German startup FIDgate, incubated at the Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin) and backed by the German government’s EXIST program, has launched a software platform that combines technical and financial optimization for utility-scale solar and battery storage projects.
The company told pv magazine that most final investment decisions (FID) are based on evaluating only a small fraction of technically feasible project configurations. It said the limitation stems not from existing simulation tools but from engineering, energy yield, financial modeling, and market analysis software operating independently, forcing developers to transfer and reconcile data across multiple applications before assessing each scenario.
FIDgate said the growing complexity of hybrid solar-plus-storage projects has caused the number of possible configurations to increase exponentially while development timelines remain limited. As a result, it said, a significant share of a project’s potential value is never evaluated.
The company replaces those separate workflows with a single optimization model that simultaneously evaluates the project’s technical, commercial, and financial variables.
The platform is built around FIDcore, a deterministic optimization engine based on mixed-integer linear programming (MILP). According to FIDgate, it can analyze thousands of project configurations while accounting for design constraints, contractual requirements, and bankability metrics such as the debt service coverage ratio (DSCR).
In a single calculation, the software optimizes parameters including the DC-to-AC ratio, photovoltaic array configuration, battery sizing, battery operating and dispatch strategy, and project financing structure. Rather than generating AI-based recommendations, the company said the system mathematically identifies the configuration that maximizes a project’s economic value.
Natural language
Projects are currently uploaded through a software development kit (SDK) that consolidates all technical, commercial, and financial information into a single structured project model.
FIDgate’s roadmap includes a natural-language interface called Vibe Modeling that will allow users to describe a project in text before automatically converting it into a structured optimization model.
The company said artificial intelligence will serve only as the data-entry interface, while deterministic algorithms will continue to perform the optimization to ensure transparency and traceability.
FIDgate also said the platform allows engineers, financial analysts, and lenders to work from the same project model. Instead of using separate datasets, all users access the same optimization model, reducing inconsistencies between departments and making it easier to understand how technical decisions affect project economics and vice versa.
FIDgate said it has validated the platform on more than 600 MW of hybrid solar and storage projects across Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and the Baltic states.
According to the company, the integrated optimization process identified more than €50 million in additional net present value (NPV) compared with developers’ original project configurations without changing the underlying market assumptions.
Among the case studies presented was a collaboration with German developer MaxSolar, in which the platform evaluated thousands of configurations for a hybrid solar-plus-storage project before the final investment decision.
FIDgate said it is preparing to launch its Early Adoption Program and has already granted selected partners early access to test the platform.
From pv magazine España
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