Kraken, a utilities tech platform that powers the likes of Octopus Energy, opened the doors to its new tech centre in Manchester last year, claiming to be the UK’s first energy tech superhub.
It might be tucked away on a quiet Manchester street, but behind the shutters of the Pariser Building, the tech centre houses engineering teams and is used as an R&D testing hub for integrating third-party devices with Kraken’s platform.
Prolific North had a tour inside the hub this week as part of our deep dive into the future of Northern tech, and had a chat with Andy Molineaux, co-founder and director of engineering and integrations at Kraken.
“Kraken is separate from Octopus, it’s one of our customers and we’re part of the same group. We provide the operating system that Octopus, EDF Energy, E.ON and Tokyo Gas use. That’s everything across the board, from the app, to the billing and the meter readings,” Molineaux tells Prolific North, untangling Kraken’s tentacles from Octopus Energy.
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“We monitor the cables to the wind farms out at sea, so we do a lot of things that a utility or an energy company would need.”
Globally, Kraken has around 2,000 staff with headquarters in London. Manchester, with Kraken’s R&D hub and offices in Bruntwood SciTech’s Circle Square, is home to around 450 employees.
Kraken first landed in Manchester back in 2020 after the team were scouting places in the North to build out a tech hub.
“We were based out of Lancaster, that’s where I graduated from university. When we were looking for a tech hub in the North, Manchester hands down was the right place to go,” he explains.
“The tech scene here is incredible. Some of the big pulls at the time were Autotrader and Disney, having those big names in the city means the tech industry here for modern tech software developers is second to none.”
He went one step further, hailing Manchester’s tech sector as creating a “community” – not just an industry: “In my opinion, I would say Manchester is outpacing London.”
In the middle of heat pumps, Kraken mascots and electric vans inside the tech hub, you can’t help but spot a large disco ball hanging from the ceiling. The warehouse feel and design, kitted out with a graffiti mural designed by a local artist, is all a “nod” to Manchester’s Hacienda nightclub heritage.
“We work hybrid over in Circle Square but here, the testing centre is the nuts and bolts where our integrations and engineering teams do a lot of the testing,” he explains.
“Software and electrical engineers will connect things up, test things out, and it ranges from installing heat pumps, electric EVs, the chargers to installing the gateway hardware that controls 200 megawatt batteries.”
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When the hub first opened, Devrim Celal, CEO of Kraken, said Manchester is “on track to becoming the ‘Silicon Valley’ for energy tech”.
Kraken’s bold ambitions are that its tech facility will serve as the groundwork for that mission, bringing together dozens of global partners to test out clean tech solutions, and accelerate the UK’s transformation to a ‘clean energy superpower’.
“With the electrification of heat to transport, we think we’re really well set as an expert in this and are bringing partners together. The community aspect of Manchester means it’s a great opportunity for the city to be a vehicle for change, especially with its muscles and heritage in the industrial revolution.
“From AI to data capture or introducing solar power into different types of domestic settings, there are a whole host of things we need to do. Greater Manchester has that authenticity to be driving change, especially if you look at the Bee Network. It’s a great hotbed for energy tech.”
As for what’s next for Kraken in Manchester, the tech firm plans to become even more embedded in the ecosystem through running more tech-led events and nurturing the next generation of talent.
“Education is really important. We have quite a few different schemes we run with Octopus, everything from apprenticeships to train people how to install heat pumps, EVs and solar, to tapping into graduates.”
“We have loads of space here to help people. Octopus have a big centre up North but we want one here as well, so we’re going to loan out our spaces to allow that.”
Kraken also does outreach with schools to showcase “accessibility” into the industry.
“The North West is a great place to go from where you are today to being a software engineer to being a data scientist to being something within the green energy system.”
