Making private energy markets mainstream with e2 Energy Partners

What would it take for an energy-intensive UK manufacturer to stop worrying about the next wholesale gas price spike? And what would it take for a new renewable asset to secure a bankable, subsidy-free route to market?

At first glance, very different questions – but in this instance they had the exact same answer: a private energy market that connected the dots and realised the synergies between two mutually beneficial business cases.

But these weren’t blue chip tech giants or FTSE 100 mainstays – the types of companies usually able to create private energy markets. These two companies were Evtec, a major UK automotive manufacturer, and an 8MW solar park. Private energy markets aren’t usually feasible for businesses at this scale – so what made this time different?

This time the private market was built by experts at e2 Energy Partners using UrbanChain technology – and the result is 15 years’ price certainty for Evtec and a stable, bankable off-taker that gave the solar park the financial stability it needed.

But that’s just the start.

Manufacturing certainty

First, let’s look at the demand side of the equation. Energy-intensive manufacturers have lived through several years in which events outside their control have moved wholesale energy prices against them. We’ve explored the structural reasons behind this, and what we call the volatility tax, in our recent guide.

For Evtec, the issue was practical. Its three sites drive significant electricity demand, which the business wanted to match with renewable sources while keeping costs stable over the long term. The wholesale market couldn’t provide the certainty it needed.

Intermittent generation, stable commercials

On the other hand, a proposed 8MW solar park had a business case to build. For intermittent renewables, simply selling into the wholesale market is a highly uncertain strategy – and uncertainty is toxic to business cases and potential financers. In the past, subsidy programmes could have provided that certainty, and today large projects can bid into the government’s Contracts for Difference (CfD) auctions, but that’s not realistic for assets of this size. Similarly, traditional PPAs could provide price certainty, but the legal and operational costs associated also damage the economics for smaller assets while retaining shape and volume risks.

A private market built around long-term demand

Enter e2 Energy Partners – a specialist energy solutions provider closely acquainted with the manufacturer in question and well aware of the challenges faced on both sides.

Working alongside UrbanChain and leveraging our private market infrastructure technology, e2 created their own private market (learn more here), with Evtec as the anchor demand customer and the solar park as the anchor generator.

This structure is mutually supportive: Evtec provides the long-term contracted electricity requirement at the centre of the market. That demand gives the renewable generation a committed route to market.

The result is 15 years’ price certainty – protecting Evtec from energy price volatility for the long term and giving a guaranteed price for the generator.

What does that look like in practice?

Between January and April 2026, 10,027 MWh of energy was matched between renewable generation assets and Evtec’s three manufacturing sites.

Over the same period, 72% of its supply came from renewable generation, and that proportion is increasing. Every renewable kWh matched is sourced from a named UK generator and traced on a half-hourly basis. That half-hourly visibility sits alongside the 15-year commodity price agreement and protection from wholesale gas market price shocks.

But the most important number – as argued by e2’s Stephen Todd on our recent webinar – is zero: the number of minutes Evtec’s board will need to dedicate to discussing energy procurement and risk for the next decade and a half.

Making private energy markets mainstream

Together, UrbanChain and e2 Energy Partners made a private market a viable option for businesses that would usually be locked out. In doing so, we provided a level of traceability, affordability and price stability usually impossible for all but the biggest companies.

Private markets are now a proven option for UK businesses and organisations of all sizes, giving consumers and generators alike greater agency, visibility and control.

Read the full Evtec case study or talk to UrbanChain about whether a private energy market could work for you here.

Key takeaways