Danish energy giant DONG Energy is to rebrand itself as Ørsted in a move designed to shake off its fossil fuel foundations.
The energy giant revealed that it would be rebranding this morning, arriving at the decision following its “profound strategic transformation from black to green energy”.
Chief executive Henrik Poulsen announced the change at a ceremony in Denmark this morning, stating that the company was no longer the one it was 10 years ago. “Now we are a green energy company,” he said.
Poulsen added that DONG – an acronym for Danish Oil & Natural Gas – no longer “properly reflects the company we want to become” having turned it back on fossil fuel generation to focus predominantly on wind and biomass.
“2017 will be remembered as the year when offshore wind became cheaper than black energy, as demonstrated by the recent tenders for offshore wind in Germany and the UK. It has never been more clear that it is possible to create a world that runs entirely on green energy. The time is now right for us to change our name to demonstrate that we want to help create such a world,” Poulsen said.
Having initially drawn up a list of around 3,000 prospective identities, Poulsen said the company had settled on Orsted having drawn inspiration from the famous Danish physicist Hans Christian Ørsted, who discovered the link between electricity and magnetism.
DONG is to be phased out from next month and Ørsted will be adopted from 6 November.
