Energy tech firm Octopus Energy has said it plans to make the UK the ‘Silicon Valley of energy’, announcing 1,000 new jobs across England at multiple sites.
The London headquartered business will create jobs in the capital, Brighton, Warwick and Leicester. The new recruits will primarily be science and engineering graduates.
A new technology, data science and artificial intelligence centre is also to be created in Manchester.
Octopus Energy’s retail business now provides gas and electricity to 1.7 million homes in the UK.
The firm, which became a unicorn in May after Australian energy company Origin acquired a 20% stake, claims to be the UK’s largest investor in solar generation.
The company’s new recruits will help to develop smart grid tech for transport and heating systems, offering low-cost renewable energy as the UK pledges to be carbon neutral by 2050.
Greg Jackson, the chief executive of Octopus, said: “When Apple created the App Store, nobody knew that it would change the way we order food or transport forever.”
On the firm’s cloud-based energy platform, Kraken, built for interacting with consumers via the web, mobile and smart-meters and the industry, Jackson added: “We’re revolutionising the energy industry in the same way, creating jobs not just through increased demand for affordable renewables, but by facilitating the development of new and emerging industries like electric vehicles, electric heating and vertical farming.”
The Prime Minister welcomed the plan, adding: “These 1,000 jobs will provide exciting opportunities across the country for those who want to be at the cutting edge of the global green revolution.