Solita x Gasum: Powering the green energy transition with data

Our collaboration began with the goal of modernising Gasum’s data and analytics platforms. In a rapidly changing business environment, Gasum needed to establish solid data foundations to serve business analytics and ensure trustworthy reporting.

Using a scaled DataOps model, our approach emphasised business-driven prioritisation and platform automation to achieve accelerated time-to-insights. This delivered tangible results for critical areas like sales and finance analytics.

As the foundation strengthened, our focus expanded to cloud-based integrations and API management, building a resilient connectivity backbone across Gasum’s core IT systems and processes.  

“We now have a systematic and resilient data foundation that supports both operational and strategic decision-making and developing our AI and analytics solutions for businesses”, says Aki Salminen, Data and Digital Services Lead, Gasum.

During the partnership, the European energy crisis created an unprecedented and challenging operating environment. In 2022, Gasum responded with an updated strategy, prioritising end-to-end services, increasing investments in renewable biogas sourcing and production, and extending its portfolio of data-intensive energy market services.

This strategic shift required a significant leap in digital and data capabilities. Solita took on responsibilities in renewing Gasum’s online and customer-facing digital services across different client segments to streamline interaction with clients.

Simultaneously, greenfield projects in biogas production scaling expanded our work towards Operational Technology (OT) at sites with data acquisition and consolidation. IT/OT template was later scaled for use at new and existing biogas production sites and terminals.

This new IT/OT feedback loop was a game-changer. It enabled Gasum and Solita to modernise applications used directly in biogas production but also terminal operations and logistics planning. Furthermore, new technologies introduced for this capability – such as Databricks on Azure – became the analytical foundation for Gasum’s new, sophisticated energy market services and forecasting models.

“Bridging IT and OT with data has been a critical part of this journey. By enabling new feedback loops from biogas plants and terminals, we connected real-world operations to end-to-end business processes – laying the groundwork for AI and machine learning”, says Antti Haanpää, Head of Industrial, Solita.

Through this journey, Solita’s partnership has helped Gasum turn data into a strategic asset, enabling smarter decisions and new business opportunities. Key impacts of our collaboration include:

• Enabling a data-driven culture: By establishing the data and BI foundations as a trustworthy single source of truth, Gasum can make critical decisions with confidence, which is essential in a volatile operating environment.
• Optimising operations with new feedback loops: The new connectivity to biogas plants and terminals, combined with new applications, allows Gasum to improve efficiency and optimise processes close to its real-world industrial operations.
• Enhancing the customer experience: The renewed, well-received online services have improved brand awareness, increased customer satisfaction, and built loyalty in a competitive market.
• Innovating new energy market services: Solid data foundations and proven technologies for advanced analytics and AI have empowered Gasum to successfully innovate and launch new services for the rapidly developing energy market.

The journey of Solita and Gasum highlights the power of open communication, a deep understanding of the business landscape, and the intelligent use of modern technology to solve complex problems. Together, we continue to explore new opportunities to accelerate the energy transition and build a cleaner, more sustainable future.