Powering the most sustainable cycling race: Arctic Race of Norway 2022

108 cyclists, 19 teams, and 90 electric cars? This combination of factors could be for nothing other than the impressive Arctic Race of Norway, which took place 11th-14th of August 2022. 

This year, cyclists competed in a 4-day road race that took place in 4 different stages. The total route stretched a staggering 677.9 km from Mo I Rana all the way down to Trondheim, Norway. 

But how do the cycling teams get the support they need from their crew during this extensive race?  

The teams relied on electric service cars. 

Of course, these electric service cars needed power to run smoothly throughout the 4-day race, and that’s exactly why Kempower was at the event. We wanted to deliver fast and reliable charging to the Artic Race teams. 

The Arctic Race of Norway is on a journey to become the most sustainable cycling race in the world, so we at Kempower were thrilled to support this event and help make it a success. Supporting this event was also a fun collaboration since we have Kempower employees in Norway as well. 

Charging needs of the sporting event 

A sporting event such as the Arctic Race requires a lot of driving by the teams’ service cars. It’s crucial that the electric service cars are powered up and ready to go when it matters most for their teams. 

With this in mind, we decided it would be optimal to bring 9 Kempower Movable Chargers and transport them across 8 different charging stations along the race route.  A local energy company also provided 3 more movable chargers.

Some charging stations operated from public parking lots, and some were stationed at hotels. We also put extra thought into maximizing charging sessions by completing some sessions overnight and others during the day. 

Charging speed and capacity were high priorities, so our movable DC chargers providing 40 kwh each were the perfect fit. 

For flexibility and speed, it was important to consider how we transferred the charging equipment from one place to the other during the race. 

At the top of the list was making sure the chargers could be: 

• Easily assembled 
• Easily mounted 
• Easily connected 
• Easily transported 

We also wanted to make sure that the chargers could be transferred from one charging station to another sustainably. So, it was important to deliver all our charging equipment on trailers that were also driven by EVs. 

Without a doubt, a lot of planning is necessary to enable electric transportation during a sporting event. However, it is 100% worth it when you want to take small steps to change the world for the better. 

Outdoor events, like road cycling, provide a great opportunity to minimize your carbon footprint. Using electric vehicles when possible is the perfect way to achieve this. 

The success of charging electric cars at a sporting event 

After an eventful 4 days at the Arctic Race of Norway 2022, Kempower was able to supply 8,645 kwh of power to the electric service cars.  

This amount of power equals 43,225 km (average of 200W/km) driven during the race.   

This much  power would be enough for you to drive around the world a one time and then some.  

All of the energy we used to power our chargers came from Norwegian hydropower plants.   

After  facilitating 423 total charging sessions, we saved approximately 4,841 kg of Co2 (avarage 112g CO2 per km). 

The use of electric cars is increasing and using them at sporting events is becoming more and more popular. We can’t wait to see which sport is ready to electrify their event next. 

Check out our video from the event below: