Schneider Electric and Kraken have announced a strategic partnership to help utilities and Distribution System Operators unlock more capacity from existing electricity networks.
The collaboration brings together Schneider Electric’s digital grid technologies with Kraken’s AI-powered operating platform. The aim is to improve grid visibility, forecast congestion, manage demand in real time and support faster connections for data centres and large industrial users.
The partnership comes as electricity demand continues to rise, driven by electrification, renewable energy growth and expanding data centre infrastructure. Data centre electricity use reached around 415 TWh in 2024 and is expected to double by 2030.
Many grid operators still face congestion because they have limited real-time visibility of local networks. Traditionally, solving these constraints has required major infrastructure upgrades, which can take years to deliver. Schneider Electric and Kraken say demand-side flexibility can offer a faster and more cost-effective option.
By optimising electricity use across electric vehicles, home batteries, solar PV systems, industrial operations and utility-scale energy assets, utilities can better balance supply and demand and reduce pressure on the grid.
Schneider Electric will provide its One Digital Grid Platform and EcoStruxure DERMS solutions, while Kraken will orchestrate distributed energy resources such as EVs, heat pumps, home batteries, storage, generation and industrial loads.
“For Kraken, it is clear: speed to flexibility means speed to power. AI is not just a driver of demand – it revolutionises the capacity we can extract from the grid we already have. We are unlocking that capability at scale, to boost grid connections and power growth,” said Amir Orad, CEO of Kraken.
Frédéric Godemel, Executive Vice President of Energy Management at Schneider Electric, said utilities are under pressure to maintain reliability while working with ageing infrastructure. “Our aim is to create an interoperable energy system that works seamlessly,” he said.
Source: EME Outlook Magazine
