Shell Rebrands Hudson Energy

B2B energy supplier Hudson Energy is now known as Shell, a year after its acquisition by the oil and gas giant.

Royal Dutch Shell purchased the supplier, the UK arm of Canada’s Just Energy Group alongside its consumer brand Green Star Energy, for £10.5 million in October 2019.

The sale gave Shell Energy around 200,000 domestic and 2,000 business accounts, advancing its venture into the UK energy supply market, which began in February 2018 with the purchase of mid-sized domestic supplier First Utility.

Shell is retaining the Green Star Brand for now but is rebranding Hudson Energy as Shell, much as First Utility was rebranded last year. 

As part of the rebrand, Shell is also offering businesses signed up to Hudson renewable electricity, natural gas with a percentage of green gas and tailored clean energy solutions. Shell is already supplying 900,000 households with electricity offset by Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) certificates.

Businesses of all sizes are increasingly concerned about sustainability, Shell said. It cited a recent survey it conducted which found 36% of firms are already purchasing renewable energy and a further of 30% are planning to do in the future.

Colin Crooks, CEO of Shell Energy Retail Limited, said: “We can help them on their decarbonisation journey, by offering simple and reliable solutions for managing their energy costs and planning their sustainability roadmap. Together, we can play a part in the UK's national drive to net-zero carbon emissions.”

However, Shell has been accused of using these consumer energy brands to greenwashing its ongoing mining of fossil fuels. Shell is one of 20 companies, including other oil and gas majors like Chevron, Exxon and BP, which are collectively responsible for 35% of the world’s carbon emissions, according to a Guardian investigation last year.

In April, Shell announced it will sell more renewable energy to offset the carbon emitted by the rest of its business, in an attempt to reach net-zero by 2050. It will also reduce the carbon intensity of its operations by 65% by 2050, up from its previous target of 50%.