Historical Investment in Charging Infrastructure: Over 200 Coop Stores Equipped with EV Chargers

Coop and Elektrum Drive are launching Estonia's largest electric vehicle charging station construction project next year, during which Elektrum will install charging stations at more than 200 Coop stores throughout the country over a two-year period.

According to Agnes Makk, the chairman of the board of Elektrum Estonia, this is Elektrum Drive's largest investment so far in expanding the charging station network.

"In fact, this project is historic in terms of Estonia's entire electric vehicle infrastructure – never before has such a large number of charging facilities been created in so many locations within a single project. We are building charging stations at as many as 202 Coop stores throughout Estonia, creating a total of 430 new charging points. Within the project, we are installing 209 fast or ultra-fast chargers (50-150 kW) and eight regular chargers (22 kW)," said Agnes Makk.

The installation of charging stations at Coop stores will begin in early 2025 and will be completed in April 2027, with half of the chargers being installed during the next year alone. By 2030, Elektrum aims to create a charging network in Estonia with more than one thousand charging points that is reliable and conveniently located for users.

According to Andrus Liivandi, a member of the board of Elektrum Estonia, the project will save time for electric vehicle owners, as they can leave their car charging while shopping at the store. According to him, the rate of adoption of electric vehicles has been affected by the varying quality of charging services offered in the market, which negatively impacts customer experience.

"For this reason, Elektrum Drive is focused on creating a reliable charging network that is conveniently accessible to users," he said.

According to Rainer Rohtla, the chairman of the board of Coop Estonia Central Union, public charging stations for electric vehicles have so far been built mainly in larger centers or along main roads. In reality, however, people living and traveling outside the centers also need public charging facilities.

"That is why we are starting next year in cooperation with Elektrum to build an electric vehicle charging network at Coop stores, which will expand Estonia's charging network by nearly half. Since the charging network is also expanding to areas with sparse settlement, it creates nationwide coverage, and this enables the use of electric vehicles even outside major cities," adds Rohtla, noting that Coop has always supported life throughout Estonia.

"Previously, through Coop stores, we made banking services accessible to people throughout Estonia, and now it is time to make the electric vehicle charging network accessible to people throughout Estonia. After the project is completed, we can be sure that by choosing Coop as your shopping destination, customers will find a reliable charging facility waiting for them."

Currently, there are over 7,800 electric vehicles in use in Estonia, and by the end of the current decade, a rapid increase in the number of electric vehicles is expected. According to the European Federation for Transport and Environment, by 2030, Estonia should have over 70,000 electric vehicles, which requires the construction of a nationwide public charging network.

Coop is Estonia's largest and oldest food and essential goods chain, consisting of 18 local consumer cooperatives. Coop cooperatives own 321, or nearly half, of Estonia's grocery stores. Last year, Coop stores had a turnover of 863 million euros, making it the market leader with nearly 23.5 percent.

Elektrum Estonia is an energy sales company that offers customers, in addition to electricity, also natural gas, solar energy, and electric vehicle charging solutions under the Elektrum Drive brand. Elektrum Drive currently has a total of 806 charging points throughout the Baltics. Elektrum Estonia is part of the Latvenergo group, a Latvian energy company, which is the largest energy supplier and green energy producer in the Baltics. The group's companies serve a total of 885,000 customers in the Baltics, and 69 percent of the group's energy production comes from renewable energy sources. By 2035, the plan is to achieve completely climate-neutral energy production.