The past year has been a productive one for LUT’s Electric Mobility Research Center (EMRC), with around fifteen different projects – some completed, some ongoing, and some just getting started.
Mikko Veikkolainen, Kempower’s Vice President of Research and Innovation, says that expectations are high for many of EMRC’s projects.
"Once the theoretical foundation is solid, we can start testing the ideas in our own laboratory."
According to Veikkolainen, Kempower has already gained clear business benefits from the research center. Some initiatives have resulted in innovations that have already reached end users.
The future of electric transport still presents many challenges. Veikkolainen notes that while current discussions mainly focus on charging devices, various forms of energy production, supporting and optimizing the electric grid, and the battery technology also still require further development.
"Innovations emerge in the industry every month, but which of those ideas actually make it to production – and cost-effectively – is another matter entirely."
The much-debated data center projects in the media don’t raise concerns at Kempower, such as over electricity availability. According to Veikkolainen, the electric mobility may even benefit from the technologies used by data centers, particularly in the charging sector.
"Of course, one has to hope that politicians know what they’re deciding on."
Academia’s favorite faces a dilemma
Bidirectional charging has, according to Veikkolainen, been academia’s favorite for at least 15 years. Bidirectional charging means that an electric vehicle not only draws electricity from a charging point or feed energy back into the grid.
If a car supports bidirectional charging, its battery can be used as an energy storage solution — for example, for household needs, the electrical grid, or tools at a construction site.
Veikkolainen hopes that warranty terms for cars or their batteries related to bidirectional charging can be updated to suit the times.
"Currently, there’s no clear definition for a situation where the car is deregistered and only supplies energy. Nor it’s always clear, with every vehicle, how the battery warranty applies when the car functions both as transportation and as an external energy source.”
According to the latest Cottage Barometer 2025 survey, 25 percent of Finnish summer cottages lack electricity. Veikkolainen owns one of them.
"I half-seriously considered whether I should power the cottage using a decommissioned electric car parked outside. The idea didn’t fly with my wife," Veikkolainen laughs.
