Seven years ago, on a cold wet day in Lancashire, our founders pondered over a falafel how their idea for controlling millions of energy devices could disrupt an incumbent industry and enable a green revolution!
Bringing together their unique skills and backgrounds, they went on to create algorithms, code and user interfaces that were the beginning of something very special - and KrakenFlex (then known as Upside Energy) was officially born.
Before the company officially existed, they were using an incubator office at Lancaster University. The idea quickly gained momentum winning awards and receiving funding, and set up it’s first work space in Salford. Since then it has swelled to new heights, being acquired by the burgeoning unicorn Octopus Energy in 2020.
Having previously relocated to Spear Street in the trendy Northern Quarter, the company has outgrown its surroundings once again and will soon be moving to a state of the art 40,000 sq ft workspace at Bruntwood SciTech’s No.2 Circle Square - home to a unique community of innovators and sitting at the heart of Manchester's vibrant Circle Square.
The move follows an impressive year for KrakenFlex, which saw the company expand internationally for the first time, including forming a partnership with Elia Group to build a smart green energy grid across Belgium and Germany. It also saw Chief of Staff Charlotte Johnson named Young Energy Professional of the Year.
Devrim Celal, CEO of KrakenFlex, commented: "Our team in Manchester is growing at rapid speed and so we wanted to find a new office that would give us the space we need, while placing us in the heart of Manchester's research ecosystem.
"The tech cluster at Circle Square offers up the rare-to-find combination of high levels of footfall, innovation and collaboration, fulfilling both of our requirements. It is a perfect match, and we can’t wait to move in."
The move re-emphasises the company’s commitment to the city, which is both its physical and spiritual home, with a large majority of the workforce being located in and around the area. Manchester is in the roots of the company and the team remains as proud of what has been achieved today, as it was back in 2014.
Three of our founders are still with the company today and are able to provide not only deep technical knowledge of how our platform originated, but have built the backbone of KrakenFlex’s culture; being an innovative, creative and dynamic place to work, with the aim of utilising renewable generation, storage and people's homes to provide a green energy ecosystem for all.
KrakenFlex’s market leading, deep-tech platform enables asset owners, energy traders, energy suppliers and system operators to control their distributed energy assets in real-time, monitoring both physical and financial performance. More than 1.3GW of contracted capacity is managed by the DERMS platform, with the company having ambitious plans for growth both in the UK and internationally.
In 2020, KrakenFlex was acquired by Octopus Energy. In 2021, the company’s headcount doubled and in 2022 it will double again, with team members joining both in the UK and overseas.
KrakenFlex is currently recruiting across all areas of the business, including the fast growing area of its cross functional tech teams, comprising Software Engineers, Data Scientists and Product Owners. To view the current vacancies and to apply, please visit: https://www.krakenflex.com/careers
