Health trail visitors will soon be able to charge their electric car batteries while out in nature
At the end of 2024, Enefit and Estonian Health Trails Foundation launched a joint co-operation project ‘Charge two batteries at once’ under which electric car chargers will be installed in the car parks of the most popular health trails. The aim of the project is to promote outdoor activity and make health trails more accessible to electric car drivers.
‘Supporting the exercise habits of Estonians and providing environmentally friendly solutions is a top priority for us,’ said Kelli Toss-Kaasik, Chair of the Management Board of Enefit and Member of the Supervisory Board of the Estonian Health Trails Foundation. ‘We will install electric car chargers in the car parks of the most popular health trails, allowing health trail visitors to enjoy active time in nature while charging their electric cars,’ she explained.
According to the head of the energy company, it is important for people to have the ability to choose not only healthy lifestyles but also the conservation of nature in an increasingly convenient way. ‘We support people in choosing environmentally friendly means of transport by continuously adding new charging options to locations where they already engage in daily activities, such as shops, office buildings and now health trails. We make choosing sustainable means of transport more convenient,’ said Toss-Kaasik.
In the first stage of the project, electric car chargers that work in the Enefit Volt charging network will be installed at ten health trails across Estonia: Mammaste, Alutaguse, Holstre-Polli, Kadrina, Palivere, Vooremäe, Kuningamäe, Paluküla, Valgehobusemäe and Võru-Kubija.
The first charger at the Mammaste health trail has already been installed and is now open to all users. Additional charging points will be added to the Enefit Volt network at the beginning of summer. These include the Holstre-Polli, Palivere, Kuningamäe, Kadrina, Paluküla and Vooremäe health trails. All charging points constructed during the first phase will be fully completed in summer 2026. More locations will be added in the future.
Head of Estonian Health Trails Foundation Assar Jõepera added: ‘We are thrilled to be working with Enefit. Now, when you visit the health trails, you can charge two batteries at once – your own and your electric car’s. This is a fantastic opportunity to combine an environmentally friendly mindset with an active lifestyle, making exercise in nature even more accessible and convenient.’
For 19 years, the Eesti Energia Group, in collaboration with Swedbank and Merko, has been developing Estonian health trails, illuminating previously dark or unlit nature trails. In 2024, the subsidiary Enefit took on the role of spokesperson for the health trails project on behalf of the energy group. As part of the co-operation project ‘Charge two batteries at once’, Enefit will install electric car chargers in the car parks of the most popular health trails across Estonia.
Enefit AS is a company belonging to the Eesti Energia Group, providing customers with useful and sustainable energy solutions. The services of the company include electricity and gas sales, solar and energy storage solutions, lighting solutions, high-speed internet readiness, electrical work, insurance for household electrical appliances, and home and public charging solutions for electric cars. The Enefit Volt public charging network is the largest in Estonia, stretching from Estonia all the way to the border of Germany.
The network of Estonian Health Trails Foundation consists of 130 maintained health trails, spanning over 1,100 kilometres. The trails are equipped with maps and signs and feature outdoor gyms, bike trails and pump tracks. The Estonian Health Trails Foundation was established in 2005 in co-operation with Merko, Eesti Energia and Swedbank. Over the past 20 years, more than 6.5 million euros have been invested in the development of health trails, with an additional 65 million euros in funding received from the state, local governments and European Union funds.