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 - [email protected] with your feedback & recommendations.

If you want to connect with today's guest, you’ll find links to their contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://suncast.media/episodes/.

Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America!

You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at www.suncast.media/sponsors.

Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 875 other founder stories and startup advice at www.suncast.media.

Subscribe to Valence, our weekly LinkedIn Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/

You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on:

Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/nicomeo

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus