ELINTA is a Lithuanian engineering group founded in 1991 that develops and manufactures advanced electronics and automation solutions. Its companies build electric-vehicle powertrains and electric buses (Elinta Motors), EV charging stations (Elinta Charge), industrial automation and robotics (Elinta Robotics) and computer-vision systems (Elinvision), with products distributed in more than 30 countries. Based in the Kaunas Free Economic Zone, ELINTA is a company whose technologies electrify transport and industry – so making intelligent use of the energy in its own building is a natural way to “lead by example”.
When Energy Scouts Martynas Vrašinskas, Ričardas Bertašius and Aleksandr Vagaicev examined the site, they focused on a change coming in 2026: a major expansion of the main building. The extension will add new electrical loads and electrify several existing systems, raising electricity demand significantly. To cover this, the rooftop solar PV plant is being enlarged from 60 kWp to 210 kWp. However, the Scouts’ analysis showed that only 58 % of the generated energy would be self-consumed, while the remaining 42 % would be exported to the grid at low value. The challenge became clear: how to capture more of the company’s own clean solar energy instead of selling it cheaply.
Their solution pairs a 200 kWh battery energy storage system (BESS) with an intelligent energy management system (EMS). The battery stores surplus midday solar energy for use in the evening, raising on-site self-consumption from 58 % to 73 % – a 15 % gain. On top of that, the EMS adds smart load control, dynamic management of the EV charging stations, peak-shaving of the grid draw, and tariff trading that charges the battery with cheap electricity (following ENTSO-E day-ahead prices) for use when power is expensive.
The self-consumption gain alone saves 26,8 MWh and 3,78 tons of CO₂ per year. Counting only that benefit, the system saves about 4.556 €/year with an 8–10 year payback; but once the further EMS benefits are included – chiefly avoiding a costly upgrade of the grid connection point and charging the battery with cheaper energy – total savings rise to roughly 8.636 €/year, shortening the payback to 5,5–6,5 years on an investment of about 50.000 €. The project is currently planned and will be implemented together with the 2026 building expansion. For the Energy Scouts it turned an everyday engineering question – what to do with exported solar energy – into a showcase of how ELINTA can practise the intelligent energy use it sells to others.
Photovoltaics
Energy Management
System Optimization
- Industry sector: Electronics and electromobility manufacturing (EV powertrains, charging stations, industrial automation, computer vision)
- Energy source: Electrical energy
- Energy savings potential: 26.8 MWh/year (additional solar electricity kept on site)
- CO2 savings potential: 3.78 tons/year
- Potential cost reduction: 8,636 €/year
- Investment costs: 50,000 €
- Payback period: 5.8 years
- Company:
Elinta, UAB (ELINTA Grid)
Terminalo g. 3, Biruliškės
LT-54469 Kaunas district
Lithuania
https://elinta.eu/
