- Octopus Energy has unveiled its first own-brand home battery range.
- A plug-in battery for renters could open up the market to millions of households.
- The systems will launch across five European countries from 2027.
Britain's home battery market could be about to open up to a much wider audience after Octopus Energy unveiled a new range of home energy storage systems, including a plug-in battery designed specifically for renters and people living in flats.
The launch puts home batteries, energy bill savings and Octopus Energy batteries firmly in focus as households continue looking for protection against volatile electricity prices. The move also marks Octopus Energy's entry into the increasingly competitive home battery market, where brands such as Tesla have established a strong presence.
A battery for Britain's renters
Announced at the company's Energy Tech Summit in London, the new Octopus Nook range includes the Nook Cube, a compact 2kWh battery roughly the size of a shoebox that plugs directly into a standard household socket.
Unlike traditional home battery systems that require permanent installation, the Cube has been designed for renters and apartment residents, a group that has largely been excluded from the home battery market because they often cannot make structural changes to their properties.
The battery can be managed through the Octopus app, while additional units can be added to increase storage capacity up to 10.5kWh. Octopus believes the product could help unlock energy storage for Britain's more than 10 million renting households.
For homeowners, the company is launching the Nook Colossus, a wall-mounted battery system with a capacity of 5kWh. The units can be stacked to provide up to 30kWh of storage for larger properties and higher energy demands. Both products are compatible with solar panels and will be sold with a 12-year warranty.
Growing battle for the home energy market
The launch comes as demand for solar panels and home batteries continues to rise across Europe. Higher and less predictable energy prices, particularly following instability in the Middle East, have encouraged more households to explore ways of generating and storing their own electricity.
Home batteries allow customers to store electricity when prices are lower, often overnight on smart tariffs or during periods of excess solar generation, and use it later when power costs are higher. Depending on usage patterns, this can reduce annual energy bills by hundreds of pounds.
Greg Jackson, founder and chief executive of Octopus Energy Group, reportedly said that home batteries are "one of the smartest ways to cut energy bills right now" and described the launch as part of the company's efforts to help customers access cheaper electricity.
Speaking about the Nook Cube, Jackson reportedly said the batteries could pay for themselves within two to three years and continue delivering savings afterwards by storing lower-cost electricity for later use.
The company has not yet disclosed pricing for either product. However, Jackson reportedly said the larger Nook Colossus system would be priced below many established battery brands and would include Octopus' smart optimisation technology to automatically charge and discharge at the most cost-effective times.
The batteries are expected to become available next year to Octopus customers in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
Octopus says it has already installed nearly 26,000 solar and battery systems across the UK, Spain and France. The latest launch suggests energy suppliers are increasingly looking beyond supplying electricity and into helping customers generate, store and manage their own power at home.
