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What is price curve integration?

Price curve integration allows you to optimize your assets using localized flex prices provided by Axle, while maintaining full control over your optimization logic and constraints. This allows you to retain your existing control systems, while unlocking new revenue streams by responding to market signals. Price curve

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How it works

For each site, Axle provides a half-hourly price curve that combines different market incentives we’re exposed to. These prices reflect:
  • Wholesale energy prices: Day-ahead and intraday market prices
  • Ancillary services: Demand response and reserve products
  • Local flexibility requirements: DNO flex opportunities localized to that site
You integrate these prices into your existing optimization logic, allowing you to make cost-optimal decisions while respecting all your local constraints.

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How will Axle participate in markets with my assets?

When we use a price curve, we’re not directly controlling your asset. Instead, we bid into markets based on the flexibility we expect to be available, given the price-responsive behavior of your asset. Since we don’t know exactly how your asset will respond to price signals, we typically participate in a fairly conservative way which protects us from non-delivery risk. When using price-curve dispatch, our default is to participate via the site’s boundary meter. This avoids the need for you to provide asset data, maximising speed to market.

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Why use price curves?

Price curve integration is ideal when:
  • You have existing optimization: You’re already running control algorithms for your assets
  • Local constraints matter: You have constraints that are difficult to surface to external systems (e.g., minimum hot water tank temperature, user preferences, battery state of charge)
  • You want control: You prefer to maintain direct control over asset operations
  • Privacy is important: Sensitive or local variables remain in your system; you pull the price curve and optimize accordingly, without sending us any data about the ongoing operations of the site
With price curve integration, Axle doesn’t receive direct feedback on whether you’ve dispatched the asset as instructed. This means we bid more conservatively in markets, as our ability to compensate for non-delivery is lower. For maximum revenue potential, consider event-based or delegated control approaches.

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Comparison with other dispatch methods

Event-based dispatch

Short-lived flexibility events in response to grid signals. Suitable for infrequent, temporary interruptions.

Delegated control

Axle takes full responsibility for asset operation over extended periods. Ideal when you want to fully outsource optimization to Axle.

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Supported asset types

Price curve integration works with:
  • Heating: incorporate into existing thermal optimization
  • EV Chargers: incorporate into an existing smart charging algorithm
  • Batteries: optimize for arbitrage within an existing optimization

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Getting started

Ready to integrate? Our tutorial walks you through:
  1. Onboarding a site with an asset
  2. Retrieving your first price curve
  3. Offboarding sites and assets
For detailed API specifications, see the API Reference section.