Ford’s well-established commitment to promoting sustainability and eco-friendly development in its operations has just taken a new development. Ford of Europe has teamed up with German energy provider RheinEnergie to sign a Memorandum of Understanding in regards to its Road to Better plan. This memorandum will help to develop an action plan for climate protection for Ford and RheinEnergie.
The memorandum details actions to increase the sustainability of Ford’s operations, including tripling the performance of Ford’s solar panel system and increases in the efficiency of production processes and lighting at the Ford production facility in Cologne, Germany.
The solar panels in question are located on the roof of Ford's Central European Spare Parts Warehouse in Merkenich, Cologne. With the help of RheinEnergie’s expertise, these panels will have their capacity increased to 3.76 MWp, an amount equal to the electricity that about 1,100 homes would use in a year. This installation will supply roughly 6% of the electricity that the Ford facilities in Merkenich require, and is due to be completed by the middle of next year.
Ford will also be supporting the expansion of wind farms in the area on top of its solar panel expansion. Two potential sites have been identified by RheinEnergie that could supply power for Ford sites as well as surrounding residences.
“Ford is totally committed to freedom of movement that goes hand-in-hand with looking after the planet. Through RheinEnergie, we already source all electricity requirements for our locations in Cologne from renewable energy sources. Now, we are working together to ensure that this electricity will be produced more locally in the future," said Martin Sander, general manager, Ford Model e, Europe.
Ford announced the opening of the Cologne Electric Vehicle Center last month, a major step as the company’s first carbon neutral assembly plant to open globally. This development, along with the collaboration with RheinEnergie, all goes to support the automaker’s Road to Better plan, a commitment to total carbon neutrality in Ford’s European footprint by the year 2035.
"We all have the same goal: to make Cologne climate neutral by 2035. We can only achieve this ambitious goal if we develop and implement concrete solutions with the large companies in Cologne," said Andreas Feicht, CEO of RheinEnergie. "Together with Ford, we are working on more energy-efficient production processes and gradually decarbonising the heat supply at the Cologne site. Regional green electricity is essential to make domestic car production as a whole more efficient and sustainable."
As time goes on, Ford is sure to make more steps towards achieving carbon neutrality and sustainability worldwide. If you’re interested in reading about them, make sure to stay up to date with our blog here at Dunphy Ford!
Categories:
News
