Toward Greater Sustainability in Heavy-Duty Transportation: ENGIE Vianeo and PORT OF KIEL Open an EV Charging Station at the Ostuferhafen

Kiel – Year after year, approximately 180,000 trucks and trailers pass through the Port of Kiel. This makes it one of the busiest ports on the Baltic Sea and a key hub in both the German and European logistics networks—and it is precisely here that ENGIE Vianeo, the ENGIE Group’s subsidiary brand for e-charging infrastructure, and PORT OF KIEL opened a new e-charging park with eight charging points for trucks today, on September 1, 2026, a new electric charging park with eight charging points for trucks. In front of guests from the logistics industry and the political sphere, Claus Ruhe Madsen, Minister of Economic Affairs, Transportation, Labor, Technology, and Tourism for the State of Schleswig-Holstein, and Tobias Goldschmidt, Minister of Energy Transition, Climate Protection, Environment, and Nature for the State of Schleswig-Holstein, emphasized at the official opening the great significance of this pioneering project for Kiel as a business hub as well as for the transportation transition in Germany. “Europe can only achieve its climate goals if heavy-duty transport is also successfully transformed. It is crucial that this transformation simultaneously supports Europe’s economic strength,” emphasized Frank Lacroix, Executive Vice President, in charge of Local Energy Infrastructures of ENGIE. “Electrification offers a unique opportunity to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels and make European freight transport more resilient and competitive. The charging park we are opening today in Kiel is a concrete building block for a European logistics system based on clean energy generated in Europe.” In addition, Dr. Dirk Claus, Managing Director of SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG, said in his speech: “We are proud that, through this new charging infrastructure, we are positioning the Port of Kiel as a central component of the truck charging corridor in Europe and contributing to the sustainability of European ports. ENGIE Vianeo is the right partner for us on this journey. Together, this flagship project brings us an important step closer to PORT OF KIEL’s goal of becoming a climate-neutral port.”

Kiel’s Truck Charging Park as a Pioneering Project

The four newly opened charging stations, each with charging points on both sides for trucks, are located at Kiel’s Ostuferhafen, close to the ferry terminal for the Baltic States and northern Sweden. Another charging location with four charging points at the Norwegenkai—where ferries to Norway depart—is in the planning stages. In total, there will then be eight charging points at the Ostuferhafen and four at the Norwegenkai, all equipped with the Combined Charging System CCS standard and providing a maximum charging power of 400 kilowatts. All charging points supply vehicles with 100 percent green electricity from renewable energy sources. Furthermore, the locations—both at the Ostuferhafen now and at the Norwegenkai in the future—enable fast and overnight charging, providing freight carriers with optimal conditions for complying with legally mandated rest periods. Since all charging stations are strategically installed at central logistics hubs within the port, they not only help optimize operations but also enhance the location’s appeal to transportation companies committed to sustainable mobility.

Strategic Importance for Key Transportation Corridors

The charging park at the PORT OF KIEL marks the launch of ENGIE Vianeo’s first German location. With more than 11,000 charging points across Europe—including 900 on French highways and approximately 7,000 in Belgium—ENGIE Vianeo is among the pioneers in the expansion of charging infrastructure and aims to have 25,000 charging stations throughout Europe, including 1,000 specifically for heavy-duty vehicles, by 2030. The company has been active in the German market since July 2025 and already counts among its current reference projects a contract with the German federal government and Autobahn GmbH for 26 charging parks as part of the planned fast-charging network for trucks in Germany, as well as contracts from Euro-Rastpark and 24 truck stops among its current reference projects. All of the aforementioned charging parks are located along key German and European freight transport corridors, as Jan-Niklas Ellerich, Managing Director of ENGIE Vianeo in Germany, explains: “Our goal at ENGIE Vianeo is to drive the sustainable transformation of heavy-duty transport in Germany and throughout Europe. That is why, in Germany, we are focusing on locations situated along strategically important transit corridors to specifically promote the expansion of electric mobility for trucks. In doing so, we can draw on the comprehensive energy expertise of the ENGIE Group.”

From left: Alke-Elisabeth Voß (City Councillor for Environment, Climate Protection, and Mobility, City of Kiel), Tobias Goldschmidt (Minister for Energy Transition, Climate Protection, Environment, and Nature, State of Schleswig-Holstein), Alina Haller (Head of Business Development, ENGIE Vianeo Germany), Dr. Dirk Claus (Managing Director, SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG), Louisa Wiethold (Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board, Seehafen Kiel GmbH & Co. KG), Claus Ruhe Madsen (Minister for Economic Affairs, Transport, Labor, Technology, and Tourism, State of Schleswig-Holstein), Johannes Pallasch (Head and Spokesperson, National Centre for Charging Infrastructure), Frank Lacroix (Executive Vice President Local Energy Infrastructures, ENGIE), and Niklas Wiegand (Managing Director, ENGIE Deutschland GmbH).