Release The Kraken: Future Entech Development Lab Lands In Houston

• Kraken Technologies Brings Hundreds Of Green Jobs To The Space City

• Teams Will Be Developing Real Products To Fight Climate Change And Produce More Cheap, Green Energy

• Targeting 100 Million Customer Accounts On Proprietary Platform By 2027

HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Global energy unicorn Octopus Energy Group has today announced that its software licensing arm, Kraken Technologies, will open its first U.S. headquarters in Houston, Texas.

The company is aiming to attract top tech talent from Space City and the rest of the country to the tech hub to roll out Kraken in the U.S., accelerating the energy transition across the globe. Within the first year, Octopus will create at least 50 new green jobs, with opportunities for further scaling as its U.S. arm continues to grow.

Octopus’ technology platform Kraken launched to market three years ago, offering its clients end-to-end management of the whole energy supply chain through one simple solution. Since then, it has been contracted to serve 11 million (40 percent) of all UK households through licensing deals with E.ON, EDF Energy and the platform’s parent company Octopus Energy Group and others. It is active and developing in ten countries across four continents, licensed to look after 25 million energy customers with world-class customer service and relentless efficiency.

Kraken is also designed to leverage smart metering, such as smart thermostats, to understand customers’ real-time energy usage, as well as management and optimization of power assets–such as EVs, solar energy, and batteries. Its flexibility arm, KrakenFlex, allows the platform to connect with a whole host of clean energy technologies, allowing it to control, dispatch and optimize those devices to match real-time energy demand and supply.

Kraken Technology developers in Houston will work hand-in-hand with the Customer Operations arm at Octopus Energy in the U.S. to enable constant innovation and upgrades to the platform to better serve customers, utility clients and partners. It will also benefit the scale of Kraken as it hopes to enter even more states and markets in North America, disrupting the energy industry and offering better service.

“I am delighted to welcome the UK’s Kraken Technologies to the growing list of Texas tech titans. Octopus Energy, the parent company, has been steadily building its customer base in Texas, where its strong customer focus has seen them disrupt the market as they have in the UK,” said Richard Hyde, British Consul General in Houston. “The decision to make Houston the home of Kraken recognises this city’s growing reputation as a tech centre. It will bring hundreds of green jobs to the energy capital of the world.”

“Energy is one of the few global sectors still undisrupted by tech – Kraken changes that. It is essentially a big robot that eliminates all the inefficiencies that energy companies have built up over the decades, automating repetitive tasks, allowing humans to do what they are best at, and unlocking smart products,” said Greg Jackson, CEO and Founder of Octopus Energy Group. “Working with our tech hubs in the UK, New Zealand, Japan and the rest of the world, our new Houston base will be able to expand Kraken’s capabilities to benefit any kind of utilities market, whether regulated or not.”

“Texas’ energy transition is continuing to accelerate, and with the recent inflation in fossil fuels, it has never made more sense to switch to solar, storage, wind, and EVs. To leverage this opportunity, technology will need to underpin the role of these assets to unlock the lowest cost nature of this rapidly changing grid. Kraken Tech, which has already allowed Octopus Energy U.S. to double its customers in 2022 alone, and offer Intelligent Octopus, an integrated demand response, fixed-rate energy plan, so customers have access to cheaper electricity when renewable energy is abundant, is perfect for this,” said Michael Lee, CEO of Octopus Energy U.S. “There are incredible opportunities coming to play in Texas this year and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have Kraken Technology on the ground in Houston with us.”

In addition to Octopus Energy U.S.’s existing presence in Houston, Texas is also a leading wind and solar generator in the U.S., making it a prime location to establish a Kraken hub stateside. Texas produces more wind power than any other state and comes in second in solar power generation. In 2021, the state even led the U.S. in developing new renewable energy projects, demonstrating its leadership to create greener, more accessible energy.

About Octopus Energy U.S.

Octopus Energy Group is a technology-driven, renewable energy retailer, directly supplying over 3.2 million customers globally with 100% green electricity at a cheaper price and with a focus on incredible customer service. Founded six years ago as a global energy retailer, Octopus Energy entered the U.S. market in 2020, forming Octopus Energy U.S. and fueling the company’s global expansion. Octopus Energy is valued at nearly $5 billion and is one of energy-tech’s fastest-growing private companies. To learn more, visit: www.octopusenergy.com.

All of this is made possible by OEG’s tech arm, Kraken Tech, which offers a proprietary, in-house platform based on advanced data and machine learning capabilities, Kraken automates much of the energy supply chain to allow outstanding service and efficiency as the world transitions to a decentralized, decarbonized energy system.

Contacts

Media
Oluwatona Campbell

octopusenergy@berlinrosen.com