The proposed partnership would combine ZOE's provincial virtual power plant operations in China with Octopus Energy's algorithms and international operating experience to build a smart energy platform tailored to domestic grid rules.
Shanghai ZOE Energy Storage and Octopus Energy signed a Strategic Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding on July 10, 2026 at Octopus Energy's UK headquarters, outlining plans for a broader co-operation agreement and a possible joint venture in China focused on smart energy and virtual power plant (VPP) operations. The partners said the project would combine ZOE's domestic licensing, deployment and operating capabilities with Octopus Energy's digital energy systems, including AI forecasting, dynamic pricing and cloud-edge dispatch tools, to create a one-stop intelligent VPP platform for the Chinese market. The proposed system is intended to aggregate commercial and industrial users, industrial parks, distributed PV, energy storage and EV charging infrastructure, with the aim of improving returns on distributed assets, balancing renewable power variability and supporting China's dual-carbon goals.