Artelys

France

Brief Description:

Artelys is an SME (more than 50 employees in 2016) whose headquarters are located in Paris and has offices in Montreal (Canada), Chicago, Los Angeles (USA) and London (UK). It is recognized as a world-class software edition company which specialises in optimisation, decision-support and modelling. The tools developed by Artelys are used by decision-makers and analysts all along the energy value chain (European Commission, local authorities, TSOs, national regulatory agencies, utilities, energy ministries and agencies,etc.).

Artelys’ product portfolio is structured as follows:

1. Software edition for energy systems modelling and optimisation

Artelys has a proven trackrecord of providing quality software, both for:

its off-the-shelf software solutions such as the Artelys Crystal suite dedicated to energy and used worldwide by local and global policy makers, TSOs and regulators.
its tailor-made solutions such as production asset management software used by key players in the energy sector such as ELIA, Dalkia, Eon France, and EDF.

In particular, Artelys has developed the METIS software suite for the European Commission, providing state-of-the-art energy system simulation and optimisation capabilities with a user-friendly interface, allowing the DG ENER to study complex market design and European regulatory questions.

2. Consultancy services for the energy sector

Since its creation in 2000, Artelys has partnered with numerous key players in the energy sector, developing its unique techno-economic approach to energy problems.

Artelys has conducted many studies for both the private and the public sector with references such as the European Commission, the Ademe (environment and energy agency), the CRE (energy regulator), the ATEE (industry association), RTE, GrDF, Enedis, EPEX Spot, etc. Artelys has demonstrated an excellent knowledge of global energy challenges through many consultancy missions in system optimization and energy policy impact assessment (regulatory survey, cost-benefit analysis, asset valuation, market design impact assessment, prospective scenarios, etc.).

Artelys has demonstrated an excellent knowledge of local energy challenges through the development of Artelys Crystal City, a software solution dedicated to multi-energy systems optimisation at a localscale (cities, regions). Artelys has partnered with major metropolises (Paris, Lyon, Lille, Rennes, Grenoble, Bologna, etc.) to elaborate their energy master plan, modelling complex urbanism and energy problems. In this context, Artelys has demonstrated expert insights in local distribution networks sizing, bridging the gap between local authorities and network operators.

3. Development and distribution of numerical optimization tools

Artelys is a world-class leader in mathematical optimisation and numerical analysis, developing numerical components such as Artelys Knitro, the world’s most advanced solver for large-scale nonlinear mathematical optimisation problems (NLP) and Artelys Kalis Constraint programming solver for large combinatorial problems (CP). Artelys is also the distributor of Fico Xpress Optimization Suite and AMPL, industry-leading solutions for solving complex optimisation problems. Artelys provides consultancy services in various sectors (transportation, logistics, defence) where complex numerical problems lie at the forefront of algorithmics and data science. Artelys also provides training in optimisation, statistical analysis, and mathematical modelling.

Main task and responsibilities:

In INSULAE, Artelys will play a major role in the development of the Investment Planning Tool (IPT):

Specification and design of the tool:
As a software edition company, Artelys is continuously engaged in the specification and design of software solutions. In the case of INSULAE, Artelys will adapt existing software solutions of the Artelys Crystal suite so as to be able to capture the peculiarities of geographic island energy systems.
Artelys has gained substantial experience in dealing with such systems (Artelys’ tools are for example TOPIC: LC-SC3-ES-4-2018-2020 Proposal for an Innovation Action – INSULAE 81 used on a daily basis on the Mayotte island), and therefore understands the main challenges to be tackled when designing an energy planning tool (e.g. nature of the stochastic uncertainties, security of supply issues, etc.)
Multi-energy modelling:
Since the creation of the Artelys Crystal modelling platform, Artelys has advocated for the use of a multi-energy framework, recognising the value of the synergies between energy carriers and their networks. In an insular context, exploiting such synergies can lead to substantial cost reductions (e.g. by exploiting the flexibility of electric vehicle charging to avoid the use of expensive fossil-based generation units).
Representation of stochasticity:
Recognising the challenges posed by the uncertainty of production and consumption patterns in geographic insular systems is essential if the energy planning is to be robust. The tools developed by Artelys are based on chronological time-series (8760 consecutive time-steps per climatic year by default), which provide an accurate description of the role of flexibility solutions in different weather/outage conditions. The INSULAE tool will benefit from Artelys’ expertise in the mathematical treatment of stochastic patterns.
Library of smart energy assets:
Artelys has a deep knowledge of available smart energy technologies, and has represented a number of different solutions in its software products. This library of smart energy assets will be enriched by Artelys thanks to the interaction with the other members of the INSULAE consortium.
Packaging of the IPT tool and interaction with third party tools:
Artelys regularly releases new tools, or new versions of its software products. Artelys’ staff is therefore well aware to the needs of end-users in terms of documentation, training and import/export capabilities of the tool. In the context of INSULAE, Artelys will ensure the imports and exports functions are userfriendly and that they are tailored to be used in conjunction with third party tools (e.g. specialised software solutions to study grid stability issues).
Support of islands in the use of the tool to design their energy strategy:
As a software edition company, Artelys has designed a systematic way to support its clients and endusers. Training sessions are regularly organised, e.g. via videoconference, and support is provided by Artelys’ experts via phone/email or other solutions (e.g. Redmine). As INSULAE islands will be using the tool, Artelys will put in place a dedicated Redmine account per island (in order to guarantee the confidentiality of the exchanges) and will provide them with a generic email address (e.g. insulaesupport@artelys.com)