Stockholm (NordSIP) – Dong Energy, Denmark’s largest integrated energy company, will change its name to Ørsted after the famous Danish scientist Hans Christian Ørsted, it announced today (October 2nd). The move follows the sale of its oil and gas business to Anglo-Swiss chemicals firm Ineos for USD1.3bn, fulfilling the objective of green conversion and switching to renewable energy from hydrocarbons.
Dong’s green turn effectively rendered its name redundant, the name DONG originally standing for Danish Oil and Natural Gas.
An extraordinary general meeting has been called for October 30th to ask shareholders for approval to the change of the company name. Ørsted, who lived from 1777 to 1851, spearheaded several scientific discoveries, including the discovery of electromagnetism in 1820, helping to lay the scientific foundation for how today’s societies are powered.
“With out profound strategic transformation and the divestment of our upstream oil and gas business [Dong is] no longer who we are. Therefore, now is the right time to change our name,” said Chairman of the Board of Directors Thomas Thune Andersen in a press release issued an hour ago.
“Our vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Climate change is one of the most serious challenges facing the world today, and to avoid causing serious harm to the global ecosystems, we need to fundamentally change the way we power the world by switching from black to green energy,” he continued.
Dong has transformed from an energy company based on coal and oil to a global leader in renewable energy over the past decade, increasing earnings considerably while reducing the use of coal in its power stations and building new offshore wind farms. Its carbon emissions have been reduced 52% since 2006 and will have been reduced by 96% in 2006 terms by 2023.
“Our focus going forward will be on green growth based on our existing business platforms in offshore wind, biomass, green customer solutions and advanced waste-to-energy solutions,” added CEO Henrik Poulsen. “We’ll also explore new green growth opportunities to strengthen (sic) our existing platform, if they support our vision, provide a strong competitive position and create value for our shareholders.”
The company now formerly known as Dong has also established a new storage team to explore new business opportunities in energy storage, and is setting up a new corporate ventures unit in Silicon Valley to explore emerging energy technologies and potential long-term business opportunities.
“As battery storage and new energy technologies mature and as a more flexible demand side is developed, natural gas will, in the coming years, continue to support the transition to an entirely green energy system. We will continue to trade in and sell natural gas to our customers, facilitating the bridge to a world that runs entirely on green energy,” Poulsen said.
Image: (c) giSpate-shutterstock
