Shell has promised a huge expansion of its electric vehicle charging network and major investment into hydrogen as part of its plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Shell has promised a huge expansion of its electric vehicle charging network and major investment into hydrogen as part of its plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
The Anglo-Dutch oil giant has signalled that it intends to gradually reduce its oil production, which peaked in 2019, while expanding its efforts in renewables, biofuels and hydrogen.
Shell has recently expanded its interested in EV charging, opening its first bespoke EV-charging forecourt in the UK last year and acquiring EV charging firm Ubitricity.
The company currently has around 60,000 EV charging points worldwide operated under its Shell, Ubitricity and NewMotion brands, and boss Ben van Beurden has pledged to increate that number to “more than half a million” by the end of 2025.
Shell hasn’t given specific details of how many EV chargers it plans to install in individual markets. It currently operates EV chargers in 14 countries.
In addition, Shell will also start to produce environmentally friendly biofuels in its existing refineries and is aiming to dramatically grow hydrogen production and sales, both for hydrogen FCEVs and for domestic house heating. It will also expand sales of hydrogen, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and renewable natural gas at forecourts.
Shell is aiming to sell 560TWh hours of electricity a year by 2030 for both automotive and domestic usage, doubling its current levels.
With EV ownership rapidly becoming more popular and increasingly tough legislation to reduce emissions, several major oil giants are pushing to expand their interests in EV chargers. In 2018, BP bought Chargemaster for AUD$233 million, gaining the largest EV charging network in the UK.
James Attwood