DONG Energy becomes Ørsted as it abandons fossil fuels and focuses on renewable energy

The Danish DONG Energy announced that it has fully abandoned power generation from oil and gas, and is changing its name to Ørsted to pledge its commitment to clean energy technologies.

DONG Energy used to stand for Danish Oil and Natural Gas, and as Thomas Thune Andersen, Dong chairman said, it does not longer represent what the company now is.

The company sold its upstream oil and gas business, and has announced that it will stop all use of coal.

Last week, it completed the divestment of its upstream oil and gas business to the global manufacturer of petrochemicals INEOS, with the 430 employees transferred to the new owner.

Instead, it will invest fully in renewable energy technologies and in the ‘next generation’ of clean energy projects, such as battery storage.

Thomas Thune Andersen, chairman of the board of directors at DONG Energy said: "With our profound strategic transformation and the divestment of our upstream oil and gas business, this is no longer who we are. Therefore, now is the right time to change our name”.

After the company holds a general meeting on October 30th to approve the change of name, it will be called Ørsted, which is inspired by the Danish scientist Hans Christian Ørsted who discovered electromagnetism in 1820, laying the foundation of how today’s world is powered.

Ørsted vision will be a world that runs entirely on green energy, and the company’s contribution will be to develop more offshore wind farms, bioenergy plants and waste-to-energy solutions.

To celebrate its rebranding, the former fossil-based energy company created a powerful short film called “Love your home” spreading the idea that a world that relies exclusively on green energy is both plausible and an imperative.  

“Our home has treated us well. But its temperatures increase, and sea levels rise. It’s time to change how we treat it”.

“It’s not easy to change our ways. But if we all look beyond our own walls, and see our home for what it really is, it might change you, like it’s transforming us; from a black to a green energy company”.

Henrik Poulsen, CEO of DONG Energy, soon to become Ørsted said: "Green energy is now cheaper than black energy. This is a real turning point, because green energy has become the economic choice. This gives the world a unique opportunity to take real action against climate change and create a world that runs entirely on green energy”. 

                               

He added: “2017 will be remembered as the year when offshore wind became cheaper that black energy, as demonstrated by the recent tenders for offshore wind in Germany and the UK”.

"It has never been clearer that it is possible to create a world that runs entirely on green energy”.

During the past six years DONG Energy has contributed to making offshore wind power 63 percent cheaper, and by 2023 its carbon emissions will have reduced by 96 percent.

Dong Energy/Orsted is a Gold Sponsor of the 8th Sustainable Innovation Forum (13 & 14 November 2017, Bonn, Germany), the largest public to private sector event during COP23, in partnership with the UN Environment. Dong’s Jakob Askou Bøss (Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy & Stakeholder Relations) will be discussing how to fast-track and scale-up the use of renewable energies and accelerating the energy transition. To find out more and register, click here.