Helping cut emissions and costs of energy-intensive manufacturers

Renewable energy solutions provider Hydro REIN and KrakenFlex, the energy flexibility arm of Octopus Energy Group, have agreed to partner in several projects across Europe and North America to help cut emissions and costs of energy-intensive manufacturers.

The initial pilot will begin in April 2022 and see KrakenFlex optimise the output of Hydro REIN’s 500kW Tesla battery in North York, Ontario. By making better use of the energy stored in the battery, offtaker Norsk Hydro will be able to reduce the energy bills and carbon footprint of its extrusion plant. Future projects will see KrakenFlex and Hydro REIN scope out sites in Germany, Sweden and Spain for similar solutions.

Hydro REIN, part of the global aluminium and renewable energy company Norsk Hydro, aims to help industrial clients move to green and sustainable operations by facilitating access to affordable renewable power. The company also provides industrial-scale, renewable energy based solutions to improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions and cut costs. 

The KrakenFlex entech platform, which is part of Octopus Energy Group’s technologies division, enables asset owners, energy traders, energy suppliers and system operators to monitor and manage their solar panels, batteries, and electric cars (so called ‘distributed energy devices’) in real-time. This allows users to optimise the performance of their assets. 

KrakenFlex currently controls over 1,300 MW across 1,200 green energy assets with a further 2,000 MW of renewable energy to come online in early 2022. The platform is targeting management of 100,000 devices and 6,000 MW of energy capacity by 2023.

Devrim Celal, CEO of KrakenFlex, commented: 
“KrakenFlex is on a mission to manage and optimise tens of thousands of energy devices in the next few years to match real-time demand with green electricity, helping to create a truly dynamic, flexible grid. 

“Hydro REIN has an impressive array of energy resources and we are delighted to partner with them on this initial project in Canada and a further pipeline of work globally. We need more and more industrial businesses to follow Hydro REIN’s path, using energy flexibility to decarbonise their production in increasingly smart ways.”

Olivier Girardot, Head of Hydro REIN, said: 
“We are very pleased to partner up with KrakenFlex, a real trailblazer in the field of energy flexibility. Their asset management platform is the best and most user-friendly technology on the market which  allows us to get the most out of our portfolio, maximising its performance and efficiency. We are starting with one project in Canada, but I’m already excited to see how much we’ll save as we ramp up our project pipeline.”