Best 6 real-time energy intelligence platforms (2024)

Wherever there’s electricity generation, storage and processing, there’s data. Lots of data. But data can be pretty useless when it’s not actionable. To make it actionable, turning data into intelligence is key. Especially in an industry like renewable energy, where both large as well as small/medium scale energy plants require fast decision-making in real-time.

Which begs the question, how do we turn raw electricity production data into actionable energy intelligence? The simple answer to that: by using a real-time energy intelligence platform. To help you pick the right platform, we’ve compared the top 6 real-time energy intelligence platforms in the market today, and highlighted their key differences. 

The platforms we discuss – in no particular order – are the following:

• Helin
• SynaptiQ
• Dexter Energy
• Simpl Energy
• Kraken Tech
• Navitasoft

Quick recap: what’s a real-time energy intelligence platform? 

A real-time energy intelligence platform is a software tool that helps monitor, analyze, and improve energy generation, consumption and management. It gives businesses insights into all the raw data from their renewable energy assets. This helps them make smart decisions on how to generate and handle energy more efficiently.

Key features of a real-time energy intelligence platform include:

• Collecting data from renewable energy assets
• Integrating data with energy management systems
• Real-time monitoring for more useful and timely insights
• Visualizing data properly with graphs and tables
• Giving timely, relevant and actionable alerts
• Generating easy to interpret reports

A real-time energy intelligence platform helps organizations manage their electricity generation and consumption better, and supports them in becoming more sustainable, cost-effective and profitable. 

In order to handle the vast amounts of data most energy businesses work with, they will also need to base their energy intelligence on a modern, scalable technological infrastructure like edge computing. It’s an important feature to look out for when selecting your next energy intelligence platform.

The importance of real-time energy intelligence and its benefits

The energy spot market is increasingly volatile, due to higher penetration of energy sources like wind and solar. Environmental awareness is growing fast, and legislation within the energy sector is becoming more and more complex. Efficiency is more critical than ever. That’s why real-time energy monitoring and analysis is such a powerful tool, right now.

Here are some of the main benefits of using real-time energy intelligence that will help you run your energy business better:

‍1. Enhanced efficiency. This is one of the biggest benefits, for sure, as it actually leads to revenue increases. Real-time energy intelligence simply helps energy businesses find inefficiencies in real-time and fix them quickly, preventing any unplanned downtime. 

2. Environmental sustainability. Real-time energy intelligence software helps optimize the generation of clean electricity. This is crucial when we consider the future of our planet and the world we are leaving for the next generations. Achieving this vision demands that we significantly expand our clean energy capacity, which requires 7.1 TW of capacity to be installed by 2030.

3. Grid management. Real-time intelligence helps in balancing supply (generation) and demand (consumption) on the grid, facilitating better integration of renewable energy sources and reducing the risk of blackouts or overloads of the already congested electricity grid.

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4. Regulatory compliance. Real-time monitoring (and control), through edge computing, enables compliance with energy-related regulations, like the Dutch Real Time Interface (link). Data quality is of utmost importance for this, and real-time energy intelligence platforms structures raw asset data as usable information.

5. Remote monitoring and control. Real-time energy intelligence software allows energy businesses to access data and manage devices from anywhere. This leads to greater flexibility and decision-making. The only thing you need is the right platform and an internet connection. 

In 2024, real-time intelligence monitoring is exceptionally important because it brings actionable insights, efficiency, cost-saving, and sustainability support to organizations functioning in a complex field. This is especially true for businesses operating in the renewable energy sector.

Best 6 real-time energy intelligence platforms right now

Now that the benefits of a real-time intelligence platform are a bit clearer, it's time to compare some options. Here are the top 6 real-time energy intelligence platforms available right now.

1. Helin

We kick off the list with Helin – that’s us by the way. Our platform specializes in the renewable energy industry, facilitating efficient and real-time aggregation, standardization, and unification of your production data. It does this based on edge computing, a highly scalable – and future-proof – technical infrastructure.

Helin gives clear insights into your production data and enhances operational efficiency with a standardized way of working. This will also help you comply with relevant energy-related legislation.

We have to admit, Helin is a bit of an odd one out in this list. The thing is: most of the time, Helin is complementary to the other platforms mentioned in this list, since we integrate and buffer energy data to a desired endpoint. The other 5 tools we list are such endpoints.

A big challenge in the market is the integration of assets, in particular the integration of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). Every week a new vendor enters the market. You don't want the hassle of having to keep up to date with the integration of these assets to endpoints, like the other 5 tools that we mention in this article.

