The challenge

Ecotricity is the UK’s greenest energy provider, on a stated mission to end fossil fuels and replace them with sustainable, renewable power. Its operations team recognised the need for a more flexible, scalable way to manage a diverse range of energy assets and participate in the dynamic energy market. It also envisioned a solution that would empower asset owners to streamline their operations and accelerate innovation.

Key objectives

• Deliver easy asset control over a secure API
• Create a reliable and flexible scheduling system
• Achieve real-time asset reporting to a resolution of 20Hz

Our response

A robust platform was needed to enable the flow of data between supplied hardware and the energy assets themselves. Our bespoke solution is called Ecolink. Hosted on AWS, it’s device-agnostic and creates a comprehensive API for multiple asset types, with real-time control and monitoring. Fully scalable, it allows further assets and types to be added with minimal effort.

"As this is an integral part of our business proposition we are very grateful that through this process we have actually enhanced our product offering, and look forward to continuing to work with Bluetel going forwards."

The key features of Ecolink:

• Asset-agnostic API: decoupling control logic from specific asset types promotes code reusability and maintainability. Diverse assets, including batteries and renewable energy farms, can all be integrated, reducing development time and costs
• Scheduling system: reliable and flexible, Ecolink schedules tasks seamlessly, even when they need to be overridden or modified at short notice
• Real-time control and monitoring: Ecolink leverages MQTT technology to submit instructions and receive real-time updates from any asset
• Failure handling/recovery: the extreme nature of the infrastructure means occasional losses of connectivity or data are expected. The platform is designed to handle them correctly and react quickly to mitigate them
• Scalability: Adapting effortlessly to handle a growing number of users, assets and data volumes

Key technologies used:

• AWS API Gateway
• AWS Cognito
• AWS DynamoDB
• AWS Lambda
• AWS AppSync
• AWS Elastic Container Service
• OpenVPN
• AWS IoT Core
• AWS Cloudwatch
• AWS CDK
• Azure DevOps

Our involvement in the project ran deeper than design and build, to ensure every element of the new architecture worked together for the benefit of Ecotricity.

The outcome

Ecolink enables Ecotricity and its partners to optimise operations, create efficiencies and drive profitability.

• 🔐 Control of assets over a secure API
• 📆 Reliable and flexible scheduling system
• ⚡️ Real time reporting of assets to a resolution of 20Hz

The Boost

Our specialised knowledge and experience ensured a seamless integration of assets, hardware and software, to minimise what would otherwise have been a significant drain on the client’s time and resources.