Octopus boss says China’s energy tech marks ‘golden opportunity’ for UK
The head of Britain’s biggest energy supplier has warned that Britain risks being “left behind” if it does not cooperate with China on renewable technology, and suggested that importing wind farm innovations from China could create thousands of jobs.
Greg Jackson, founder and chief executive of Octopus Energy, accompanied Sir Keir Starmer on the UK delegation to China recently. He highlighted China’s significant advances in technology and renewable energy, believing these could provide Britain with crucial energy security.
This effort to further close relations follows Octopus Energy’s recent joint venture with China’s PCG Power, which marks its first expansion in China.
The deal will enable Octopus to trade renewable energy in the world’s largest clean energy market.
Additionally, Octopus has previously stated its desire to use wind turbines from leading Chinese manufacturers in UK projects, using the country’s renewable technology to enhance UK capabilities.
However, these potential collaborations are being established against the backdrop of ongoing national security concerns regarding China following tense relations between the two countries.
Mr Jackson told the Press Association: “Whatever you think of China, it is the second largest economy in the world.
“It sets the global pace in many areas due to its investments in research, development and technology.
“There are a lot of people who are concerned about China’s motives or how they are governed, but… if you don’t think about how to work with them, then you’re going to be left behind.”
He added that working with China and gaining access to its technology was a “golden opportunity” with the potential to reduce energy bills, create jobs and strengthen the UK economy.
“We must be prepared to defend our own sovereignty and ensure our own security when working and trading with countries that can make people in Britain better off,” he told the PA.
“There’s an obsession with whether we should help their economy, but the truth is we need to help our own economy.”
In September last year, Octopus struck a deal with Ming Yang Smart Energy Group in China to collaborate on wind farm projects; This could pave the way for British companies to bring Chinese turbine machinery to the UK for the first time.
Mr Jackson said the firm hoped to start bringing turbine technology, which is said to be about 30 per cent cheaper, from Europe within the next few years.
“We hope to create thousands of jobs here to produce some of the wind turbines that the UK plans to build,” he said.
He stressed that safety would be the company’s “number one priority” in rolling out the technology, but that the UK needed to take action to reduce its dependence on imported gas and reduce billing costs.
“We must work intelligently and carefully with appropriate security frameworks,” he said.
“They’re opening up to us in a way that suits us, and that’s where we need to think about how to work with them.”
Octopus, which has 7.6 million customers in the UK, left behind British Gas at the beginning of this year and became the UK’s largest energy supplier with a market share of 24 percent.
It also owns an AI-powered platform called Kraken Technologies, which is used by other global energy retailers to improve customer service and billing and is worth around £6.4bn.
The government last month announced it would invest £25 million in Kraken through the British Business Bank (BBB) before the division is disbanded in the next few months.
