Neste is piloting its first electric vehicle charging service

Neste aims to launch a commercial charging service for electric vehicles in Finland by the end of 2021.

Neste is piloting its first electric vehicle charging service targeted to logistics companies in Finland. The service will be piloted with Niemi Services Ltd. at their site in the Konala area in Helsinki, Finland.

The pilot project supports Neste’s and Niemi’s climate strategies and helps Niemi, the leading moving and logistics company in Finland, to reduce its climate emissions. Neste aims to launch a commercial charging service for electric vehicles in Finland by the end of 2021.

“There’s not a single solution that would sufficiently reduce transport-related emissions on its own. Fossil diesel will be used less in heavy-duty transportation over the upcoming years, but there will be demand for renewable diesel in the future as well,” says Tuomas Kulola, Head of Sales, Marketing & Services at Neste.

Currently, the fleet of Niemi Services includes 163 vehicles of which 120 run on renewable diesel, 35 on biogas and 8 on electricity. With the pilot project, Niemi can charge several electric moving vans at their own site every day by using 22 kW AC chargers and a 180 kW DC fast charger. Charging transaction is initiated by using Neste’s mobile app or the RFID tags which are already familiar to EV drivers.

“Our aim is to reduce our own particulate emissions to zero by 2030. To accomplish this, the existing biogas refueling and electric vehicle charging network must be expanded considerably in Finland,” says Juha Niemi, director, large companies, at Niemi Services.

Finland has set an ambitious target, aiming to become carbon neutral by 2035. New power sources of vehicles and readily available solutions are needed to achieve this objective.