British adventurer and Guinness World Record holder Chris Ramsey will become the first person to drive from Pole to Pole in a bid to raise awareness of climate change and the role that electric cars can play in reducing our carbon footprint.

This will be the first time that any vehicle has driven from the South Pole to the magnetic North Pole, and Ramsey believes it is the ideal way to highlight just what electric vehicles are capable of – even in the most extreme climates.

After nearly four years of planning, the Pole to Pole Expedition is scheduled to start in late 2022, covering 17,000 miles across 14 countries as the team make their way from the South Pole to the finish line at magnetic North.

This isn’t the first electric expedition for Ramsey. He has been adventuring in electric vehicles for over a decade and in 2017, he and his wife, Julie, became the first team to complete the Mongol Rally in an electric vehicle, travelling over 10,000 miles through 20 countries in 56 days driving from Goodwood Racing Circuit in the UK to Siberia.

Chris Ramsey, Founder of Pole to Pole Expedition, said: “Our mission is to show that electric vehicles can tackle the harshest of environments – from the colds of the Poles, to the hot and humid jungles of South America. This is the ultimate test of range and durability, and by overcoming these obstacles we aim to prove that EV adoption is a possibility for everyone, while also raising awareness of sustainable lifestyles, conservation projects and renewable energy innovation along our route.”

“For some people climate change can feel like an issue that is too big for them to have an impact on, but with road vehicles accounting for more than 20% of all harmful emissions worldwide, the switch to electric cars powered by renewable energy could dramatically reduce our carbon footprint.”

By driving over 17,000 miles in these environmental extremes, our aim is to demonstrate that EVs are more than capable of meeting our everyday needs.

The project is being supported by Arctic Trucks, a specialist in polar regions, who are preparing the expedition vehicles, providing logistic support as well as establishing the routes to drive in Antarctica and the Arctic.

Emil Grimsson, Chairman of Arctic Trucks, said: “For over 20 years we have specialised in providing logistical support, engineering expertise and expedition planning for projects in both Polar Regions.  Our setup and expedition solutions have proven over five times the fuel efficiency of a traditional setup and we are continually looking for improvements. We acknowledge that battery-based electric vehicles have important hurdles to overcome for use in the extreme cold, a challenge for which we are excited to be a part of developing solutions.”

“The Polar Regions are very important to us all for variety of reasons and operations there will only increase. This project will give us important information about how we develop our future vehicles. We’re very excited to be working alongside Chris and his team to offer our support to this timely and unique adventure.”

The average CO2 emissions of cars sold in the UK has risen year-on-year for the past three years, putting the country’s climate targets – as well as public health – at risk. The adoption of electric cars will be crucial to achieving the UK’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 68% by the end of the decade compared to 1990 levels.