Solar Energy to Power our Car fleet

At Umicore, we pursue eco-efficiency initiatives including energy efficiency to minimize our carbon footprint.  Our Belgian sites in Brussels, Hoboken and Bruges have taken the initiative to install solar panels to power Umicore’s electrified car fleet. The three sites together will now produce 1491MWh per year from solar energy.  
 
Leen van Hees from Purchasing and Transportation explains how the energy produced by the solar panels will be used: “The energy created by the panels goes into the electricity grid. The charging stations are connected to the same grid and are powered by the same electricity. However, if we take the example of Hoboken, there is a yearly production of 883 MWh. An electric car consumes approximately 0,2 kWh per km, meaning that the solar production at Hoboken provides 4.415.000 km of driving with green electricity”. 
 
Although this is only a start, Umicore believes that its new car policy and the installation of solar panels on our Belgian sites is a good example to move towards zero-emission mobility. This  initiative will provide inspiration for other sites around the world.