What Octopus actually launched on 22 June 2026
At the Octopus Energy Tech Summit (ETS 2026) on 22 June 2026, Octopus announced that it is becoming the first major UK energy supplier to launch its own home battery range (Octopus launch announcement, 22 June 2026). The launch is in two parts.
Both products come with a 12-year warranty (Octopus launch announcement, 22 June 2026).
The launch market is the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, with sale starting "next year" (2027). No specific month has been confirmed. Source: Octopus launch announcement, 22 June 2026.
The price question Octopus has not answered
The thing the launch did not include was a price tag. The Octopus launch announcement, 22 June 2026 gives no price for either product.
Octopus has not published a Cube price, so we do not estimate one. If Octopus publishes it, we will add it here.
The Colossus has no published price either, so we do not estimate one. Habo Energy already charges from £2,499 fully installed for its 5 kWh STREAM or AC 5000, about £500 per usable kWh. We set out what is and is not known about Nook pricing next to the Habo Energy battery in our Octopus Nook vs Habo Energy price comparison.
What is genuinely new about the Nook
The Cube is a new kind of product from a UK supplier. Octopus says it is the first major UK energy supplier to offer its own home battery range directly to customers (Octopus launch announcement, 22 June 2026). That changes the conversation for private renters who have no install path for a wall-mounted battery, and pairs with what we covered on battery storage for flats and plug-in solar.
Where to be careful
"On sale in 2027." Octopus says "from next year" and has not committed to a month, so do not plan around a specific date.
Wait or buy now: the twelve-month maths
If you are a UK homeowner with somewhere to put a battery, the question that matters is what waiting twelve months actually costs. There are three line items.
| Cost of waiting (per household) | Approximate value |
|---|---|
| Foregone Octopus Go arbitrage for 12 months | Up to £420 to £490 on a 5 kWh battery, best case (how) |
| 0% VAT on home batteries expires 31 March 2027 (per HMRC VAT Notice 708/6) | Expected to return to 5% VAT, about £125 more on a £2,499 install (VAT guide) |
| Cost of waiting 12 months for the Nook Colossus | Up to about £545 to £615 on a £2,499 battery, best case (£420 to £490 plus £125) |
For the Colossus to win on lifetime cost vs buying now, it needs to launch (a) before 31 March 2027 so 0% VAT still applies, (b) at a price more than about £545 to £615 below the equivalent battery you would buy today (best case), and (c) without a long install queue. The first two are plausible; the third is not under Octopus' control.
The position we land on is the same as our read on sodium-ion home batteries: waiting for a future product to undercut today's market is a real option, but the savings the current market delivers right now are not free if you delay.
Who the Nook genuinely suits
Strong fit: renters and tenants in flats who have no install path for a wall-mounted battery today. Leaseholders whose freeholder will not permit fixed electrical work. People who move every year or two and want a battery they can take with them. Octopus Go customers who already trust the Octopus app stack and would rather not configure a third-party battery.
Weak fit: owner-occupiers in houses with a meter cupboard, garage or utility room. EV-driving households where the battery economics are dominated by load-shifting tens of kWh of car charging (the Cube is far too small). Anyone who wants to install before the 31 March 2027 VAT change. People who want guaranteed whole-home backup during a power cut, which a plug-in Cube cannot deliver.
The wider context: supplier-brand batteries
The Nook ties battery hardware to an energy supplier: Octopus says the batteries will be available to Octopus customers (Octopus launch announcement, 22 June 2026). The thing to watch is supplier lock-in: before you buy, check what happens to app control and the warranty if you later switch energy supplier.
The bottom line
The Octopus Nook Cube is a genuinely new UK product category and the right answer for renters and flat-dwellers who currently have no install path. The Nook Colossus is new competition in the installed-battery market, but without a published price it cannot yet be compared. For UK homeowners, the calculus has not changed: waiting a year to buy a 5 kWh battery costs up to about £420 to £490 in foregone Octopus Go savings in the best case (see how we worked it out), plus about £125 more on a £2,499 install if VAT returns to 5% after 31 March 2027. Putting off the install has a cost. If you are weighing up a battery from scratch, our complete guide to home battery storage in the UK covers costs, sizing, tariffs and the install rules in one place.
Octopus Nook cost and price: quick answers
Octopus has not published a Cube price. We do not estimate a Cube price until Octopus publishes one. It is plug-in only, though, and does not back up your whole home.
No official price yet either, so we do not estimate one. For comparison, Habo Energy's 5 kWh battery is from £2,499 fully installed, about £500 per usable kWh.
No firm price has been announced, and neither the Cube nor the Colossus goes on sale until 2027. We do not estimate Nook prices until Octopus publishes them. For a full like-for-like breakdown against a published Habo price on the install waitlist, see our Octopus Nook vs Habo Energy price comparison.
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Don't wait until 2027 to start saving
Habo Energy's 5 kWh STREAM or AC 5000 is from £2,499 fully installed, electrician-wired, with 0% VAT locked in. You can add expansion packs later. Nook is 2027 and unpriced. Join the install waitlist and we contact you when we can book. Nothing to pay today.