Octopus Energy charges up Italy’s battery storage sector with new joint venture

• Joint venture launched with Nexta Capital to develop up to 1.5 GW of battery storage in Italy, making the most of when it’s sunny and windy
• Marks second deal in Italy by Octopus Energy Development Partnership fund
• Comes as Octopus scales its activity in Italy targeting €1bn investment by 2030

London, 14th December 2023 - Octopus Energy’s generation arm announces the launch of a new joint venture (JV) with Nexta Capital Partners to charge up Italy’s battery storage market, making the most of cheap, green energy when it’s sunny and windy.

The new JV with Milan-based Nexta will develop up to 1.5 GW of commercial-scale battery storage systems across several projects largely in the south of the country.

Once operational, the projects are estimated to be capable of storing and releasing back into the grid enough electricity to power up to a million homes a day.

The partners are also exploring optimising the battery assets through Octopus’ rapidly growing flexibility platform, Kraken, which currently manages 6 GW of green energy assets.

It comes as Octopus plans to invest €1 billion in Italy by 2030 as it rapidly scales its activity to help accelerate the country’s green energy transition.

Italy is one of Europe’s fastest growing energy storage markets and recently introduced mechanisms to support this nascent sector. To meet its decarbonisation goals, it set out the need to build 9 GW of new grid-scale energy storage and upped its renewables targets with the aim of having 65% of electricity from green energy by 2030*.

This latest investment was made by Octopus Energy Development Partnership (OEDP), a fund managed by Octopus Energy Generation that backs developers creating new green power in Europe, helping to lower energy bills for consumers in future.

The deal builds on OEDP’s existing partnership with Nexta to develop wind and solar farms in Italy.

Zoisa North-Bond, CEO of Octopus Energy Generation, said: “We’re charging up our activity in Italy’s green energy market as we look to unleash more investment in the country. Italy is an incredibly interesting and fast-growing market for renewables and there’s significant untapped potential in the energy storage sector.

“Big batteries like the ones we’re developing with this new joint venture make the most of when it’s sunny and windy by storing abundant green energy and releasing it back into the grid when it’s needed. Battery storage will play a vital role in a 100% green energy system - and exciting projects like this will help us to get there quicker than ever before.”

Fabrizio Caputo, Co-founder and Managing Director of Nexta, said: “The joint venture strengthens the partnership with Octopus Energy and reaffirms the primary role of Nexta within the renewable energy industry in Italy. Battery storage represents a pillar of our asset diversification strategy and we strongly believe the pipeline we are developing will contribute to the stabilisation of a rapidly changing grid ecosystem generated by an unprecedented penetration of renewable energy sources in the market.”

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

Sources:

*Italy renewables targets, Reuters, June 2023

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About Octopus Energy Generation

Octopus Energy Generation is driving the renewable energy agenda and building green power for the future. This means reshaping the market by leading the transition to a cleaner, greener future through renewable projects connected more deeply to customers and businesses.

As one of Europe’s largest investors in renewable energy, its fund management specialist team launched in 2010 with a mission to accelerate the transition to a future powered by renewable energy. This team manages 3.2 GW of renewable energy projects like wind and solar farms across 17 countries, worth £6bn. These projects generate enough green energy to power 2 million homes every year, and is the equivalent of taking over 1 million petrol cars off the road. The business also launched the Fan Club, the world's first local energy tariff that provides cheaper, greener energy to customers living near local turbines when it’s windy, with a discount of up to 50%. For more information, check out our website.

About Octopus Energy

Octopus Energy is a global energy and technology group, driving the affordable, green energy system of the future. Its operations span 17 countries and the entire energy value chain. The group invests in, builds and flexibly manages renewable energy, operating a £6 billion portfolio of projects – one of Europe’s largest.

Octopus serves 7.2 million customers globally through its retail arm, and has licensed its advanced data and machine learning platform, Kraken, to support 52 million customer accounts worldwide through licensing deals with companies such as EDF, E.ON and Origin Energy.

Kraken enables Octopus to drive the electrification of heat and transport through smart tariffs and innovative cleantech. Backed by pension funds, investors and energy giants, Octopus Energy Group businesses deliver cheaper, greener energy and cutting-edge tech to countries and customers worldwide. For more information, check out our website.