Ovo has taken a minority stake in blockchain company Electron, through its company Kaluza.

Electron will use the proceeds of Kaluza’s investment to accelerate the development and deployment of its distributed flexibility marketplace. The deal is the first strategic investment for Kaluza, a new division within Ovo that develops and manages software and hardware to support the integration of electric vehicles, electric heating and battery storage onto the grid.

Paul Massara will be stepping back from his role as chief executive but will remain involved in Electron as an advisor and an investor. Jo-Jo Hubbard, who co-founded Electron alongside Paul Ellis, will become chief executive. She said, “OVO is perfectly placed to support the development of our asset identity and trading platforms. ”

Kaluza’s director of business development Steven Ackroyd will be appointed to the Electron Board.

Further reading

The New Power Interview: Jo-Jo Hubbard spoke to Janet Wood about the threats and opportunities of blockchain, and the experience of innovation in the energy industry

Report from BIEE conference: all the action is at the grid edge The old energy industry model is broken, Philip New, chief executive of the Energy Systems Catapult, has told delegates at the annual conference of the British Institute for Energy Economics (BIEE)

Forging the blockchain Blockchain is moving out of the realm of speculation into the mainstream. Janet Wood spoke to Australia-based PowerLedger about test beds for the technology and how it will most likely be used in the power sector