The project was first announced at the WIRED x Octopus Energy Tech Summit in Berlin last Thursday (10th October). Known as ‘Mercury Enabled’, the new technical guidelines will certify device interoperability and functionality to support energy grids by balancing supply and demand.
The new standard will simplify the switch to clean tech devices like heat pumps, batteries, solar panels and EV chargers for millions of customers – and most importantly, give them the confidence that their clean tech will work with other established brands.
‘Project Mercury’ will also foster collaboration across the industry to drive broad adoption, promoting consumer participation in global demand flexibility schemes, such as Octopus Energy’s ‘Saving Sessions’, and the uptake of smart energy tariffs.
“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” said Greg Jackson, Founder of Octopus Energy Group. “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.”
In just two years Octopus has built the world’s largest virtual power plant, managing over 1 GW of flexible demand in the UK via 200,000 connected energy devices. The company is now the largest power supplier in the UK, with operations in 18 countries.
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