Episode 929

929: How Kraken Is Turning Grid Chaos Into Coordination | Devrim Celal

Published on: 7th May, 2026

The grid is getting more crowded.

EVs. Heat pumps. Batteries. Rooftop solar. Flexible demand.

What used to be a system built around a few thousand centralized assets is rapidly becoming a network of millions of connected devices interacting with the grid in real time.

That changes everything.

In this episode, Nico sits down with Devrim Celal, Chief Flexibility Officer at Kraken, to unpack why the future grid is becoming a software coordination problem, and how Kraken is helping utilities orchestrate distributed energy at massive scale.

But this conversation goes far beyond software.

Devrim shares the entrepreneurial journey that led him from software engineering and consulting to ultra-distance running, real estate, reinsurance, and eventually Upside Energy, the company that evolved into Kraken through its acquisition by Octopus Energy.

Expect to learn:

🔹Why visibility into the low-voltage grid is one of electrification’s biggest hidden challenges

🔹How utilities are turning EVs and batteries into flexible grid assets

🔹Why consumer participation is defining feature of our future energy system

🔹What entrepreneurs can learn from Upside Energy’s evolution into Kraken

This is a conversation about systems thinking, entrepreneurship, culture, and the increasingly important role software will play in the clean energy transition.

Listen now to hear how Kraken is helping turn grid complexity into clean energy opportunity.

Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think we should be covering here on SunCast?

Hit us up - team@suncast.me with your feedback & recommendations.

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About the Podcast

SunCast
Your resource for developing a clean energy or climate tech career
Nico Johnson takes you into conversations with those at the forefront of Renewable Energy.

SunCast gives an inside look into what is happening in renewable energy. From conversations with the biggest Solar Panel manufacturers in the world to the small startups creating the future of renewable energy, such as carbon capture and battery technology breakthroughs.

SunCast is dedicated to providing the knowledge, research, tools and expert guidance you need to understand, grow and be ahead of the curve in the fastest-growing markets in the world.

Featuring over 800 conversations, Nico has interviewed people from Tesla, SolarCity, Trina Solar, Meyer Burger, Conergy, SunEdison, Energy Vault and even the US Government... to name a few. Covering topics such as Solar Power, Wind Energy, Batteries, Electric Vehicles, Carbon Capture, Finance, Hydrogen, and more.

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