Schneider Electric, Kraken partner to fast-track grid connections 

Schneider Electric and Kraken have announced they are joining forces to accelerate electricity demand flexibility and speed up grid connections for data centres and industrial users, without the need for costly infrastructure upgrades.

According to Schneider Electric, the partnership is designed to help utilities and distribution system operators (DSOs) improve the monitoring of the grid, forecast congestion and shift demand in real time.

“Utilities and grid operators are under real pressure to maintain reliability, respond to shifting demand and make better decisions with better data, whilst working with aging infrastructure,” Schneider Electric energy management EVP Frédéric Godemel said.

“Our aim is to create an interoperable energy system that works seamlessly. By combining Schneider Electric’s platform approach with specialist partners like Kraken, we can help customers make the most of existing assets, reduce complexity, roll out new capabilities faster, unlock hidden capacity.”

Technological integration and network visibility

Under the partnership, Schneider Electric will provide utilities and DSOs with real-time visibility of network constraints through its One Digital Grid Platform and EcoStruxure DERMS. Alongside this, utilities and DSOs will have access to energy intelligence, distributed control, and flexible load management through the broader EcoStruxure ecosystem. 

At the same time, Kraken will deliver an AI-powered platform that will coordinate distributed energy resources, including electric vehicles, home batteries and heat pumps, into a single system. The platform is said to provide visibility over local, low-voltage networks and orchestrate these devices alongside utility-scale storage, generation assets and industrial loads to shift consumption and balance the grid in real time.

“For Kraken, it’s clear: speed to flexibility means speed to power. AI is not just a driver of demand – it revolutionises the capacity we can get out of the grid we already have,” Kraken CEO Amir Orad said. 

“We are unlocking that capability at scale, to boost grid connections and power growth. Together with Schneider Electric, we’re building a more resilient, more affordable and cleaner energy system – for consumers and for the planet.”

The partnership comes as Schneider Electric cited that electricity demand from data centres alone reached around 415 TWh in 2024, and that figure is set to double by 2030.