UrbanChain on Breaking the Energy Monopoly

UrbanChain, a Manchester-based energy tech firm, recently shared with us how it’s rewriting the rules of the UK energy market. By enabling local renewable generators to trade power directly with consumers, the company is challenging the traditional utility model and redefining how energy is bought, sold, and shared. In this piece, we explore who UrbanChain is, how their technology is disrupting the market, and why they’re attracting serious attention from investors, policymakers, and industry leaders alike.

UrbanChain is a UK-based energy technology company pioneering the shift toward decentralised, transparent, and community-powered energy systems.

“The energy market’s built for big business - and it’s not fair on the rest of us” Dr Somayeh Taherhi, Founder and CEO

Dr Somayeh Taheri

Founded by Dr. Somayeh Taheri and Ayesha Naureen, UrbanChain is pioneering a digital platform that connects local renewable energy generators directly with consumers. The result is a decentralised trading system that bypasses the wholesale market, offering businesses and households 24/7 matched renewable electricity. The approach improves access to clean energy, stabilises pricing, and keeps economic value within local communities.

UrbanChain has experienced rapid and impressive growth, scaling from £2.4 million in 2023 to £25 million in 2024, representing a tenfold increase in just one year. They are ranked as the 3rd fastest-growing tech company in the UK, with 8,800% growth over three years, and the company has raised over £15 million in capital to date. Its international team of over 70 staff spans the US, UK, and EU, collectively bringing more than 250 years of experience in the energy sector. With a pipeline representing £2.3 billion, equivalent to 3% of the Great Britain energy market, UrbanChain is positioned as a major force in the decentralised energy transition.

More recently, Somayeh Taherhi and Ayesha Naureen, co-founders of UrbanChain, picked up the female founder award at The Sunday Times 100 Tech dinner, celebrating the UK’s fastest growing tech businesses. UrbanChain also ranks 3rd in The Sunday Times 100 Tech.

What specific problem does UrbanChain solve?

UrbanChain addresses the inefficiencies, lack of transparency, and limited access to renewable energy within the traditional energy market. Currently, around 95% of businesses are unable to access renewable energy directly. Our system creates an alternative market that allows local generators and consumers to trade energy directly. This improves accessibility, stabilises prices, and reduces dependency on the wholesale market.

How is it sustainable?

Our model enhances the economics of decentralised renewables by offering longer-term contracts and greater returns for generators. This encourages increased investment in clean energy. By prioritising local generation and consumption, we reduce reliance on fossil fuels and long-distance transmission. We also support energy sharing within communities, which helps build resilient and sustainable local energy systems.

Does it contribute to a local economy?

Yes, UrbanChain supports a circular local energy economy. Energy is generated, consumed, and reinvested within the same community wherever possible. This closed-loop system maximises resource efficiency, reduces waste, and keeps economic value local, strengthening community resilience and energy independence.

Why is it attractive for investors?

UrbanChain presents a rare opportunity: a highly scalable, capital-efficient model with strong operational leverage, underpinned by proprietary technology. As the energy market rapidly transitions, with three times more renewable electricity capacity expected to be deployed between 2024 and 2030 than in the previous six years, the challenge is no longer generation - it’s market access, transparency, and flexibility.

Every new megawatt added to the system increases the strain on outdated centralised system. UrbanChain solves this by enabling the decentralised energy transition - a market worth multiple trillions of pounds, and growing fast. Our technology links generators directly to consumers, unlocking financial efficiency, transparency, energy sharing, and 24/7 matched renewables.

We are one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe, with a 10x revenue increase in the last financial year and long-term recurring contracts. This momentum has earned us recognition in the Deloitte EMEA Fast 500, where we ranked 10th in May 2025, and the fastest growing CleanTech business in the UK. UrbanChain has built the financial infrastructure for decentralised energy, and is scaling fast. We are currently ranked as the 10th fastest growing tech company in EMEA, by Deloitte

How does it fit into or disrupt the wider market?

UrbanChain challenges the typical, utility-led linear model designed for centralised assets. Instead, we offer a decentralised, efficient, and transparent alternative. Our system shifts control from large utility providers to local participants, making the market fairer and more sustainable.

Where will it be in 10 years’ time?

In 10 years, UrbanChain will have transformed how the world thinks about, and uses, energy. We won’t just be an operating system; we’ll be the backbone of decentralised, democratised energy economies across cities and regions all over the world.

By 2035, our vision is that it will be the norm for homes and businesses to be 'prosumers', both generating and consuming energy, with UrbanChain as the invisible engine behind it all system. Optimising for environmental impact, cost efficiency, and grid resilience simultaneously.

UrbanChain will be synonymous with energy sovereignty. Proof that a clean, equitable energy future isn’t just possible, but profitable and scalable.

What is the significance of your relationship with Blue Earth?

Our collaboration with Blue Earth is a cornerstone of our partner strategy. Blue Earth brings deep expertise in climate finance and sustainable infrastructure, helping us scale with impact at the core. Together, we co-develop initiatives that embed long-term environmental and social value. This relationship strengthens our ability to deliver measurable climate outcomes while expanding our reach and credibility

In a market long dominated by incumbents and inertia, UrbanChain is offering something radically different. By decentralising power, both literally and figuratively, it’s building the infrastructure for a clean, resilient, and inclusive energy future.

As the transition away from fossil fuels accelerates, UrbanChain is proving that the future of energy isn’t just greener, it’s local, digital, and democratised.

If you have the next big idea in energy, apply to the Clean Tech category at the RISE Awards.