What does Optimax Energy actually do? A look behind the scenes!

Imagine this: You're sitting comfortably on the sofa, scrolling through TikTok, and suddenly - shock - your phone's battery is at 2%. You quickly grab the charger and off you go again!

But have you ever wondered how it is that electricity is so reliably available in Germany? Whether for your cell phone, fridge or the hospital around the corner - we take electricity for granted. But there is much more going on behind the scenes than you might think!

The importance of a stable power grid

In countries like Pakistan or Sri Lanka, for example, there are regular power cuts. But why not here? It's because of our stable electricity grid. For everything to function smoothly, our electricity grid in Europe must always remain in balance - at a frequency of 50 Hertz, to be precise.

The amount of electricity that is consumed must always correspond to the amount that is being produced.

This frequency is like the “Hertz-beat” (pun intended) of the electricity grid: if it remains stable, the electricity flows without any problems. But: The amount of electricity that is consumed must always correspond to the amount that is currently being produced. This is because the balance can only be maintained if output and input are balanced - otherwise there is a risk of power outages.

Optimax Energy and the challenge of renewable energies

Our job at Optimax Energy is to ensure that electricity is always available exactly when it is needed. This may sound simple, but it is not always the case. Large factories or power plants are often pretty good at predicting how much electricity they will consume or produce. Renewable energies, however, which are weather-dependent, are rather difficult to plan (you know how (un)reliable your weather app is...) and it gets tricky.

Technologies to forecast and stabilize the power grid

Luckily, we love tricky challenges at Optimax Energy! That's why we use huge amounts of data - from weather forecasts to historical consumption data - to create the most accurate forecasts possible.

And this is where energy trading comes into play: as electricity cannot be stored in large quantities, we have to constantly ensure that supply and demand are in balance. We then trade in electricity, buying and selling it so that the grid remains stable. Because if the forecast is not right and there is suddenly too little electricity, it becomes expensive - for us and for consumers, as balancing energy has to be purchased.

We trade in electricity, buying and selling it so that the electricity grid remains stable.

Renewable energies - and how we deal with them

You might be thinking: “Great, solar and wind energy will make everything even more unpredictable and expensive.” That's what many people thought at first. In the 2000s, it was believed that solar and wind power were too expensive, too uncertain and too risky for our electricity grid. But now comes the plot twist! Thanks to modern technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, we can now make incredibly accurate predictions.

Our predictions are now so good that we need less and less expensive balancing power - while the share of renewable energy continues to rise. In the first half of 2024, renewable energies already accounted for over 60% of electricity production in Germany! This shows that a sustainable electricity grid is not only possible - we are working every day to make it even more efficient.

In the first half of 2024, renewable energies already accounted for over 60% of electricity production in Germany!

Our everyday life at Optimax Energy

So what do we do all day at Optimax Energy? In short: we analyze data, trade electricity and ensure that the grid remains stable. We now trade an annual volume of around 18,000,000 MWh, which is roughly equivalent to the electricity consumption of the whole of Croatia. State-of-the-art technologies help us to do this.

Algorithms handle almost all of the trading so that we can concentrate on constantly improving these technologies. Because the more precise our forecasts are, the more stable the grid remains and the more renewable energies can be integrated.

So, next time you're charging your phone, remember: behind this simple action is a complex network of data, predictions - and yes, a little bit of Optimax Energy magic too! 😉✨