Varma is preparing for the coming of electric cars: 250 chargeable parking spots under construction in Salmisaari parking facility

The installation work for the joint project between Varma and Parkkisähkö began in Salmisaari in April, and the construction work will be completed in June. Thereafter, the building’s users will be able to charge all models of electric cars in the parking facility. In addition to Varma, the Salmisaari property is used by Danske Bank, Lemminkäinen and Outokumpu, among others.

The parking facility houses approximately 250 parking spots, and all spots that can be electrified will be connected to the charging system. The smart charging system in Salmisaari’s parking facility will also be able to withstand the load caused by high-speed chargers. The charging device can be selected according to the user’s needs.

“This is one of the single largest parking facilities in the world to be equipped with chargers at nearly every sparking spot,” says Jiri Räsänen, CEO of Parkkisähkö.

The number of electric cars will grow considerably in Finland in the near future and, according to forecasts, there will be an estimated 250,000 electric and hybrid cars are on our roads by 2030. According to the automobile trade, the single biggest factor slowing down the sale of electric cars in Finland is the lack of charging stations. 

“As electric cars become more common, charging stations will be needed in places where they spend extended periods of time. This has also been taken into account in the environmental certification of buildings, as well as in EU legislation to take effect in 2019 concerning requirements for electric vehicles in properties and new buildings,” Varma’s Commercial Property Director Toni Pekonen points out. 

 “Equipping the parking facility with electric car chargers also nicely promotes our target of reducing Varma’s carbon footprint; at the same time, it helps us encourage our tenants to opt for an environmentally friendly mode of transportation. The vehicles in the parking facility will be charged with green electricity, as the electricity in our property is generated by hydropower,” adds Pekonen.

When the installation work at Varma’s Salmisaari parking facility is completed, users of the building’s parking services will be able to order the recharging services they need from Parkkisähkö.

“We believe that the users of the Salmisaari parking services will value the flexibility of the service. With recharging offered as a service, the property owner’s role is highlighted, and at the same time, it promotes the quicker adoption of electric cars,” says Räsänen.

Parkkisähkö received product development support for the project from Tekes.

 For more information, please contact:

Toni Pekonen, Commercial Property Director, Varma, tel. +358 10 244 7610, firstname.lastname@varma.fi

Katariina Sillander, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, Varma, tel. +358 40 7099 836, firstname.lastname@varma.fi

Jiri Räsänen, CEO, Parkkisähkö Ltd., tel. +358 45 601 3553, firstname.lastname@varma.fi

 

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company is the most solvent earnings-related pension company and largest private investor in Finland. The company is responsible for the statutory earnings-related pension cover of some 873,000 people in the private sector. Premiums written totalled EUR 4.7 billion in 2016 and pension payments stood at EUR 5.3 billion. Varma’s investment portfolio amounted to EUR 44.4 billion at the end of March 2017.

Parkkisähkö Ltd. is a charging services provider for electric cars in a real estate environment. The company specialises in electric vehicle technology for parking areas in large-scale properties. Parkkisähkö was established in 2014 and employs some 20 people. The company aims to enable rapid growth in the number of electric vehicles by offering a scalable, cost-effective and smart charging service developed in Finland.