The announcement, made at the WIRED x Octopus Energy Tech Summit in Berlin, calls for collaboration among global clean tech manufacturers and utilities to join a new alliance, ensuring seamless device compatibility and smart grid support.
A global standard for the future of energy
Octopus aims to form a consortium of hardware manufacturers to create ‘Mercury Enabled’ technical guidelines, certifying that clean tech devices like heat pumps, batteries, solar panels, and EV chargers can work together to balance energy grids efficiently.
The goal is to streamline the integration of the predicted 200 million clean tech devices that will be in use by 2030.
By setting this standard, Octopus seeks to make it easier for customers to adopt clean technologies with the assurance that their devices will be compatible with other major brands, enhancing the transition to sustainable energy.
Driving industry collaboration and consumer adoption
‘Project Mercury’ not only sets out to standardise technology but also to foster collaboration across the clean energy industry. The alliance will support the broad adoption of global demand flexibility schemes, such as Octopus Energy’s ‘Saving Sessions’, and promote smart energy tariffs that benefit consumers worldwide.
Greg Jackson, founder of Octopus Energy Group, said: “Just as Bluetooth set a global standard for tech devices, we need a similar approach for energy – allowing millions of smart energy technologies to seamlessly integrate with each other.
“We invite the entire smart energy industry to join ‘Project Mercury’ to create common standards for the smart thermostats, heat pumps, EV chargers, and batteries in our homes. This will bring us closer to a fully connected, sustainable and affordable energy ecosystem.”
Building the world’s largest virtual power plant
In just two years, Octopus has developed the world’s largest virtual power plant, managing over 1GW of flexible demand in the UK through 200,000 connected energy devices. Now the UK’s largest power supplier, Octopus Energy operates in 18 countries, leading the way in smart energy integration.
Image: Octopus