Janssen Pharmaceutica drives electric

Beerse, 26 October 2011 – Today Janssen Pharmaceutica proudly presented five sustainable electric vehicles to its employees. The new Citroen C-ZERO vehicles will allow staff to travel between the different Janssen Pharmaceutica sites without contributing any CO2 emissions. This pilot project is part of a much larger Flemish initiative that aims to ensure that electric cars become a viable alternative option to traditional fossil fuel cars for all Flemish people.

As part of its annual ‘Wetenschaps- en Kennisweek’ (Science & Knowledge Week)1, which is on the theme of sustainability this year, today Janssen Pharmaceutica inaugurated the first electric vehicles in its fleet. There were 5 Citroen C-ZEROs put into service, with charging points located at the three Janssen sites in the area. Employees can thus move between Beerse, Geel and Tilburg in a totally sustainable manner, and be counted among the first in Flanders to become acquainted with this new technology.

“Since the cars are charged with 100% green electricity, the new C-ZEROs discharge exactly zero grams of CO2 per kilometre. If you consider that we will easily cover 10,000 kilometres with the electric cars annually, that means a saving of 1.3 tonnes of CO2 per vehicle per year,” explains Bart Dewulf, senior manager EHS Campus Belgium. “Furthermore, these are fun, practical cars. When you attach them to the charging infrastructure specially provided for this purpose, they charge in six hours, after which they can travel a distance of 130 kilometres, in favourable conditions. Thus, perfectly usable as a shuttle between the Janssen sites.”

The Janssen pilot project is part of the Flemish Government’s ‘Proeftuin Elektrische Voertuigen’ (Experimental Electric Vehicles project), an initiative of Ingrid Lieten, Minister of Innovation. The purpose of the project is to accelerate the introduction of electric vehicles in Flanders by having companies and organizations test this innovative technology in a real living and working environment. Janssen Pharmaceutica is, together with 17 other companies and research institutions, part of iMOVE2, one of the five participation platforms of the project. Together, they wish to make the switch to an electric vehicle as painless as possible for the user, through research that focuses on renewable energy and smart grids, new battery and vehicle technology and travel behaviour. A large group of employees will thereby gain experience in maintenance and use of 175 electric vehicles and 300 charging stations.

“We couldn’t let this opportunity to participate in such an ambitious and yet practical and appropriate project pass us by”, says Tom Heyman, general manager. “Janssen Pharmaceutica has long been investing in all facets of sustainability. There are currently several projects running, but this is one of the most striking. With a single project, we achieve several goals. On the organizational level, the C-ZEROs are a useful acquisition for the Janssen Campus. While we reduce our environmental footprint, our employees become familiar with sustainable travel and we assist in deploying the technology in the whole of Flanders.”

¹ Wetenschaps- en Kennisweek (Science & Knowledge Week)
From 25 to 28 October 2011, Janssen Pharmaceutica will hold its annual ‘Wetenschaps- en Kennisweek’. During this event, Janssen Campus Belgium employees have the opportunity to learn more about the activities of colleagues working in other fields. There are 44 workshops and activities organized for this week. This year, the theme of this event is sustainability, which means that the programmes focus on economic, social and environmental sustainability.

² iMOVE Consortium
Belgacom, Delhaize, Ernst & Young, Flanders’ DRIVE, Fleet & DriverCare, Gemeentelijk Autonoom Parkeerbedrijf Antwerpen, Hendriks Group, IBBT, Infrax, Interparking, Janssen Pharmaceutica, P&V Elektrotechniek, Punch Powertrain, REstore, SPE-Luminus, ThePluginCompany, Umicore and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB).

Janssen Pharmaceutica
Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. is a global centre of excellence for integrated R&D, production and general services. The company has four campuses in Belgium (Beerse I + II, Geel and Olen), which together employ nearly 4000 people. The company’s more than eighty registered medicines are used worldwide for human medicine and material protection. The company operates in a wide variety of disease areas, such as neuroscience, oncology and infectious diseases.

For further information
Lieve Deconinck
ldeconin@janbe.jnj.com
Tel.: +32 (0) 14 60 75 61