28 April 2022, London: Vodafone Business today announced it has teamed up with sport for purpose motorsport series, Extreme E, as its technology communications partner. Extreme E is a pioneering motor racing series which includes some of the world’s biggest motorsport names, with teams run by legends including Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button.
This collaboration will see Vodafone Business leading innovations and capabilities such as 5G, MPN, IOT and MEC, integrated into Extreme E’s global operations. It will also include full involvement in the purpose- driven elements of the series, with special prominence on Extreme E’s Legacy Programmes and the Science Laboratory on board the St Helena.
With expertise in connectivity, global scale and the leading IoT platform, Vodafone Business is a leading technology communications company helping organisations succeed in a digital world and keeping society connected. Vodafone’s purpose is to connect for a better future, enabling an inclusive and sustainable digital society, and many of its solutions have sustainability and inclusivity embedded. Through its IoT solutions, Vodafone Business is helping sustainability efforts, including agriculture, forestation and decarbonisation of energy grids.
Amanda Jobbins, Director of Marketing and Communications at Vodafone Business, said: “Vodafone Business is on a mission to encourage customers, businesses and wider society to switch to making greener choices through technology. Extreme E has a shared commitment to leaving a positive impact through its racing series, while promoting gender equality. This partnership will enable both organisations to leverage innovation to enhance the future and improve people’s lives.”
Extreme E’s five-race global voyage aims to: pave the way to a lower carbon future through the promotion of electric vehicles; draw attention to the impacts of climate change and the solutions we can all be part of; and seeks to accelerate gender equality in motorsport.
Ali Russell, Chief Marketing Officer at Extreme E, said: “As a sport for purpose series, it’s essential that we align ourselves with companies who share our core values, so we are delighted to be announcing this partnership with Vodafone Business.
Vodafone is a global leader of communications, innovation and technology and crucially embeds an impressive level of sustainability and inclusivity practices into its core strategies. We are proud to welcome Vodafone into the Extreme E family and look forward to working with them to achieve impactful results.”
In each location Extreme E visits it leaves behind a long-lasting positive impact through its Legacy Programmes by working with local NGOs and the series’ Scientific Committee to support the issues the series is trying to mitigate. Projects so far include collaborating with MEDSEA to support recovery response to devastating forest fires in Sardinia, teaming up with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) on its Forest Restoration Programme in Pará, Brazil, and a partnership with the Ba’a Foundation in Saudi Arabia on a conservation initiative for the endangered green turtle and critically endangered hawksbill turtle.
Season 2 of Extreme E kicked off in NEOM, Saudi Arabia in February 2022 and will head to Sardinia for a double-header Island X Prix event on 6 – 7 and 9 - 10 July. The remaining two events of Season 2 will see the Championship visit South America for the first time. The Copper X Prix in Antofagasta, Chile, will take place on 24-25 September, with the Season Finale in Punta del Este, Uruguay, for the Energy X Prix on 26-27 November.
To learn more about Extreme E and Vodafone Business, visit www.extreme-e.com or www.vodafone.com/business
For more information on Extreme E or Vodafone Business, please contact:
Vodafone Business: group.media@vodafone.com
Extreme E Communications:
Julia Fry, Head of Communications
E: media@extreme-e.com / +44 7778 108754
Please visit the Extreme E media centre to access images, videos and press releases: https://www.extreme-e.com/en/mediacentre
Extreme E is a radical new racing series, which sees electric SUVs competing in extreme environments around the world which have already been damaged or affected by climate and environmental issues. The five-race global voyage highlights the impact of climate change and human interference in some of the world’s most remote locations and promotes the adoption of electric vehicles in the quest for a lower carbon future for the planet.
To minimise local impact, Extreme E races will not be open to spectators, with fans instead invited to follow the action through live TV broadcast, and on social media.
The St. Helena, a former passenger cargo ship, has undergone a multi-million Euro refit to minimise emissions and transform her into Extreme E’s operations hub. The ship will be used to transport the championship’s freight and infrastructure, including vehicles, to the nearest port, minimising Extreme E’s footprint, as well as being used to facilitate scientific research through its on-board laboratory.
Extreme E is also pioneering hydrogen fuel cell technology which will enable its race fleet to be charged using zero emission energy. This innovative solution from AFC Energy uses water and sun to generate hydrogen power. Not only will this process emit no greenhouse emissions, its only by-product will be water, which will be utilised elsewhere on-site.
Unique in its scale as the largest pan-European and African technology communications company, Vodafone transforms the way we live and work through its innovation, technology, connectivity, platforms, products and services. Vodafone operates mobile and fixed networks in 21 countries, and partners with mobile networks in 52 more. As of 31 December 2021, we had over 300m mobile customers, more than 28m fixed broadband customers and over 22m TV customers.
Vodafone is a world leader in the Internet of Things (IoT), connecting more than 142m devices and platforms through innovation that aligns with the aspirations of society for cleaner and safer cities, better transport and improved agriculture. Vodafone’s digital leadership is also changing how governments deliver healthcare and education, and how businesses, particularly Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), serve customers.
We have revolutionised fintech in Africa through M-Pesa, which celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2022. It is the region’s largest fintech platform, providing access to financial services for more than 51m people in a secure, affordable and convenient way.
Our purpose is to connect for a better future, enabling an inclusive and sustainable digital society. We are taking significant steps to reduce our impact on our planet by becoming net zero by 2040, purchasing 100% of our electricity from renewable sources in Europe and across our entire operations by 2025, and reusing, reselling or recycling 100% of our redundant network equipment. Vodafone proactively works to expand access to connectivity for rural communities, students and jobseekers. For more than 30 years, Vodafone’s Foundation has supported communities in Europe and Africa in the areas of health, education, and equality.
We support diversity and inclusion through our maternity and parental leave policies, empowering women through connectivity and improving access to education and digital skills for women, girls, and society at large. We are respectful of all individuals, irrespective of race, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, belief, culture or religion.
For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com, follow us on Twitter at @VodafoneGroup or connect with us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/vodafone.
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