diff --git a/compose.yaml b/compose.yaml
index 8edf5ca3..ef20dd50 100644
--- a/compose.yaml
+++ b/compose.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,21 @@
 services:
+
   app:
     build: .
     env_file: .env
+    environment:
+      FLASK_SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI: "postgresql+pg8000://schemes:password@database/schemes"
     ports:
       - "5000:5000"
+    depends_on:
+      database:
+        condition: service_healthy
+
+  database:
+    image: postgres:15
+    environment:
+      POSTGRES_USER: schemes
+      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password
+    healthcheck:
+      test: pg_isready -U $$POSTGRES_USER
+      interval: 5s
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index ee4dba9b..f5a3ce8a 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ dependencies = [
     "govuk-frontend-jinja~=2.7.0",
     "gunicorn~=21.2.0",
     "inject~=5.0.0",
+    "pg8000~=1.30.0",
     "python-dotenv~=1.0.0",
     "requests~=2.31.0",
     "sqlalchemy~=2.0.0"
diff --git a/schemes/__init__.py b/schemes/__init__.py
index 9fc497e6..33a95438 100644
--- a/schemes/__init__.py
+++ b/schemes/__init__.py
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 import os
-from typing import Any, Mapping
+from typing import Any, Callable, Mapping
 
 import inject
 from authlib.integrations.flask_client import OAuth
 from authlib.oauth2.rfc7523 import PrivateKeyJWT
-from flask import Flask, Response, render_template, request, url_for
+from flask import Config, Flask, Response, render_template, request, url_for
 from inject import Binder
 from jinja2 import ChoiceLoader, FileSystemLoader, PackageLoader, PrefixLoader
 from sqlalchemy import Engine, MetaData, create_engine
@@ -22,7 +22,11 @@ def create_app(test_config: Mapping[str, Any] | None = None) -> Flask:
     app.config.from_prefixed_env()
     app.config.from_mapping(test_config)
 
-    inject.configure(_bindings, bind_in_runtime=False)
+    def bindings(binder: Binder) -> None:
+        binder.bind(Config, app.config)
+        _bindings(binder)
+
+    inject.configure(bindings, bind_in_runtime=False)
 
     _configure_error_pages(app)
     _configure_basic_auth(app)
@@ -43,7 +47,11 @@ def create_app(test_config: Mapping[str, Any] | None = None) -> Flask:
 
 
 def _bindings(binder: Binder) -> None:
-    binder.bind(Engine, create_engine("sqlite+pysqlite:///file::memory:?uri=true"))
+    @inject.autoparams()
+    def engine(config: Config) -> Engine:
+        return create_engine(config["SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI"])
+
+    binder.bind_to_constructor(Engine, engine)
     binder.bind_to_constructor(UserRepository, DatabaseUserRepository)
 
 
diff --git a/schemes/config.py b/schemes/config.py
index 39eb59c8..c88d7422 100644
--- a/schemes/config.py
+++ b/schemes/config.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 class Config:
+    SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI = "sqlite+pysqlite:///file::memory:?uri=true"
     GOVUK_SERVER_METADATA_URL = "https://oidc.integration.account.gov.uk/.well-known/openid-configuration"
     GOVUK_TOKEN_ENDPOINT = "https://oidc.integration.account.gov.uk/token"
     GOVUK_PROFILE_URL = "https://home.integration.account.gov.uk/"