Founders: Greg Jackson (CEO), Stuart Jackson, James Eddison
Launched: 2016
Headquarters: London
Funding: $2 billion
Valuation: $7.8 billion
Key technologies: Artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, machine learning
Industry: Energy
Previous appearances on Disruptor 50 List: 1 (No. 8 in 2023)

Aiming to spark further transition to renewable energy, British-based power conglomerate Octopus Energy pulled in $800 million in new funding last year to expand internationally and is leveraging AI technology in its cleantech business.   

The fast-growth innovator is relying on Uber-like digital technology for its solar, wind, smart grids and meters, and offering flexible pricing based on conserving energy and balancing demands on the grid. The company also has rolled into electric vehicles, offering EV leasing packages, installation of home chargers, and mobile apps for EV owners to monitor grid signals and get discounts.     

Founded in 2016 by digital entrepreneur and angel investor Greg Jackson, Octopus Energy is seeking to disrupt traditional utilities with a tech-driven approach using AI, machine learning, cloud computing and data analytics. Last March, the utility introduced an in-house developed, gen AI-powered service, Magic Ink, to provide tailored customer interactions and help prevent power overloads.

Profitable and with operations spanning 18 countries, the company has more than doubled its retail business over the past two years and currently serves more than 7.2 million customers and 40,000 business accounts. The group’s Kraken software and data analytics system, which helps utilities track energy usage for efficiency, has been licensed to 54 million international accounts, up from 17 million in 2020, and the goal is to reach 100 million by 2027.

Last December, Octopus Energy received an $800 million funding boost from Al Gore’s renewable and sustainable energy investment firm and other existing investors, lifting the company’s valuation to $7.8 billion, a 60% increase from a prior investment round in 2021. In November, Octopus launched a $3.7 billion fund with Japanese utility Tokyo Gas to invest in offshore wind over the rest of this decade.

Energy investments grew worldwide to $2.8 trillion in 2023, with more than $1.2 trillion going to clean energy, according to the International Energy Agency. Renewables’ share of power generation is projected to rise to 35% by 2025 from 29% today.

Octopus Energy is pursuing the clean energy movement on a global scale through acquisitions and licensing deals. Over the past few years, the company has launched operations in several developed markets including Australia and Germany. The electricity provider has big ambitions for the U.S. market. It acquired Silicon Valley-based AI and machine learning startup Evolve Energy in 2020 and established a U.S. subsidiary in energy-centric Houston. Signally its expansion strategy, the company signed a licensing deal last June to begin offering its Kraken technology platform to U.S. licensees, with the first going to North American energy manager Tenaska Power Services in Texas for its battery sites.

China and India have not reduced coal generation for electricity, according to a new study, making it harder for Asia’s largest carbon emitters to reach their climate targets.  

While both Asian countries have ambitious plans to cut emissions, heavy reliance on coal — the dirtiest fossil fuel — continues to be the most reliable and affordable way of meet rising electricity demand. 

Global electricity generation from coal has been consistently rising for the last two decades, nearly doubling from 5,809 terawatt-hours in 2000 to 10,434 TWh in 2023, a new study by energy think tank Ember found. The highest increases came from China (+319 TWh) and India (+100 TWh), the study showed.

According to the IEA, coal remains the biggest energy source for electricity generation, supplying more than one-third of global electricity. It will continue to play a crucial role in industries such as iron and steel until new technologies are available.

“It will be very difficult to meet targets without a rapid face down in coal. It’ll certainly be out of reach,” said Francis Johnson, senior research fellow and climate lead at the Stockholm Environment Institute’s Asia Center.

“We’re not phasing out coal fast enough,” he warned.

Asia’s largest economy has two big climate goals: to strive for peak carbon emissions in 2030, and reach carbon neutrality in 2060. Still, reliance on coal has shown no signs of waning.  

Electricity demand in the East Asian nation has increased by sevenfold since the beginning of the decade, while coal demand has climbed by more than five times over the same period, Ember’s research showed. 

China, the world’s largest coal producer, emitted 5,491 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from electricity generation in 2023. That’s at least three times more than the U.S. (1,570 MtCO2) and India (1,470 MtCO2), data from the study showed.

However, the country has made notable progress in renewable energy development, leading to a slowdown in the rate of emission increase from an average of 9% annually between 2001 and 2015, to 4.4% annually between 2016 and 2023, the energy think tank said.

“China is very close to peak emissions and the clean energy transition is going extraordinarily fast,” Dave Jones, global insights program director at Ember, told CNBC.

“Even with very high levels of electricity demand growth, it looks like the levels of renewables growth would be enough,” Jones said.

Clean electricity contributed to 35% of China’s total electricity generation, the Ember report showed. Hydropower —  its second-largest energy source — made up 13% of that mix, while wind and solar combined reached new highs of 16% in 2023.

“Had wind and solar generation not increased since 2015, and demand had instead been met by coal, emissions would have been 20% higher in 2023,” the report highlighted, adding that those two sources can now generate enough electricity to power Japan. 

But Stockholm Environment Institute’s Johnson warned China still needs to be less dependent on other forms of fossil fuels.

“Phasing down coal is absolutely necessary, but it’s not sufficient. Just because you cut coal emissions, it doesn’t mean you get away with emissions in the other sectors,” he noted.

The country’s leaders have been optimistic about its path to net zero, making bold claims that 50% of its power generation will come from non-fossil fuel forms of energy by 2030. 

Emissions from the power sector are expected to peak around 2030, while total energy-related emissions will reach their highest around 2034, Climate Action Tracker estimated. 

But the Ember study showed that added pressure from droughts pushed the country to generate 78% of its electricity from fossil fuels, where coal made up 75% of that mix.

Like China, India has also made significant strides in other forms of renewable energy.

In 2023, India overtook Japan to become the world’s third largest solar power generator, according to Ember. 

Ember found that India’s solar power generation totaled 113 terawatt-hours (TWh) last year, representing a 145% increase since 2019. This ranks behind China (584 TWh) and the U.S. (238 TWh). 

“When it comes to the pathway to carbon neutrality for China and India, you would expect the emissions to rise when demand grows. But at some point, the GDP growth needs to decouple with emissions where we need it to first peak, then fall,” Ember’s Asia Programme Director Aditya Lolla told CNBC.