Multinational tech enterprise Rheinmetall has set itself the goal of attaining carbon neutrality by 2035 and the group’s South African subsidiary Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) has taken the first steps toward improving its climate footprint in support of the group’s global goals.

At RDM’s Somerset West premises, in the Western Cape, Rheinmetall has introduced electric vehicles and off-grid, solar-powered charging stations.

The new vehicles were unveiled by RDM CEO Jan Patrick Helmsen. These will be used at the Somerset West plant, as well as at RDM’s Boskop plant, in Potchefstroom, in North West.

“As part of the Rheinmetall organisation, which has set itself the goal of being climate neutral by 2035, RDM is supporting this ambitious objective with a masterplan that involves implementation of solar energy and green hydrogen, which, along with other projects in the renewable energy domain, are intended to lead to climate neutrality.

“An important step here is our move away from the internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in our fleet of vehicles, with a completely new mobility concept at all four RDM locations in South Africa,” says Helmsen.

To kickstart the process of eliminating more than 350 ICE vehicles from the RDM fleet, the company has introduced the first electrically powered buses at its Somerset West and Boskop plants.

Electric cars, new “e-bakkies”, and a new mobility concept based on e-scooters and e-bikes for getting around the plants also form part of the package.

RDM’s locations occupy a total of 5 000 ha, meaning that large distances have to be covered, not only between plants, but also when on site.

The company already had an app-based system that let employees book a ride in a bus or car from individual locations. This system has now been expanded to include e-scooters and e-bikes.

RDM says this results in enhanced employee mobility and less impact on the environment.

The e-scooters and e-bikes will operate along much the same lines as a rent-a-bike system in large European cities and elsewhere, where a bicycle can be booked and picked up at specific station and then dropped off afterwards at any other charging station.

Solar-powered electronic charging stations of this type have been installed at various locations around RDM plants.