With Peak Oil in the Past, Shell Pivots to Adding EV Charging Stations

author: Vineeth Joel Patel   

The electric-vehicle boom is upon us. If you need any more proof of that, just look at what giant fossil fuel companies like Shell are doing. The company recently stated that oil production and carbon emissions have peaked and now it's looking to move away from fossil fuels. Peak oil production, apparently, happened in 2019 and now it's on track to decrease 1-2 percent each year. What is Shell, a giant fossil fuel company, looking to do now? Unbelievably, it's pivoting into the world of electric vehicles and renewable energy.


More EV Charging Stations


Electric-vehicle charging stations are in short supply in the U.S., so it seems fitting that Shell would immediately want to enter an area where it would be extremely profitable. The company claims that it will invest roughly $5 billion into the development of 500,000 charging stations for EVs by 2025. Currently, the charging network consists of roughly 60,000 charging points.


This isn't the first time we've heard about Shell's plans to come out with more EV charging stations. A few years ago, Shell announced that it planned to purchase electric-vehicle charging company Greenlots. The company became a subsidiary of Shell New Energies and was founded in 2008. Greenlots' business model is to sell EV charging stations to cities, businesses, automakers, and commercial property owners. Under Shell's ownership, Greenlots was looking to expand on the deployment of infrastructure in the U.S.


In addition to coming out with more electric charging stations, Shell announced that it would invest heavily in renewable energies, biofuels, and carbon offsets. Through its renewable energy sources, Shell is aiming to generate 560 terawatt hours a year by 2030, which is double the amount of electricity the company makes today. Going forward, Shell wants to act as an independent power producer to provide renewable energy generation to 15 million customers.


Becoming Net-Zero


These changes are part of Shell's goals to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The goal includes emissions from the oil and gas that Shells sells, as well as the emissions from the company's operations. Specific figures for Shell's net-zero emissions goal include reducing carbon intensity by 6-8 percent by 2023, 20 percent by 2030, 45 percent by 2035, and 100 percent by 2050.


Seeing Shell make such dramatic changes is surprising, but it shows what kind of changes fossil fuel companies will have to make if they want to survive in the green future. As more countries put their foot down on wanting to curb climate control, traditional companies are going to have to pivot to new things. Luckily, there's a silver lining for EV owners, as they'll hopefully get more charging stations out of the change.

Vineeth Joel Patel

Joel Patel has been covering all aspects of the automotive industry for four years as an editor and freelance writer for various websites. When it comes to cars, he enjoys covering the merger between technology and cars. In his spare time, Joel likes to watch baseball, work on his car, and try new foods