Nero Charging – How Virta helps offer flexible one-stop shop EV charging solutions

Nero Charging Ltd., a Finnish-based EV charging operator looked for a strong partner to be able to offer their customers the whole value chain to run EV charging operations successfully. That's what they found in Virta. Read about our cooperation in this success story.

Nero, the one-stop shop for everything EV charging

Nero strives to offer flexible EV charging solutions to a wide variety of customers and acts as a one-stop shop service provider, taking care of everything from installation to out-of-warranty services and the migration of pre-existing chargers to Virta’s back-end, Virta Hub.

Since 2022, their cooperation with Virta has allowed them to rely on a flexible charging solution they can easily offer to their customers.

Nero specialises in servicing and maintaining both AC and DC EV chargers and prides itself on its in-house manufacturing of diagnostic tools. This, together with its end-to-end, customer-centric approach, makes it a one-of-a-kind EV charging provider for Finnish and international customers.

Image 1: Diagnostic work at a faulty charger.

When it comes to charging stations, Nero manages their installation, firmware updates, complex diagnostics and maintenance throughout the whole lifecycle. One of their core services is their 24/7 maintenance plan where they’re on call for the customer’s EV charging needs around the clock.

This service is offered, for example, on the charging site where our interview took place, an apartment building in central Helsinki, where Nero installed 130 AC chargers in the parking garage.

Image 2: Parking garage in a central Helsinki apartment building with 130 AC chargers installed by Nero.

When asked about who Nero's customers are, the answer is simple:

“There is not a customer we don’t attend to,” agree Jaakko and Jussi Kotivuori, two brothers behind Nero’s operations. Jaakko oversees operations and customer satisfaction at Nero, while Jussi is in charge of servicing.

Image 3: Jaakko Kotivuori (left) and Jussi Kotivuori (right).

Nero serves both the private and public sectors. Its services are widely used by cities, hospitals, airports, housing associations, smaller and larger businesses, and many private customers.

We sat down with Jaakko and Jussi to talk about their EV charging journey and the company’s cooperation with Virta over the years.

A strong partner needed

Nero was started in 2022 as an answer to a gap in the market regarding the maintenance and servicing of electric vehicle chargers. From the get-go, Nero knew they wanted a strong partner.

“Virta has been around for a long time and is a major player in the EV charging space, so we were familiar with them even before our partnership. When we started Nero and needed a partner, Virta was the number one option,” says Jaakko.

Thanks to its cooperation with Virta, Nero has been able to resell an end-to-end charging solution. That includes Virta Hub and other services necessary for seamless charging operations – an automated payment system, roaming integrations, energy management solutions, and an intuitive white-label mobile app for EV drivers.

Nero & Virta – smart and easy-to-use solutions lead to success

For Nero, cooperation with Virta provides them with quite a few benefits they can then offer their own customers.

First, Jussi and Jaakko mention Virta Hub and its ease of use.

“We really enjoy the ease of use, not only for us but also for our customers. It’s an intuitive system that doesn’t require any training. Our customers can easily add drivers and set up the charging prices. Also, all the payments and invoicing processes are automated,” explains Jussi.

Jaakko then continues to mention the flexibility and customisation possibilities of different pricing structures inside Virta Hub, which their customers appreciate.

For Nero, who manages the whole installation process of the EV chargers, the automatic connection of the charging stations to Virta Hub is a benefit to highlight.

“That’s very installer-friendly. It’s easy for us to continue from there when the chargers are already connected to the back-end,” says Jussi.

To help Nero on the servicing side, Virta Hub’s detailed logs for diagnostic purposes make the work easier. They can check the issue remotely before deciding to visit the charging site in person, which saves time and resources for Nero on a regular basis.

Image 4: Servicing of a faulty charger on a charging site.

One essential part of both Nero’s offering and Virta Hub is energy management. Built into the cloud-based platform, Jaakko highlights the ease of setting different load management systems up and how not having a physical load management device makes on-site visits to make adjustments unnecessary, resulting in decreased end costs for their customers.

“With Virta, we can offer a hardware-agnostic load management system, which our customers want. That means the load management works with a wide variety of chargers and charger brands, and Virta keeps adding new compatible chargers continuously. There are no constraints to where we can use load management,” adds Jussi.

Besides Virta Hub and load management systems, Jussi and Jaakko also highlight Virta’s extensive roaming network. As Virta’s partner, Nero can offer its customers a wide charging network of more than 800,000 charging stations in over 35 countries with only one charging account.

With a mobile app fully branded to Nero’s logos and colours, customers can start and end charging sessions with one click of a button. 

During our conversation about Nero’s cooperation with Virta, the personal aspect of the working relationship also comes up.

“Virta’s not a faceless company; they are approachable and have the know-how. There’s mutual trust, and Virta’s team supports us and gives us all the tools we need to serve our customers in unique ways that make EV charging easier for EV drivers,” mentions Jaakko.

“People make the company,” adds Jussi. “They’re passionate about EV charging, and so are we. We share this passion, which makes working together easy.”

Network expansion and customer satisfaction in focus

During our conversation, Jussi and Jaakko repeatedly emphasised how striving for the highest possible customer satisfaction motivates their daily efforts.

“Having close contact with the customer to ensure all is operating correctly is important to us. We believe in long-lasting relationships,” says Jaakko.

And what customer satisfaction hinges on is the uptime of chargers.

“When the chargers are online, customers are happy. It’s simple,” explains Jaakko.

And Jussi expands: “Virta’s platform allows us to follow all the data and metrics in real-time, which helps us to keep the chargers’ uptime at a maximum, which keeps our customers happy. And that is how we measure success at Nero.”

Image 5: Charging with a Nero branded charging tag at an Alfen AC charger.

The future is fast

Even though most of Nero’s installed chargers are currently AC chargers, they predict their biggest growth in the future will come from DC charging and its whole value chain – planning, installing, servicing, and maintaining various DC charging brands.

Already now, Nero operates multiple fast DC charging stations across Finland, mainly at petrol stations, where DC chargers serve their purpose the best as EV drivers stop expecting to charge their car in a matter of minutes instead of hours like with standard AC chargers.

On a more general note, Nero plans to keep serving a wide array of customers in Finland and abroad and keep customer satisfaction at the top of their minds in everything they do. With Virta and our successful cooperation, they’re optimistic they will succeed.