Octopus pledges €1bn to boost France’s green energy market with one million customer target
Octopus Energy has announced plans to further expand its investment strategy in Europe – committing vast sums of green investment into the French energy market.
The UK’s third largest energy supplier pledged to spend a further €1bn (£880m) in France, with chief executive Greg Jackson attending the Franco-British summit between President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last week.
The funds will be used to generate enough local green power to supply 300,000 households and to accelerate the transition to low carbon power.
The energy giant first entered the French market in January 2022 with its acquisition of energy supplier Plum Energie, and is now targeting one million customers by 2026 with Octopus France.
Octopus’ announcement builds on decisions it has already made in France, with the company launching a new European tech hub in Paris through its subsidiary Kraken.
The new hub will create hundreds of clean energy jobs and support millions of customers across the continent.
The energy firm has also entered multiple markets on the continent including Spain, Italy and Germany.
Octopus Energy chief executive Greg Jackson said: “Octopus operates across ten European countries, and today we’re delighted to announce a huge increase in our cooperation with France.
Commenting on the new European hub, he added: “We’re planning to invest an extra billion Euros in French generation – but we’re also going to make Paris our EU technology hub. This is testament to the mutual commitment to investing in a clean energy system, and pioneering the digitisation which will drive costs down alongside carbon.”
Vincent Maillard, chief executive of Octopus Energy France, said: “We are very proud to see Octopus Energy’s role in France’s energy transition recognised at the highest level of the French government.
“In doing so, the group combines retail energy expertise, major investments in renewable generation and cutting-edge technology to unlock innovative tariffs and deliver an outstanding customer experience to French households.”
Octopus has recently been engaged in court proceedings, with Centrica, Scottish Power and EON challenging the government over its takeover of Bulb in the UK.
The energy firm has over five million customers and is the third biggest supplier in the country following the deal.