The Energy Crisis Was Not a Surprise

Why long-term thinking and private energy markets have kept Evtec Group ahead of one of manufacturing's most pressing risks.

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

Evtec Group  ·  UK's Largest HPDC Facility  ·  Energy  ·  Renewables

200+ CNC Machines	36 Furnaces (Gas & Electric)		8MW On-site Solar Farm
15yr Energy Contract Secured		0 Emergency Energy Board Meetings

Energy prices across the UK remain 35–40% above pre-crisis levels despite modest relief in early 2026. For heavy industrial users, the picture is even starker: UK businesses already pay the highest industrial electricity prices in Europe — some 46% above the IEA member-country median. Add geopolitical shocks, Middle Eastern supply disruptions, and grid infrastructure costs set to rise by up to 90% in certain regions, and the outlook is deeply uncertain for any organisation that has not planned ahead.

For Evtec Group — the UK's largest High Pressure Die Casting (HPDC) facility, home to over 200 CNC machines, four gas furnaces, and 32 electric holding furnaces — energy is not a peripheral concern. It is central to everything we do.

“I have always believed that the inexorable trend is for energy to become progressively more expensive as demand outstrips supply — compounded by crisis in geopolitics.”

That conviction, shaped by years working at the intersection of fusion energy, power management, and global energy markets, formed the strategic foundation for a decision made well before the crisis peaked: secure a long-term electricity contract at low cost, with the majority sourced from renewable energy.

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At the heart of this strategy is an 8MW solar farm providing approximately 25% of Evtec’s total electricity demand. Alongside this, our gas supply is substantially hedged across the coming years — insulating the business from the price spikes that have sent emergency board meetings cascading through boardrooms across UK manufacturing.

This was one of the UK’s first private energy market arrangements of its kind — a structure normally accessible only to the very largest organisations, and one that required genuine foresight to put in place when the market conditions existed to do so.

~25% Demand from Solar

0 Energy Crisis Board Meetings

15yr Price Stability Horizon

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The Private Energy Market Model

Working with E2 Energy Partners and Urban Chain, Evtec’s private energy market operates using blockchain technology — enabling low-cost, stable, and fully traceable green energy procurement. Every unit consumed is verifiable. Every contract term is locked.

The result is energy that is clean in origin, competitive in cost, and certain in price — for fifteen years. In a landscape where nine out of ten UK businesses report that energy price volatility has driven profits down, this is a transformative strategic advantage.

The technology removes the opacity that has long characterised wholesale energy markets. Blockchain-verified procurement means Evtec can trace the provenance of every kilowatt hour — not just claim it.

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The strategic value of this position cannot be overstated. Energy risk has become one of the most acute threats facing UK manufacturers. Businesses locked into high-priced contracts from 2022 are now renewing at rates still dramatically above pre-crisis norms. Those on variable tariffs face a market where a single geopolitical event — an Iranian supply disruption, a cold snap, a calm fortnight without wind — can move prices 30% in weeks.

Evtec has none of these concerns. There are no emergency board meetings on energy. No crisis calls with finance directors. No forced conversations about whether to pass costs to customers. Energy, for us, has become one less major risk to manage — freeing leadership bandwidth to focus on innovation, growth, and the operational excellence that defines our position in the market.

This is what genuine strategic planning looks like. Not reacting to a crisis after it arrives. Building the structures — years in advance — to ensure it never arrives on your doorstep.

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“One less major worry.”

Low cost. Stable. Traceable. Green. For fifteen years

E2 Energy Partners  ·  Urban Chain  ·  Evtec Group