E.ON has invested in a Finnish electric vehicle (EV) platform provider.

The energy firm now owns a joint majority stake in Virta, a supplier of IT systems for charging electric cars.

Finnish energy company Helen holds an equal share of the business.

Virta aims to provide an EV-enabled answer to fluctuations in the energy system caused by the increasing share of intermittent renewable energies, such as through the load management of vehicle-to-grid technologies.

Its software platform optimises the energy flow behind the charging stations, avoids energy peaks, reduces costs and enables additional profit to be made through auxiliary grid services.

Frank Meyer, Senior Vice President of Business in E.ON’s Consumer Solutions, E-Mobility and Innovation unit, said: “The future of mobility will to a large extent be IT-driven. With our stake in Virta, we belong to a small group of companies with access to development expertise.

“In this way, we can help shape the future of mobility.”