Octopus investment pours £200m into data centre heat recycling firm
Octopus Energy has purchased a £200m stake in a UK firm that heats swimming pools using excess heat generated by data centres.
The investment into Deep Green was announced via the UK’s energy darling’s dedicated investment arm, Octopus Energy Transition Fund (OETF), in return for an undisclosed equity share.
Deep Green currently operates a small mobile data centre the size of a fridge currently deployed in an Exmouth leisure centre.
The heat generated by the data centre running then heats the swimming pool.
Using the Octopus tranche, the company plans to expand its technology to more sites across the UK.
According to a company spokesperson, if one per cent of the UK’s data centre processing demand was harnessed by Deep Green, the company could heat every pool in the country continuously.
According to figures from the company, up to 40 per cent of the electricity used by data centres is allocated to cooling the servers.
Zoisa North-Bond, chief executive of Octopus Energy Generation said: “To tackle the energy crisis head-on, we need innovative solutions to unusual problems. – by using excess heat from data centres to slash energy bills for communities across the UK, Deep Green solves two problems with one solution.
“We’re looking forward to rapidly rolling this out and positively impacting even more people as we drive towards a cleaner, cheaper energy future.”
Mark Bjornsgaard, founder and chief executive of Deep Green, added: “We are thrilled with
Octopus’s commitment to support our next phase of growth.
“The data centre sector is rightly facing scrutiny about its growing energy demand and
associated carbon emissions – our data centres are highly energy efficient and support local
communities with free heat.”
The investment is the latest example of Octopus reaching its tentacles into more and more domestic and international business venture sectors that have seen a 60 per cent valuation leap since 2021, including multi-billion pound wind farm development commitments and an entry to the legal services market.