Move2Green program kicks off with a successful launch event

Move2Green is Kalmar’s five-year research and development program and ecosystem, partially funded by Business Finland. Its goal is to advance carbon neutrality in heavy material handling through electric equipment and data-driven services. The vision is ambitious: to enable customers’ net-zero logistics chains in ports, terminals, and other heavy industrial logistics by 2045.

“Innovation thrives on collaboration. Our ambition is not just to develop new solutions ourselves but build a broad ecosystem of over 150 partners working together. By joining forces, we can accelerate results, gain fresh perspectives, and drive innovation faster. The best solutions come through collaboration,” said Jukka Borgman, Kalmar’s Director, Technology and Research and continued: “This event was our first major step in building the ecosystem. We wanted to hear partners’ ideas and explore how they could join and contribute to the program.”

Insights and innovation in action

The Move2Green launch event featured presentations, group discussions, and technology demos.

Kalmar’s President and CEO, Sami Niiranen, opened the day by outlining the company’s strategy and vision: To be a forerunner in sustainable material handling equipment and services. Tommi Pettersson, SVP Strategy, Technology and Sustainability at Kalmar, highlighted Kalmar’s four R&D spearhead areas, which align closely with the Move2Green program: Electrification, Robotics & automation, Data & digitally enabled services, and Future technologies.

Markku Jokela and Matti Säynätjoki from Business Finland introduced the Veturi leading company concept. Its national target is to increase R&D investments to four percent of Finland’s GDP by 2030. So far, 32 Veturi programs have received funding, involving co-innovation, co-research, and EU collaboration projects. Concluding the presentation session, Jukka Borgman gave a more detailed overview of the program.

“Nowadays, logistics account for around seven percent of global emissions. At the same time, our customers are determined to reduce their emissions fast. In the Move2Green program, we aim to advance the elimination of all carbon emissions in heavy material handling through a focus on electrification and data-enabled services. This program is a key step on our journey to enable our customers’ net-zero logistics chains in ports, terminals, and other heavy industrial logistics by 2045.”

Move2Green is built on four key themes:

• Transition to electrification systems for heavy material handling
• Alternative energy sources and storage
• Net zero data-driven services and processes for optimised logistic chains
• Responsibility

Collaboration and the latest technology demos

In the afternoon, participants continued discussions in smaller groups focusing on key topics:

• Electrification, alternative fuels and responsibility
• Data and AI
• Automation, robotics and research

Later, they had the opportunity to experience the Kalmar’s latest technology in action. Participants were able to test straddle carrier and reachstacker simulators and observe a Kalmar AutoTT™ autonomous terminal tractor and Kalmar AutoStrad™ automated straddle carriers operating in terminal conditions.

Join the Move2Green ecosystem

“I was thrilled by the enthusiasm and lively discussions during the event. We received many insightful questions and ideas. I’m confident that together we can build a strong ecosystem and achieve remarkable results,” Jukka Borgman said, reflecting on the day.

He added: “I encourage everyone who shares our vision of achieving net-zero logistics chains, especially those with solutions in electrification, alternative energy, or data-driven optimization, to get in touch. We aim to make collaboration truly mutually beneficial. I can promise an interesting journey ahead. A journey that hopefully leads to long-term partnerships beneficial to both sides. It’s also good to remember that our ecosystem partners can apply for funding from Business Finland.”

If you’d like to express your interest in joining the Move2Green ecosystem or share a collaboration proposal, please fill out the form on our website. You can also sign up for our newsletter to stay updated on the program’s progress.

More information

Kalmar strategy: This is Kalmar
Move2Green web page
Jukka Borgman’s interview Kicking off Move2Green Kalmar's bold five-year vision for zero-carbon logistics in heavy industry
Business Finland’s challenge competition (Veturi) for leading companies