CLIMATE CHANGE

ENVISION BECOMES Virgin Racing MAJORITY TEAM OWNER

Virgin Racing, one of the founding and most successful racing teams in Formula E, has today announced that world-leading renewable energy and technology company Envision is to become the majority team owner.

The exciting new venture will join two like-minded brands – sharing the same values around innovation, cutting-edge technology and sustainability – bringing additional technological skillset and capabilities to the team, as well as demonstrating the team’s long-term ambitions and commitment to the all-electric street racing series.

The announcement was made ahead of the Formula E Paris E-Prix which will be attended by Sir Richard Branson, and who will lead one of the team’s now renowned Race Against Climate Change Innovation Summits, together with industry leaders, to discuss climate action and the need to transition to cleaner energy.

Headquartered in Shanghai, Envision is a global leader in renewable energy generation and smart energy management. Envision owns the world’s largest Energy IoT platform, EnOS™, currently managing 100GW of energy assets globally. It is also the second largest wind turbine manufacturer in China and the seventh largest in the world. Envision is committed to delivering Beautiful Energy® – energy that is clean, secure and affordable – and to act as a catalyst for solving some of the world’s biggest problems.

Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson commented: “This new venture forms the next chapter in our long-term vision for the Formula E team. Since the team’s inception, it has always focused on collaborating with like-minded ambitious brands, particularly those connected to the renewable energy sector, sustainability and electric vehicles. Envision and Virgin share the same vision for the future, using innovation to positively impact lives, and with their support I believe the team can continue to lead the way in Formula E.”

Lei Zhang, Founder and CEO of Envision, said: “The electrification of the transportation system means that the future of the energy and mobility sectors are intertwined. Electric vehicles, once integrated in the wider energy ecosystem, will be instrumental to enable the renewable energy transition. Envision and Virgin Racing share an ambition to accelerate the energy transition, where everyone has access to clean, secure and affordable energy, with this investment we will work with the Virgin Racing Team to create the future of clean e-mobility.”

Virgin Racing Team Principal Alex Tai added: “We’re delighted to welcome Envision to the team and to Formula E. Today’s announcement solidifies what we’ve always stated about the team which is our intent to win, and our desire to power innovation both on and off the track; with Envision we can help power innovation within the energy transition in which we are all engaged. Together with Envision we will showcase thought leadership and developing technologies which will power this transition and the future of transportation. Our racing team just became stronger with the addition of Envision and our purpose became more tangible.”

Virgin Racing has competed in every one of the 40 Formula E races since its inception and remains one of only a handful of teams to have recorded victories in every season to date. It currently lies in second position in the teams’ standings, whilst long-standing British driver Sam Bird remains a contender for the championship title.

For further details on Envision visit www.envision-energy.com