TECH TURNS ENERGY SUPPLY INTO SERVICE WITH A SMILE

Buying energy is expensive, and for years it’s been an utterly miserable chore. But some disruptive companies are putting a rocket under the sector, from the pioneering Stroud-based Ecotricity to Good Energy in Chippenham.

While not based in the region, one of the UK’s most successful tech for good businesses is an energy company, and it’s a great case study on technology as a game changer for business and consumers.

Octopus Energy is a renewable energy supplier. At just five years old, and with revenues of more than £2.4 billion, its killer product is the company’s proprietary customer management platform, Kraken, which it licenses out to other energy providers around the world, such as E.ON and Good Energy in the UK and Origin Energy in Australia.

For decades the energy industry was characterised by bad customer service. But Octopus’s founders, including the company’s Group CEO, Greg Jackson, knew technology could transform the sector. Octopus Energy is driving down the cost of supplying energy to its customers, and Kraken is a key part of that.

Zoisa North-Bond is CEO of both Octopus Energy for Business and Octopus Energy Generation, which manages the company’s wind and solar projects. With almost a decade of knowledge in this fast-growing sector, she understands the priorities.

“Everything is about our customers. How do we make their lives easier, from managing their energy bills, affording green energy to charging their vehicles?”

Until recently, Octopus Energy bought energy exclusively on the wholesale markets. It is now acquiring wind turbines to generate its own energy, as well as buying Octopus Renewables from parent company Octopus Group. This company generates around 2.8 gigawatts from around 300 projects across the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Finland, France, and Spain.

Everything is driven through its Kraken software (which has more than two million Octopus Energy customers in the UK, a further 15 million through license agreements and with ambitions to grow to 100 million users globally by 2027).

The company is also doing its bit to help businesses buy sustainable energy.

“In two UK regions we offer tariffs linked to local solar farms,” said Zoisa. “Our technology enables a new customer to make a £50 donation to local charities, and if they want they can also visit the solar or wind farm. This approach is capturing the imaginations of businesses large and small.”

Another tech innovation is the company’s pioneering Agile Octopus tariff, which tracks fluctuating energy prices on the wholesale markets every half hour.

“When energy prices dip we text customers to suggest they charge their car or use appliances when the prices are cheaper,” explained Zoisa.

Octopus has also trialled Agile Octopus in the vertical farming industry, where crops are grown indoors in a controlled environment. It’s an innovative method of farming, but is expensive on energy.

“We experimented to see whether vegetable or salad crops know whether it’s night or day,” said Zoisa. “They don’t. As long as they have the right number of hours of light, it doesn’t matter – so growers can use electricity at times when it’s cheapest.”

Kraken is also helping solve the issue of EV car charging. “Currently EV drivers must use different apps to pay for charging on the many different networks,” said Zoisa. “Our Electric Juice Network allows payment through one app and it appears on one bill – even on your energy bill if you are an Octopus customer.”

Energy is energy, regardless of where you buy it from. But the selection of providers inevitably comes down to cost, customer service and increasingly ethical commitments. And Octopus Energy’s technology is helping it deliver on all three.

Ten tech-for-good companies to watch

There are literally hundreds, probably thousands, of tech-for-good companies across the region.

We haven’t got space to list them all. So here’s 10 which recently caught our eye.

Developing techniques to incorporate graphene into Lithium-ion batteries to improve battery life and charging times, while reducing their cost

LatchAid Cirencester Breastfeeding support app for mothers and mothers-to-be

Ohbot Stroud

Open Bionics Bristol

Oxford Brain Diagnostics Oxford

Oxford VR Oxford

Sense Biodetection Abingdon

Sign Solutions Worcester

Qmee Reading

Designs and manufactures affordable robots to teach children digital skills such as coding

Developing affordable, assistive devices that enhance the human body. Its Hero Arm is a multi-grip bionic hand

Breakthrough technology aiming to change the way dementia is assessed

Developing automated VR therapy to treat mental health conditions

Developing rapid, instrument-free molecular diagnostics testing for bacterial and viral infections

Video interpretation app allowing deaf people instant access to an interpreter, relaying messages to the individual the deaf person is trying to engage with

A free app enabling users to share opinions through tailored surveys and with cash rewards when shopping and searching online. It helps brands get more accurate information while benefitting consumers

We Are Digital Coventry

Measures not only profit but social impact. Delivering digital training for housing associations, financial support services for customers of major high street banks and digital projects for central government

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