(Jan 29): Octopus Energy Group Ltd is set to enter a strategic partnership to build a power trading platform with China’s PCG Power, marking the UK company’s first venture in the Asian nation.
The agreement is expected to be signed during UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to the country this week, PCG Power said. Founded a decade ago, Octopus Energy has grown rapidly to become the UK’s largest domestic power supplier, driven by its heavy use of technology and data-driven algorithms, and has expanded internationally in recent years.
It comes after the UK leader travelled to China with a large delegation of business leaders including executives from HSBC Holdings plc, Jaguar Land Rover and AstraZeneca plc. Starmer is hoping to fashion more carefully negotiated trade ties with China, while protecting his relationship with US President Donald Trump.
The deal would mark a rare entrance by a UK energy firm into China’s tightly regulated power market. Octopus is seeking new avenues for growth overseas after reporting a full-year loss, which was driven by lower gas consumption and one-time costs. For PCG Power, the platform could help cut electricity costs for the industrial customers it supplies while supporting China’s efforts to meet its carbon-reduction targets. Octopus declined to comment.
The platform would function as a digital marketplace for electricity, matching buyers and sellers to find a price balance and enabling trading of contracts, while helping industrial customers to reduce energy costs, according to PCG Power.
PCG Power focuses on renewable projects. The company is backed by investors including Temasek Holdings Pte and GLP Pte. Last year, the company said it would partner with Octopus in key areas such as virtual power plants and energy digitalisation.
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