hour at which they are purchasing green electricity from specific renewable generation plants thanks to a platform provided by Granular Energy. The energy certificates generated in this way are recorded in the 50Hertz ‘Energy Track and Trace’ registry.
Under existing energy certificate schemes, known as ‘Guarantees of Origin’ in the EU, consumers may purchase official certificates of clean electricity generation to show that they have consumed carbon-free energy. At present, consumers may match their total annual consumption with certificates produced at any point in the same year. This ‘annual matching’ fails to reflect the real-world situation, where the availability of renewable energy can fluctuate dramatically from hour-to-hour.
Many organisations are now seeking to source carbon-free energy on an hour-by-hour basis as part of a drive towards greater transparency in energy procurement and to have greater carbon reducing impact through their energy purchases.
The new certification system, which is intended to comply with the EnergyTag guidelines, will allow participants to receive time-stamped certificates for their power generation in the Energy Track and Trace registry, built and managed by the grid operator 50 Hertz.
Using Granular Energy’s platform, LichtBlick is able to manage these certificates in an automated way to give end-consumers full-transparency of where their energy is coming from down to the hourly level. Participants will also eventually be able trade these hourly certificates to improve their level of hourly matching. By allowing batteries to store and re-issue these certificates later, this new system creates an important price signal that drives investment in the flexible energy technologies needed to reach a fully carbon-free grid.
The new certification system is a pilot project that is still open to new participants. The first energy supplier to participate in the program is Lichtblick (part of the Dutch utility Eneco) who are using the system to deliver hour by hour transparency to some of their large corporate customers.
Dr Dirk Biermann, Managing Director Markets and System Operations at 50Hertz said: “In the 50Hertz grid area, we already have a 65% share of renewable energy in annual electricity consumption. On the way to 100 percent, we need additional market-based instruments to set the right investment incentives. In the current system, consumers can claim to consume solar energy during the night. Going forward, the market and the physical reality must move closer together.”
Enno Wolf, COO at LichtBlick, added “Guarantees of origin are the birth certificate of green electricity. They create transparency and prevent the double marketing of green electricity. So far, however, the certificates do not guarantee that the green electricity assigned to a customer is generated at the time of consumption. This is where the system can and must be improved. With our project, we demonstrate that an hourly reconciliation of generation and consumption is possible.”
Bart Zomer, Director of Operations and IT at Eneco Energy Trade said “We believe that energy certificates can play a key role in supporting the energy transition. We are happy to support innovation projects such as this that can help to drive change.”
Toby Ferenczi, co-founder of Granular Energy, commented: “It is essential that consumers can choose renewable energy over fossil fuels in a way that is credible and has a real impact in accelerating the transition to a carbon-free energy system. Hourly energy tracking creates a razor-sharp price signal for the technologies that deliver clean energy when it is most needed, such as energy storage.”
To find out more email: info@granular-energy.com
Notes to Editors
24/7 clean energy describes the ambition to have 24/7 Carbon-free Energy (CFE), meaning that every kilowatt-hour of electricity consumption is met with carbon-free electricity sources, every hour of every day, everywhere.
Hourly certificates are a system available for consumers to verify their electricity source on an hourly basis.
EnergyTag is an independent, non-profit, industry-led initiative to define and build a market for hourly electricity certificates that enables energy users to verify the source of their electricity and carbon emissions hour by hour. The Granular GB scheme will comply with the latest version of the guidelines published by EnergyTag.
The UN 24/7 Carbon Free Energy Compact is an ambitious global programme to accelerate the decarbonisation of the world’s electricity systems to mitigate climate change.
Guarantees of Origin (GO) are green labels or ‘trackers’ that guarantee one MWh of electricity as having been produced from renewable energy sources.
50Hertz operates the electricity transmission grid in northern and eastern Germany, expanding it as required for the energy transition. Our high-voltage grid has a length of over 10,000 kilometers - the distance from Berlin to Rio de Janeiro. The 50Hertz network area includes the federal states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia as well as the city states of Berlin and Hamburg. In these regions, 50Hertz, with around 1,600 employees, secures the electricity supply for 18 million people around the clock. 50Hertz is a leader in the safe integration of renewable energies: In our grid area, we want to reach 100 percent renewable energy safely by the year 2032. The shareholders of 50Hertz are the listed Belgian holding company Elia Group (80 percent) and the KfW banking group with 20 percent. As a European transmission system operator, 50Hertz is a member of the European association ENTSO-E.
Eneco is an international energy company committed to accelerating the energy transition. Our One Planet Plan forms the basis for our ambition to be completely climate-neutral as early as 2035, in terms of both our own and our customers’ energy consumption. This requires radical electrification, phasing out natural gas in the production and supply of energy and accelerating sustainable heat. We invest in sustainable means of production, energy storage possibilities and smart energy solutions for consumers and businesses. Together we work on everyone’s sustainable energy.
LichtBlick started 25 years ago as a pioneer for renewable energies. Today, LichtBlick is Germanys leading provider for green energy and supplies more than 1.7 million people nationwide (equivalent to around one million energy contracts) with climate-neutral energy for home and mobility. More than 500 LichtBlick employees develop products and services for a climate-neutral lifestyle. In 2021, LichtBlick achieved a turnover of 1.14 billion euros. LichtBlick is part of the Dutch energy transition pioneer Eneco. www.lichtblick.de
Granular Energy is a software company that provides solutions for energy companies to manage and trade clean electricity, enabling full transparency for consumers on where their energy comes from. Granular Energy’s team of experienced professionals, with backgrounds in energy and financial markets, is developing solutions to accelerate the transition to a 24/7 carbon-free electricity system. Granular Energy’s software is currently used by many leading energy companies in 6 countries so far. www.granular-energy.com