Electric mobility will revolutionize the whole society

Kempower and LUT University’s joint Electric Mobility Research Center (EMRC), which started its operations at the end of November 2023, strengthens interdisciplinary research related to electric transportation and promotes Kempower's own product development. 

EMRC is part of the Lahti region's electric transport cluster (Lahti GEM), which is a cooperation platform for companies, research and educational institutions, and cities. The electric transport cluster, which is only a few years old, has grown in a short time into an active cooperation platform of more than 40 operators. 

- Lahti GEM connects scientific research, public sector actors and companies in the Lahti region. The cluster supports its member companies in business growth and internationalization. Our goal is to increase research and development projects and pilots in particular,” stated Business Development Manager Pekka Komu, who leads the cluster at Lahti Region Development LADEC, at the New Trends of Electrification event jointly organized by the LUT universities (LUT and LAB), LADEC and Kempower.

EMRC cuts through almost the entire LUT university offering, from technology and economics to social and communication sciences. LAB University of Applied Sciences is also strongly involved in the cooperation.

According to Pekka Komu, EMRC is a good example of cooperation where the actors in the cluster have found each other and boldly set out to build something new.

- “Such new openings support the development of Lahti as a model city for electric transportation,” Komu stated.
 

Interdisciplinary research work

Ville Naumanen, who was appointed as the new director of EMRC in November, is visibly excited about the possibilities of the new research center. He sees enormous potential between industrial demand and academic supply, as well as countless interesting, interdisciplinary opportunities.

- “Electric mobility will revolutionize the whole society. The energy needs will be so huge that we will have to rethink the entire chain related to energy production, transmission and use, as well as the heavy transport infrastructure. Reorganizing all of this requires enormous innovation and extensive social research, which could lead to many new businesses in the future.”

According to Naumanen, the electrification of light vehicle traffic has only been a light prelude. The biggest upheaval will occur in heavy traffic, whose electricity demand is many times higher than that of passenger traffic. 

- “For consumers, the electrification of heavy traffic can also have very tangible benefits. Local electricity storage facilities must be built in the vicinity of charging stations for electric trucks, which can contribute to controlling price variation of spot-priced electricity, for example.”

Naumanen and Kempower’s CEO Tomi Ristimäki have known each other for more than a decade. At one time, they were developing, among other things, the world's first hybrid forest machine. 

- “In 2012, electric transportation and the electrification of heavy equipment were just in their infancy. At that time, everyone was sure that the revolution in electric transportation would begin next year. We had to wait quite a long time for that next year,” Ristimäki laughs. 

Ristimäki expects even those crazier ideas from the Electric Mobility Research Center.
 
- “I hope that the research center will produce as many experiments as possible that will never end up in production. We must not think that the alternator is a vessel that brings power to the car, but how the user can make the best use of it and what else it could be.” 

- “Of course, I also strongly believe that LUT University's research combining the educational fields of technology, economics and social and communication sciences will produce ideas that will bring both new business and skilled employees to Kempower before long. 

LUT University's President Juha-Matti Saksa, believes that the unique research center in Finland and its new director will be able to meet expectations.
 
- “LUT and Kempower are united by a uniquely successful recent history and a strong spirit of doing things. We prefer to move forward quickly, look and try, rather than think everything through to the last detail. But for now let's get the research center up and running and let Ville start his work. I don't doubt for a second that a huge amount of good will come out of this,” Saksa smiled.

 The New Trends of Electrification Event attracted many participants to hear about trends in electric transportation. In the front row, LUT University President Juha-Matti Saksa (right) and LUT University Chief Growth Officer Petri Ajo.

Infrastructure and software development

At the New Trends of Electrification event, numerous interesting speeches were heard about, among other things, the electrification of heavy traffic and logistics, IoT, intelligent energy management and data utilization, and charging infrastructure.

In the opening speech of the event, the Minister of Climate and the Environment Kai Mykkänen thanked the Lahti region for its progressive work on, among other things, climate issues.

- “There is always something interesting happening in Lahti related to green technology. The new center is proof that the city has an innovative business ecosystem.”

In his speech, Mykkänen emphasized the significant impact of heavy traffic in particular in reducing carbon dioxide emissions and stated that Finland urgently needs a national charging network.

- “Dozens of projects are currently underway. City buses and delivery vehicles are currently charged at depots and companies' own premises. Public charging infrastructure is needed to extend the range of heavy-duty electric vehicles, and this is also one of the few projects the government has proposed additional funding for in its 2024 budget,” Mykkänen stated.

Kempower is also waiting for the development of the international standard for electric heavy traffic and the domestic charging infrastructure for heavy traffic. The delivery of the megawatt charging system for heavy traffic developed by Kempower to different parts of the world significantly improves the charging infrastructure for heavy traffic and plays a key role in reducing both domestic and global carbon dioxide emissions. 

The event also provided an opportunity for networking for actors from different fields. Pictured in the middle in the photo is Chief Technology Officer Mikko Veikkolainen of Kempower, who also gave a speech at the event.

However, infrastructure alone is not enough. In order for e-traffic transport to run smoothly and trucks to be charged during the statutory 45-minute break, a system for reserving charging slots must also be developed for drivers, among other things.
 
- “Through the application, drivers can search for free charging points and reserve slots at them. With the help of such an application, it would be possible to develop and optimize the logistics chain of transport to be more functional than at present. The development of the application is not Kempower's task, but through the Lahti region's electric transport cluster companies and the research work of EMRC, a solution can be found for this too,” Kempower's Chief Technology Officer Mikko Veikkolainen evaluated.
 

Text: Taru Schroderus
Photos: Jani Wallenius

You can also watch the video and find out more about the Lahti GEM – Green Electrification of Mobility Cluster!