Ørsted cars to go 100% electric

Denmark's largest energy company, Ørsted, has decided to phase-out petrol-powered vehicles from 2021, and said that its car fleet will be 100% electric by 2025.

The firm will also install and upgrade electric charging points and infrastructure at its largest offices, and continue to work with car-sharing companies that use clean vehicles.

Its 100% electric commitment makes Ørsted the first Danish member of EV100, a global initiative for companies working to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles towards 2030.

Ørsted is showing how large businesses can deliver the dream of truly clean transport in a matter of years not decades, said Luke Herbert, director at the Climate Group, which founded EV100.

Ørsted's car fleet consists of 340 work vehicles and passenger, of which around 22% are electric. Its plan to boost this to 100% by 2025 will involve a shift to vehicles that live up to EV100's requirements.

The company claims to have transformed its energy generation from fossil fuels to renewables faster than any other energy company over the last decade.

It has reduced its carbon emissions from energy generation by 83% during that time, and is well on track to meet its target of a 98% reduction of carbon emissions by 2025.

“Fortunately, big technological advances are being made at the moment, making electric vehicles competitive,“ said, Jakob Askou Bøss, Ørsted's head of strategy and communication.

“That is why we've decided that, from 2021, we'll only buy and lease electric vehicles, and that our entire fleet will be electric by 2025.

“We've made great strides in switching power generation to green energy, and the next big challenge will be the transport sector, which at the moment is predominantly based on fossil fuels.“

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