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SMAR3TS project partner – Kempower is looking for innovative approaches to support the scaling of heavy electric traffic charging solutions, moving from technology pilots to market adoption.
Kempower’s EMRC and the HETE programme are currently developing megawatt-level charging solutions for electric trucks, buses and off-highway vehicles. While technological readiness is advancing rapidly, large-scale deployment faces challenges related to market readiness, business models, policy frameworks, ecosystem coordination and user acceptance.
Within the SMAR3TS project, this Innovate3X (I3X) focuses on analysing and addressing these challenges through market analysis, business model development and stakeholder engagement, enabling Kempower solutions to scale across Nordic and European logistics corridors.
Express your interest in a SMAR3TS secondment – Your opportunity at Kempower (Lahti, Finland)

Initiator: Kempower, Finland
Kempower is a Finnish electric vehicle fast-charging equipment manufacturer specializing in DC fast-charging solutions for all electric vehicle types, including cars, buses, trucks, construction machinery and marine applications. With a power range from 40 kW to over 4 MW, Kempower plays a key role in advancing zero-emission mobility. The company focuses on all areas of electric mobility, from electric cars to trucks and buses, as well as construction machinery and marine. Recently, Kempower has been ranked 8th in the Financial Times FT1000 list of Europe’s fastest-growing companies in 2025.
Website: https://kempower.com
Research Group:
Electric Mobility Research Center (EMRC)
(Co-hosted by Kempower and LUT University)
The Electric Mobility Research Center (EMRC) is a joint research and innovation platform that supports the development of heavy electric traffic charging technologies, digital platforms and ecosystem-based business models. EMRC operates within the Heavy Electric Traffic Ecosystem (HETE), a large-scale R&D programme focused on electrifying heavy transport sustainably.
The group combines expertise from electrical engineering, energy systems, software, data analytics, business and social sciences to support the transition from pilot technologies to scalable market solutions.
What EMRC is striving for:

This Innovate3X (I3X) challenge (initiated by Kempower within the SMAR3TS project) and requires a secondment with a minimum duration of 30 days.
Fully funded by the European Commission, the four-year SMAR3TS project started in October 2025 and brings together 35 partners worldwide to accelerate resilient, restorative and regenerative transitions through research and innovation mobility.
Secondments offer a unique opportunity to collaborate directly with Kempower’s Electric Mobility Research Center (EMRC) on real-world innovation challenges in electric mobility and energy systems.
For more information, please see the details in the attachments.
R&I Stages:
☐ Idea / Conceptualization
☒ Pilot / Proof of Concept
☒ Early Implementation
The I3X challenge invites research and innovation talent within the SMAR3TS project to contribute to market assessment, business case development and ecosystem analysis through secondments at Kempower (EMRC) in Finland.

This I3X is Looking for Skills and Capabilities across Disciplines for:
EMRC (Electric Mobility Research Center) and the HETE (Heavy Electric Traffic Ecosystem) program were running a pilot of the EV Charging Dataset* for Research during Autumn 2025 (starting in the beginning of Sep 2025).
Secondments could support market analysis to understand how Kempower could scale the development of (HETE): e.g., cross-country analysis to anticipate the market needs, infrastructure, and trends related to charging heavy-duty vehicles; leveraging global EV-charging infrastructure data for innovation pilot/software development/other solutions that could support HETE.
Important:

Examples of necessary skills and knowledge:
Examples of Challenges that Need to be Addressed

1) Need to capture evidence of real-world EV charging behavior
2) Analysisof EV-charging and infrastructure data
3) Pilot case: EV charging dataset* to identify new business opportunities from data(*The EV charging dataset will be shared during the secondment)
-Get insights from the dataset and map potential scenariosfor its applicability
-Validate the tools, practices, and conditions for using the dataset
-Get feedback from pilot usersand offer possibilities to demonstrate and showcase their work with the data
-The pilot was running from 09-12/2025. Kempower will evaluate the results from the pilot and decide on expanding the usage in 2026.
-Unique Value Proposition; - Real time information on charger in vehicles and infrastructure – app that provides this info to users.
Initiator Institution (Kempower) Contact for this I3X
Ville Naumanen, Research Director at EMRC, Kempower,ville.naumanen@lut.fi
Henna Falk, Head of Talent and Culture Development at Kempower,henna.falk@kempower.com
Alignment to SMAR3TS Work-Package/s
SMAR3TS domains that are relevant to the work of Kempower organization/research and innovation team:
Lead / Responsible Work Package - Mobility:
Alignment to Resilience, Restoration, Regeneration (R3)
Enabler of resilience: Electrified mobility is dependent on the availability of charging infrastructure. Kempower’s modular, flexible, and grid-friendly charging systems strengthen transport networks’ resilience and continuity, especially in heavy logistics. Modular, scalable DC fast charging systems ensure flexibility and redundancy in transport infrastructure and enhance energy and transport resilience during grid disruptions.
Link to restoration and regeneration: By shifting mobility away from fossil fuels, Kempower EV-charging solutions support sustainable mobility (cleaner air, reduced noise, and lower carbon emissions). Collaborations with renewable microgrid providers and smart energy management systems provide opportunities for regeneration of heavy truck mobility infrastructures into self-sustaining, low-impact systems.
NOTE:
The expression of interest for the secondment at Kempower must be submitted via the platform. Submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and you will be contacted as soon as possible. For any questions, please contact:info@smar3ts.eu
Click here for instructions on how to plan for a secondment.
SMAR3TS (Staff Mobility to Action Resilient, Restorative, & Regenerative Transitions & Societies) enables secondments (staff exchanges), between 36 partners, across 16 countries (and 4 continents), to undertake cutting-edge research and innovation on resilience, restoration, regeneration (R3) across four sectors: energy, mobility, nutrition and housing, to accelerate pathways to economic, environmental and societal impact.
SMAR3TS is funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Staff Exchange Program Project ID: 101236376.
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