Octopus Energy Invests £200 Million in Tech Disruptor Deep Green
Octopus Energy’s generation arm has announced a major investment of £200 million in London-based tech disruptor Deep Green. This investment aims to help Deep Green rapidly expand its groundbreaking technology throughout the UK.
Data processing generates a significant amount of heat, but Deep Green has developed a revolutionary business model that utilizes this heat efficiently. Instead of letting the heat go to waste, Deep Green repurposes it to provide free heat for energy-intensive organizations such as leisure centers. For example, a public swimming pool in Devon was able to reduce its pool-heating bill by over 60% by partnering with Deep Green.
In exchange for providing free heat, Deep Green receives free cooling, giving them a competitive advantage over traditional data centers. This advantage enables Deep Green to offer more affordable and energy-efficient computing solutions to businesses across the UK.
Deep Green’s customer base includes organizations that require data center processing for various purposes such as AI, machine learning, video rendering, and cloud applications. Some of Deep Green’s current customers include York University, as well as industry suppliers Civo and Alces Flight.
Deep Green’s on-site data centers, located in places like swimming pools, do not require additional grid upgrades or planning permission, allowing them to be operational in a matter of weeks.
The £200 million investment comes from Octopus Energy’s dedicated Octopus Energy Transition Fund (OETF) and the Sky (ORI SCSp) fund managed by Octopus. Zoisa North-Bond, CEO of Octopus Energy Generation, expressed excitement about the partnership with Deep Green and the potential impact on communities across the UK.
Mark Bjornsgaard, Founder and CEO of Deep Green, emphasized the importance of placing data centers within communities to transform waste heat into a valuable resource. He highlighted the energy efficiency of Deep Green’s data centers and their support for local communities through free heat.
Octopus Energy Transition Fund (OETF)
Launched in 2023, OETF aims to scale companies in fast-growing sectors focused on decarbonizing society, including heating, storage, low carbon transport, and more. Octopus has previously supported ground-source heat pump company Kensa Group through this fund.
