Meeting the demands of changing energy markets

Market complexity creates opportunity  

The energy sector is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by technical innovation, and as importantly, increasing market complexity. As the energy transition accelerates, the demand for efficient, automated trading strategies has never been greater. What’s more, it is clear that this momentum is building.  

From a personal perspective, we are nine months into the year, and our trading and optimisation platforms like Volue Algo Trader Power, Volue PowerBot and Volue Smart Power continue to experience record demand across Europe. Today, more than a third of European intraday trading volume and nearly a fifth of European power production is handled by our energy solutions, something I see as a remarkable achievement, and one that I am keen to build on.  

Building an open ecosystem  

This new reality has led to a shift in approach. Instead of keeping systems closed and protecting boundaries, our strategy has been to partner more widely. Consulting companies, other vendors, and start-ups are increasingly part of our wider ecosystem, which in turn is helping customers implement and expand their solutions. It is a more open and collaborative way of working and one that reflects the pace of change in the markets. 

Of course, regulation is another driver of change, and I would always say that it needs to be. With compliance requirements growing more complex, companies are reassessing their systems to ensure they remain on the right side of the rules. IT security is also rising in importance, with frameworks such as NIS2 setting higher standards across Europe. 

Enterprise-grade trading platforms now also play an essential role in helping companies remain compliant while managing risk effectively. At the same time, data has also become a central asset. Controlling and structuring data enables the machine learning needed for accurate forecasting in areas such as pricing, imbalance, and intraday trading. This creates a demand for fit-for-purpose solutions that can evolve to meet ever-changing market requirements. We are well placed to support this.  

Product innovation  

I would argue that we are the only provider offering deep optimisation capabilities that are integrated with proven trading execution. But we continue to invest heavily in our solutions to meet changing demands. Volue Algo Trader Power is well respected in the sector, helping energy producers, storage owners, traders, and marketers capture the volatility of the intraday power market. It comes with out-of-the-box algorithmic strategies but also offers extensive customisation and control, and integrates seamlessly with asset optimisation, scheduling, and in-house systems.  

Alongside this, Volue PowerBot was developed as a scalable execution platform for 24/7 trading on European short-term power markets. It is optimised for intraday continuous trading but also supports auction markets, giving traders a comprehensive solution for their daily operations. With a strong focus on market data and analytics, it serves as both a powerful foundation for quantitative trading desks and a preconfigured solution for plug-and-play trading needs. 

We also provide Volue Smart Power, a multi-asset optimisation and production planning system. By automating production planning and trading, it enables companies to increase revenues and capture more value from their generation and storage assets. 

For Smart Power, we use Nimbus as the operative user interface for the production planning process. This is used to view, analyse and edit data and to run optimisations and simulations of power plants. Looking further ahead, we have plans to update the Nimbus interface, and I will announce more on this next year. What I can say with confidence is that this new user interface will represent a major leap forward in design and usability, and when combined with advanced orchestration for multi-market trading, it promises to take automated energy trading to the next level. 

An industry at an inflection point  

The pace of change in energy markets is rapid. Volumes are shifting, new players are entering, and regulations are evolving. For professionals, it means working in a sector that is intellectually challenging and constantly demanding new solutions. For businesses, it means an opportunity to play a part in shaping the energy transition and to make a real impact on society and the future of our energy systems.  

Now more than ever, automated, data-driven solutions are at the heart of this progress. By continuing to innovate, expanding into new markets and collaborating across the ecosystem, Volue is positioning itself, and our customers, at the forefront of the future of energy trading.