UK-based clean energy tech company Octopus Energy Group announced today that it has acquired a majority stake in grid flexibility technology provider Uplight, in a move aimed at enabling the company to help utilities in North America manage the rapid increase in electricity demand driven by data center buildouts and electrification.

Founded in 2019, Colorado-based Uplight provides solutions designed to unlock grid capacity through a combination of customer engagement and flexibility management solutions, allowing utilities to unlock flexible capacity faster and more affordably than through traditional infrastructure buildouts.

The company currently serves over 85 utilities across North America, including eight of the ten largest in the U.S., and manages over 8.5 gigawatts of flexible load, providing demand response, distributed energy resource management and customer engagement solutions.

Octopus said:

“Electricity demand in the U.S. is surging, driven by AI data centres and the rapid growth of electrotech like EVs, batteries and solar. Utilities need new ways to keep the grid reliable and affordable.”

Octopus said that the acquisition is being made in partnership with Schneider Electric, who is an existing investor in Uplight. Schneider Electric invested in the company in the company in 2021, in a deal that valued Uplight at $1.5 billion. The companies said that Schneider Electric will remain as a significant minority partner following the transaction.

Frédéric Godemel, Executive Vice President, Energy Management at Schneider Electric, said:

“Our continued commitment to Uplight reflects a shared focus on connecting customer programs more directly to grid operations. Uplight’s platform will help transform distributed energy resources into reliable, market-ready capacity, and we will support their mission to make energy more flexible, clean and affordable.”

According to Octopus, the transaction will bring its expertise in managing flexible energy systems into the U.S. market at scale, with Uplight bringing its established U.S. utility relationships and proprietary engagement and flexibility technology, alongside Schneider Electric’s advanced distribution management systems (ADMS) capabilities and its “OneDERMS” platform that helps connect demand-side flexibility with grid operations.

Octopus added that its recently spun-out AI-powered utility technology business Kraken will also begin exploring collaboration with Uplight, encompassing customer operations capabilities, and flexibility orchestration.

Nick Chaset, CEO of Octopus Energy U.S., said:

“This partnership brings together Octopus’s world-leading expertise in flexibility, Schneider Electric’s grid intelligence and Uplight’s deep relationships with leading U.S. utilities to turn customer participation into dependable grid capacity. Together, we can help accelerate the shift to a smarter, more resilient and more affordable energy system.”

Luis D’Acosta, Chief Executive Officer of Uplight, said:

“Uplight has always been committed to unlocking grid capacity by empowering the energy consumer. With the strategic backing of Octopus Energy and Schneider Electric, Uplight is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between customer participation and grid operations.”