Neste is piloting its first EV charging service with Niemi Services

Neste is piloting its first electric vehicle (EV) charging service targeted to logistics companies in Finland starting this month. 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.

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.

“We want to help our customers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, and we are constantly exploring new possibilities to support companies in achieving carbon neutrality. 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. At the same time, the transportation sector in Finland is relying more and more on electric vehicles, this applies particularly to the light-duty fleets. We want to contribute to this development. With the pilot project, we can expand our service offering to include services for electric vehicle charging, and offer our long-term partner a comprehensive solution,” 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 eight on electricity. Thanks to 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. Emissions reductions are verified in Neste’s emissions reporting service. Neste`s electric vehicle charging service includes chargers and related services, so the customer does not need to invest in chargers. In terms of electrical infrastructure and chargers, Neste’s partner in the pilot is Plugit Finland Oy.