Finland’s northernmost high-power truck charger opens in Lapland as charging network gaps slow heavy transport electrification

Finland’s northernmost public high-power charging station for heavy vehicles has opened in Tervola, Lapland, operated by Plugit Finland at the Mäkipeura service station. The over-560-kilowatt facility is one of only a handful of its kind available to the public in Finland, according to Yle.

While the number of electric passenger cars in Finland is growing rapidly, the electrification of heavy transport is facing headwinds. Industry professionals say the lack of public charging infrastructure remains the key obstacle to wider adoption of electric trucks.

“The bottleneck in electrification is the heavy transport charging network. There are virtually no megawatt-level charging stations,” said Lasse Kontiola, chief executive responsible for environmental companies at the Finnish Transport and Logistics organisation SKAL.

Ari Kittilä, chief executive of NK Logistiikka, a company specialising in food transport, agreed. “Our heavy combination vehicles travel around one thousand kilometres per day. That is not currently achievable efficiently with an electric vehicle, because the charging network is inadequate,” he said.

Kontiola noted that the situation differs for distribution traffic within towns and cities. “That work is already underway and electrification there is progressing rapidly, but for long-distance trunk transport this will take more time,” he said.

Tenfold increase in electric trucks expected within five years

According to the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom, there are currently around 250 electric trucks in Finland, fewer than 50 of which operate with a trailer. Approximately 1,140 electric buses are also registered. In total, around 90,000 trucks and 12,000 buses are registered for use on Finnish roads, though figures vary seasonally as more vehicles are taken out of service in winter.

Otto Lahti, a senior specialist at Traficom, estimated that the number of electric trucks on the road will increase tenfold within five years, with growth continuing well beyond that. “This means improvements to charging infrastructure will be needed continuously and for a very long time,” he said.

Lahti also pointed to delays in vehicle development and delivery schedules. “When significant uncertainty has simultaneously affected industrial supply chains, there have in many cases been enough factors slowing investment that the electric truck has simply not been ordered,” he said.

Municipalities play a key role

Kontiola highlighted that while the state has support mechanisms for building and developing the charging network, HCT trucks weighing more than 76 tonnes also require adequate space at charging locations. Municipalities play a central role in enabling this, he said.

“The planning process for a large charging station can easily take one to two years. These are lengthy processes and require many parties to move things forward,” Kontiola said.

Industry professionals also stressed that an efficient charging outlet alone is not sufficient. Charging stations must be accessible to large vehicle combinations as well.

More than 20 stations planned by 2028

Plugit Finland currently operates eight public heavy transport charging stations, many located near major ports including Kotka, Turku, and Rauma. The Tervola station in Lapland was built in part because the E75 highway between Kemi and Rovaniemi carries heavy traffic, including large numbers of tourists.

“Finland is a long country and we want to understand how the equipment performs in northern winter conditions, for example,” said Topi Aaltonen, Plugit Finland’s chief operating officer responsible for the charging network.

The company aims to build more than 20 public charging stations suitable for heavy vehicles by 2028 and has received EU investment support for expanding the network. Aaltonen said the company’s starting point is to build stations along main highways first, and encouraged interested parties to make contact. “We are willing to engage in dialogue about the need for charging stations with those who commission and carry out transport,” he said.