KONE’s Veturi Program: Building a Sustainable Urban Future

A Four-Year Journey of Innovation with 200 Partners

 

In 2020, KONE launched the “Flow of Urban Life” Veturi ecosystem program, addressing urbanization and sustainability challenges. Supported by EUR 20 million from Business Finland, the program brought together 200 companies, resulting in over a hundred patent applications.

“The Veturi program helped us find high-tech partners to co-create solutions for the physical and digital world. Business Finland and other leading companies, such as Nokia, Wärtsilä and Meyer Turku, have been important players. We have also collaborated with top universities and researchers who are experts in studying smart and sustainable cities,” says Tomio Pihkala, Chief Technology Officer at KONE.

Key Achievements and Innovations

 

  • Increased R&D Investments: KONE’s Veturi program has generated new knowledge and innovations in several key technology areas, promoting the development of Finnish expertise and companies in the field of smart and sustainable cities. KONE’s R&D investments in Finland grew by 7% annually, especially in AI, digital twins, and data analytics.
  • KONE SiteFlow: This construction management application was tested in industry projects, winning the Council of Tall Buildings Innovation Award in 2024.
  • Digital Twin Concept: Enhances urban commuting by simulating people flow in transport hubs.

Ongoing Innovation

“Research collaboration provided us with a vision of the future, an idea of where the world is going – a vision to create smart construction and sustainable urban environments for the future, for example. Now we have a better understanding of customer needs and emerging technologies. We received a lot of support from external partners that helped us develop the technologies used in our future products,” says Janne Öfversten, digital innovation lead at KONE.

 

 

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KONE

  • As a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, KONE moves two billion people every day, making their journeys safe, convenient, and reliable with smart and sustainable People Flow®. KONE’s purpose is to shape the future of cities.
  • Year of foundation: 1910
  • Sales:  ~€11 billion (in 2023)
  • Personnel: over 60,000, of which 2,582 are based in Finland
  • The mission of KONE’s Veturi program, The Flow of Urban Life (2021–2024), was to develop smooth and sustainable services and solutions for the next 1 billion people moving into cities by 2030, helping to ease some of the major challenges caused by urbanization and climate change.
  • KONE’s Veturi program also seeks to create new business for the ecosystem partners and KONE worth a total of EUR 1 billion in the coming years.

Charting a Greener Course: Finnish Leaders in the Global Shipping Industry’s Eco-Revolution

Meyer Turku debuts methanol-ready cruise ship; Wärtsilä sets new standards in Chinese shipbuilding; NIT wins recognition for ship interior carbon footprint calculator.

Finnish and Estonian stakeholders in the maritime space have signed a memorandum of understanding for creating a green shipping corridor across the Gulf of Finland.

Covering the routes between Helsinki and Tallinn and Vuosaari Harbour and Muuga Harbour, the corridor is an attempt to both accelerate the transition toward climate-neutral and sustainable maritime operations and increase the volume of cargo and passengers between the two countries. It will establish joint roadmaps with specific milestones for cities, ports and shipping companies to achieve their emission goals with the support of partners.

The project will also look to strengthen the competitiveness and vitality of the corridor by means of joint scientific studies, knowledge sharing and participation in relevant global initiatives.

 

Finnish shipyard close to completing its first methanol-ready cruise ship

Meyer Turku in December announced the float-out of Mein Schiff 7, a methanol-ready cruise ship built at the shipyard in Turku, Southwest Finland, for TUI Cruises.

Shipbuilders at the shipyard began working on the vessel in June 2022. Featuring 15 decks and 1 461 cabins with room for almost 2 900 passengers and 1 000 crew and a gross tonnage of 111 500, the ship is to enter into service later this year.

Wärtsilä helps to raise the bar for shipbuilding in China

Wärtsilä in December revealed it has delivered a suite of solutions to Adora Magic City, the first ever cruise ship built in China.

The suite includes systems for automation, control, navigation and valve control, a smart motor control unit, and an engine and bridge control room console. The Finnish technology group also supplied the bow thruster system and dynamic trim system.

The cruise ship set sail on its maiden voyage from Shanghai, China, on 1 January.

NIT Wins Award for Innovative Carbon Footprint Calculator in Ship Interiors

Naval Interior Team (NIT) in November returned triumphant from the Cruise Ship Interiors Expo in London, having received the sustainability award for what is the first carbon footprint calculator designed specifically for ship interiors.

The calculator empowers ship owners and builders to pinpoint key contributors to their carbon footprint and investigate lower-emission alternatives. This not only aids in reducing emissions but also facilitates collaboration among industry stakeholders. The initiative, led by the Piikkiö, Finland-based group, aims to foster a more sustainable shipbuilding industry.

Founded in 2000, NIT is an international group of companies specialising in turnkey interior-design and construction solutions for all types of vessels. It has designed and built onboard spaces ranging from spas to restaurants and nightclubs for leading shipyards and shipowners for two decades.

 

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