Our real-time energy intelligence platform easily integrates multiple data sources and streams. And thanks to your new future-proof data infrastructure, you don’t have to change systems every 3 to 4 years. We’re even able to facilitate software updates of hardware, like inverters, over the air.

Interested in discovering how our edge intelligence platform can benefit your energy business? Check out our website or get in touch with one of our experts.

Website: https://www.helindata.com/ 

Business focus: Renewable energy, offshore & maritime. ‍

Key features:

• Smart grid manager
• Based on edge computing
• High fidelity telemetry data
• Load management / balancing
• Curtailment API
• Real-time interface (RTI)

2. SynaptiQ

SynaptiQ is powered by 3E and helps teams develop, monitor, and optimize renewable assets. Their platform is useful for all in the renewable energy landscape, from developers and operators to asset owners, O&M managers, and data specialists. 

This company operates 20,000 plant sites across 45 countries, and gives organizations a physics-based digital twin: a virtual replica that dynamically and accurately models the physical behavior of objects or systems in real-time.

Website: https://www.3e.eu/solutions/synaptiq

Focus: Renewable assets

Key features:

• Physics-based digital twin
• Solar irradiation data
• Virtual met mast
• Asset operations
• Solar analytics
• Wind analytics

3. Dexter Energy

Dexter Energy helps renewable energy companies optimize short-term trading with AI-powered forecasting, lowering risks and maximizing profits through smart bidding strategies.

They help customers get a better understanding of risk and uncertainty to make better-informed decisions when it comes to energy consumption.

Their real-time solution helps power traders optimize trades across different markets (day-ahead, intraday, and balancing) with features like generation forecasting, trade optimization, and flexibility optimization.

Website: https://dexterenergy.ai/. 

Business focus: Quantitative analysts, short-term traders, heads of trading. ‍

Key features:

• Generation forecast
• Trade optimization
• Flex optimization

4. Simpl Energy

Simpl Energy is a relatively new Dutch company that’s been getting quite some traction lately. They help you optimize your connection and energy system, so you avoid risks from grid constraints or increasing energy costs.

Their real-time energy intelligence platform gives you a clear overview, insights, 7-day forecasts, and enables control and optimization of your energy system.

Good to know: contracts can be terminated annually, they offer 24/7 service and operate independently of energy suppliers, hardware, and metering companies.

Website: https://simpl.energy/‍

Business focus: Companies with meters, charging stations, batteries, and inverters on location.‍

Key features:

• Overview of energy consumption
• Insights into energy peaks and costs
• 7-day forecasting
• Automated optimization 

5. Kraken Tech

Kraken is a real-time energy intelligence platform that automates many aspects of the energy supply chain. They focus on distribution utilities, asset management, customer utilities, and offshore wind. 

This software tool optimizes green generation, aids network management, improves field operations, and helps utilities deliver excellent customer experiences.

Kraken currently operates in 17 countries and manages over 160,000 devices. They enable the connection to and optimization of distributed energy resources (DERs), including electric vehicles (EVs) and home solar.

Website: https://kraken.tech/

Focus: Distribution utilities, asset management, customer utilities, offshore wind. ‍

Key features:

• DER control
• Extensive alerts 
• DER optimization 
• Reporting
• Network Intelligence  

6. Navitasoft

Navitasoft focuses on the Eastern Europe market. They provide real-time energy intelligence software for regulated electricity and gas market players. These businesses include transmission system operators, storage system operators, energy traders, shippers, and regulators.

Their real-time energy intelligence platform helps energy system operators monetize their gas and electricity transport and distribution infrastructures.

Navitasoft operates 15 underground natural gas storage sites. Their solution is divided into three suites: operator, trader, and communication. The platform is used by companies like HEP, the leading gas supplier in Croatia.

Website: https://navitasoft.com/en

Focus: Trading and system operators 

Key features:

• Advanced capacity management
• Contract management
• Nomination / scheduling

Why Helin is the best real-time energy intelligence platform for your organization

Do you work in the renewable energy industry and are you looking for a real-time energy intelligence platform based on edge computing technology? You should probably consider getting started with Helin’s edge intelligence solution. 

In short, Helin gives your organization insights into energy generation and consumption, helping you make smarter decisions to use energy more efficiently and save costs.

Want to know more about what our real-time intelligence platform can do for your organization? Get in touch with one of our experts and we’ll show you exactly how our real-time energy intelligence platform can support your business.

At the same time, you’d do well to take a closer look at all the other tools we listed. Dexter Energy, SynaptiQ by 3E, Simpl Energy, Kraken Tech, and Navitasoft are all amazing endpoint solutions that would work well in conjunction with Helin.

Need help deciding which way to go? We’d be happy to advise you on the best possible technological architecture for your energy business. Feel free to get in touch.