Unicorn Wins Top IT Honors for Zero-Downtime ENTSO-E Migration

From electricity prices and cross-border energy flows to the availability of renewable energy sources, the data underpinning the European energy market is processed by a platform developed and operated by the Czech company Unicorn. The ENTSO-E New Transparency Platform project won two Gold Awards and one Bronze Award at the prestigious Industry Eagles Awards 2026. The platform ensures transparent access to energy data across Europe and is one of the key digital tools supporting the functioning of the European electricity market.

Transparency is one of the fundamental prerequisites for the functioning of the European electricity market. When regulators, energy companies, traders, analysts, the media, and the public have access to the same reliable information, they can better assess the market situation, prevent speculation, and make more informed decisions.

The ENTSO-E New Transparency Platform is a central information system for collecting, publishing, and distributing data on the electricity grid and the electricity market across Europe. It collects information from dozens of countries, verifies its quality, and makes it available to users in a standardized format. It is used by regulators for market oversight, by energy companies for planning and operations management, as well as by researchers, journalists, and the general public, who use it to gain a better understanding of how the European energy sector works.

"Transparency isn't just a regulatory requirement. It is one of the foundations of trust in the energy market. Our goal was to create an environment in which key data is accessible, understandable, and usable by both experts and the public," said Daniel Ševčík, Director of Unicorn Grid Systems.

On June 4, 2026, in London, representatives of Unicorn received Gold Awards in the Technology Innovation of the Year and Best New Product/Service Launch categories, as well as a Bronze Award for Project of the Year. The judging panel recognized not only the technological sophistication of the solution but, above all, its tangible impact on the functioning of the European energy market. The success at the Industry Eagles Awards confirms the significance of the project, which represents one of the key pillars of the single European electricity market.

A Czech Solution for the Growing Demands on Europe's Energy Market

The need to modernize the platform stemmed from the rapid transformation of the European energy sector. The expansion of renewable energy sources, digitalization, and the growing interconnection of European power grids have led to a massive increase in data volume and in the demands placed on data processing and availability.

Unicorn therefore carried out a complete transformation of the platform and created a new technological foundation ready for the future development of the European electricity market. Today, the platform supports approximately 100 data providers, serves more than 90,000 registered users, and processes hundreds of thousands of messages and tens of millions of API requests every day. This makes it one of the key data infrastructures in the European energy sector.

One of the project's biggest challenges was ensuring the transition to the new solution without disrupting data availability. Since the platform is a critical component of Europe's energy infrastructure, it was not possible to perform a one-time system switchover.

"A team of more than 60 specialists opted for controlled parallel operation, gradually deploying individual components of the solution and testing them in a live environment. The transformation also included the migration of 72.8 million documents, achieving a peak throughput of more than one million documents per day," said Daniel Ševčík, explaining the complexity of the project. Thanks to this approach, data remained available to users without interruption throughout the entire transformation.

At a time when the European energy sector is undergoing a fundamental transformation, reliable and openly accessible data is becoming one of the key prerequisites for its functioning. The ENTSO-E New Transparency Platform is therefore more than just a technology project; it is a key enabler of transparency, trust, and efficiency across the European electricity market.

About ENTSO-E

ENTSO-E, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity, brings together 40 member TSOs from 36 countries to ensure the secure and coordinated operation of Europe's electricity system — the world's largest interconnected grid. Created with a legal mandate under EU law, ENTSO-E delivers technical coordination and strategic contributions to support Europe's energy and climate objectives.

ENTSO-E brings together the unique expertise of TSOs for the benefit of European citizens by keeping the lights on, enabling the energy transition, and promoting the completion and optimal functioning of the internal electricity market, including via the fulfilment of the mandates given to ENTSO-E based on EU legislation.

About Unicorn

Unicorn is a renowned European company providing the largest information systems and solutions in the area of information technology. We focus on providing solutions, which provide a high added value while also delivering a competitive business advantage to its clients. We have been serving our clients since 1990 and over the years, we have developed a number of high-end, large-scale solutions, which are being used to serve the IT needs of important companies in many of the key sectors of the economy. At the same time, we develop Unicorn Universe — Digital Twin Construction Kit. This product is used by Plus4U Internet Service to offer a large portfolio of services based on robust software solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises and end users. Our software helps the efficient and careful handling of natural resources and environmentally friendly behaviour.

Our goal is to educate people and society too. Therefore we established the Unicorn University in 2007 that also performs the Unicorn Top Gun Academy — the complex educational system for all our co-workers, for all of us.