Sustainable charging through smart energy management

We recently expanded our charging infrastructure at the Sint-Niklaas office to better meet the growing charging needs of our vehicle fleet. In total, 25 charging points are now available for charging electric company cars. In addition, we are partially opening our infrastructure to third parties: outside office hours, 9 charging points are also publicly accessible, contributing to the support of electric mobility in the region.

This expansion goes hand in hand with a smart and sustainable approach to energy management. Although our electrical installation does not allow all charging points to operate at full capacity simultaneously, this is not a limitation. Through an advanced energy management system, we make the most efficient use of the available power.

The system continuously takes into account the building’s current energy consumption as well as the output from our solar panels. Thanks to real-time load balancing, the available power is evenly distributed across the active charging points, allowing vehicles to charge safely and efficiently without the risk of overloading.

The benefits of this smart system are clear:

• We avoid peak loads and power outages
• We maximize the use of locally generated renewable solar energy
• We guarantee a stable and efficient charging speed at all times

The charging speed per vehicle – between 5 kW and 11 kW – depends on:

• The amount of solar energy being generated at that moment
• The number of vehicles charging simultaneously
• The power consumption of building systems such as servers, HVAC, and lighting

With this investment in sustainable technology, we are not only advancing the electrification of our vehicle fleet, but also actively contributing to a greener future.

Towards a more sustainable vehicle fleet: our progress since 2022

In 2022, we adjusted our company car policy to better align with our sustainability ambitions to reduce operational emissions as much as possible. This shift marked the start of a gradual transition toward a fully electric vehicle fleet by the end of 2026.

Since then, the share of fossil-fuel vehicles has significantly decreased. These have been systematically replaced by electric alternatives, resulting in a noticeable drop in fleet-related emissions.

Today, we proudly share the first results of this transition. The reduction in CO₂ emissions confirms that we are on the right path—towards more sustainable mobility and a healthier environment. This progress represents an important step in achieving our broader environmental goals and demonstrates that conscious choices truly make a difference.

Since the gradual switch to a fully electric fleet, we’ve made significant progress in reducing emissions from fossil-fuel company cars. While our fleet accounted for 411.73 tons of CO₂ emissions in 2022, this number dropped to 325.38 tons in 2024—a saving of no less than 86.35 tons of CO₂! (These figures relate to emissions from fossil-fuel vehicles only; electric vehicles are not included.)

Today, 52% of our total fleet (82 vehicles) is electric. And we’re not stopping there: by the end of 2026, we aim to have replaced the vast majority of our fossil-fuel vehicles with electric alternatives.

This evolution reaffirms our commitment to more sustainable mobility and proves that targeted action delivers real results.