Finnish invention speeds up electric car charging – Full power for many at the same time

Finnish Oy Cacti has launched an electricity storage system which, according to it, enables charging several cars at the same time with full charging power.

Storing energy at the charging station enables a higher charging power than the electric connections alone can provide.

The system discharges stored energy for the needs of the chargers when the power enabled by the electricity connection has already been used. In addition, it enables the expansion of current charging stations without large investments, as well as helping the CEO Oskari Jaakkolan along to save on power charges.

The company manufactures the battery modules itself. The cells come from a subcontractor, but according to Jaakkola, for example, Chinese circuit boards are not found in the products.

The electricity storage system is scalable. The size of one unit is 430 kilowatt hours. They can be combined up to a total of 20 megawatt hours.

The managing director mentions 15–20 years as the life cycle of the battery reserve. The company offers its customers electricity storage systems as a service, being responsible for the phases of the system’s life cycle.

Jaakkola tells Kauppalehte that a typical contract lasts ten years. The monthly billing price for one unit is around 2000 euros. According to the CEO, the cost is effectively returned to the customer.

“The benefits of the leveling off of consumption will come on top of the trade.”

Does the electricity shortage threaten the spread of electric cars and their charging points?

The stock of rechargeable cars at the end of June 2024 was 251,552, which represents almost nine percent of the entire passenger car stock in Finland. Fully electric cars account for 39 percent of this figure.

The amount begins to be seen as increasing congestion peaks at the most popular charging stations, especially during public holidays and other times when traffic is busy. At a conventional electric car charging station, simultaneous charging of several cars is usually slower than one car.

The problem has been tackled in Finland in a relatively new way, i.e. with the energy storage systems of charging stations.

The first Cactos systems were put into use at the Jari-Pekka gas station in Joroinen in September.

During November, the system will be implemented in Faasti and To go at fast charging stations near Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, DB Schenkerin at the Viinikkala terminal, and at the Jari-Pekka gas station in Hartola.

Faast Point OyCEO of Daniel Pasternack informs that the company will open another three to five stations in different parts of Finland during this year, and a dozen more stations during 2025. In 2025–2026, the goal is to expand the chain by around 20–30 additional stations.

Wrong with the egg or the chicken?

According to the electricity network companies, electricity bottlenecks are all about postponing network investments.

Electricity distribution company Caruna Oy,’s customer manager Kosti Rautiainen took revenge flashes Mightily in the interview, a situation where, especially in southern Finland, risks regarding the sufficiency of electricity for all those who need it must already be recognized. As an example, Rautiainen mentions the already opened and future charging points for heavy traffic.

In such mega-charging points of up to a thousand kilowatts, charging one truck easily requires the charging power required for fast charging 5–7 passenger cars.

At the moment, one electric passenger car that receives charging effectively can usually receive 120–190 kilowatts of power at the charging station at best.