January 2021: Apricum – The Cleantech Advisory acted as exclusive financial advisor to its client Upside Energy Limited, a UK-based company that provides energy software enabling the management and optimization of clean energy technologies, in the recent acquisition of the company by tech unicorn Octopus Energy Group.
Upside Energy was founded in 2014. Its cloud-based platform connects with clean energy technologies such as batteries, electric vehicles and heat pumps, allowing it to manage those devices to match real-time energy demand and supply. This helps to balance the grid and enables customers to capitalize on cheaper, greener power.
Octopus Energy plans to build on Upside’s large customer base of both utilities and asset owners across the energy industry, expanding into new international markets and audience segments. Octopus will integrate Upside’s data science and AI expertise into its proprietary cloud-based technology platform ‘Kraken’. This scalable platform to drive the smart grid internationally is aiming to reach 100 million energy accounts by 2027.
“We are very happy to have worked with the great Upside Energy team. Despite a challenging business and transaction environment in the middle of the COVID crisis, the company showed tremendous traction on the back of a modern and highly scalable technology platform, which enabled this successful transaction,” said Dr. Moritz Borgmann, partner at Apricum.
Upside Energy’s CEO Devrim Celal said: “I’m really excited for Upside as we become part of Octopus Energy Group and take advantage of the opportunities this acquisition will bring. We are joining forces with a like-minded team who share our ambitions to play a major role in achieving the transition to a net-zero world. Apricum, with its industry knowledge, network and transaction experience was a key support for us.”
The Apricum team included Dr. Moritz Borgmann, Jesselyn Malimata and Stephanie Adam.
About Upside Energy
Upside Energy’s pioneering cloud platform is the bridge between the physical and financial elements of the energy system, providing route to market opportunities and monetizing distributed energy resources (DERs). Upside Energy enables its customers to future proof their ability to capitalize on the energy transition.
About Octopus Energy Group
Octopus Energy Group was launched in 2016 with a vision of using technology to make the green energy revolution affordable whilst transforming customer experiences. Its domestic energy arm already serves over 1.8 million customers with cheaper greener power, through Octopus Energy, M&S Energy, Affect Energy, London Power and Co-op Energy. Octopus Energy for Business manages over 20,000 customers with proprietary energy offerings. Octopus Electric Vehicles is helping make clean transport cheaper and easier, and Octopus Energy Services is bringing smart products to thousands of homes. All of these are made possible by OEG’s tech arm, Kraken Technologies, which offers a proprietary, in-house platform based on advanced data and machine learning capabilities, Kraken automates much of the energy supply chain to allow outstanding service and efficiency as the world transitions to a decentralised, decarbonized energy system. This technology has been licensed to support over 17 million accounts worldwide, through deals with Good Energy, E.ON energy and Origin Energy. In December 2020, Octopus Energy Group was valued at over USD 2 billion after closing its second investment round of the year led by international energy companies Tokyo Gas and Origin Energy. With operations in the USA, Japan, Germany, New Zealand and Australia, Octopus Energy Group’s mission to drive the affordable green revolution is going global.
About Apricum
Apricum – The Cleantech Advisory is a transaction advisory and strategy consulting firm specialized in the cleantech and renewable energy space. Apricum’s team combines decades of experience in industry, corporate finance and project finance, with an in-depth understanding of renewable energy market dynamics. Apricum has an extensive global network among equity and debt investors, providing expertise and support to close the most favorable transactions. Apricum is headquartered in Berlin with representatives in Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and North America.
