In early October, a group of developers, entrepreneurs, landowners and experts interested in energy storage made a field trip to five sites related to energy storage and electrification in Central Ostrobothnia and Ostrobothnia. The visits highlighted how fast battery and storage technology is developing - and how solutions are being sought to combine carbon neutrality, energy efficiency and market economies, from SMEs to large energy companies.

Nykänen & Cactos - an SME in the electricity market

Peltisepänliike Nykänen, a family business based in Veteli, shows that SMEs can also play a role in energy grid flexibility. The company has adopted battery storage systems developed by Cactos Oy to participate in Fingrid's frequency reserve market.

The system works automatically and optimises electricity use and costs. Practical experience has been cautiously positive - the battery storage has worked reliably and the solution has increased understanding of the potential of energy management at the enterprise level. The use of solar power at another site also brings a new level of self-sufficiency.

The solution shows that smaller companies can also participate in the electricity market, with technology and service models (such as leasing offered by Cactos) bringing the threshold down. For more information on Peltisepänänie Nykänen's battery purchase, see our previous article.

Adolf Lahti Oy - heavy transport goes electric

Adolf Lahti's electric truck is one of Finland's first heavy equipment conversions.

Heavy industrial transport is moving towards electric propulsion, and Adolf Lahti Oy, part of the KWH Group, has taken a significant step in this development. The company has electrified an existing 167-tonne truck used for intra-industrial transfers.

The conversion was built as an in-house project and serves as both a research and training platform. Practical driving experience has been excellent - the vehicle is quiet, smooth and comfortable for drivers to operate. The electric solution reduces emissions and maintenance requirements, and serves as a model for other industrial operators who want to use existing vehicles to make use of new technology.

Enetron Oy - Pietarsaari is a growing hub for the battery industry

Enetron's own 1 MW / 2 MWh battery farm will serve as a demonstration base for future projects.

Enetron Oy, based in Pietarsaari, Finland, is building future energy systems that combine battery storage, solar power and charging infrastructure. The company has expanded rapidly, and its own battery park serves as a development platform and a practical test bed for grid flexibility solutions.

Enetron manufactures components for domestic battery manufacturers and is also developing its own modular battery charging solutions. The company's founders come from the logistics sector, and their background is reflected in a hands-on approach to energy disruption.

The company's growth prospects are significant, with hundreds of megawatts worth of projects under construction and development across Finland. Enetron's activities illustrate how regional companies can quickly emerge as national players in driving the clean transition.

Herrfors - a pioneer in hybrid energy in Oravais

The battery storage in Oravainen works together with the Ylivieska power boiler as part of the same energy system.

Herrfors, an electricity and grid company based in Ostrobothnia and Central Ostrobothnia, has been involved in the development of energy storage from an early stage. The company's Oravais energy storage facility is part of a unique hybrid model where battery and electric boiler operate together in the reserve market. The joint operation, for example, extends the battery's lifetime.

The battery and the electric boiler share the reserve market activations, taking into account the amount of electricity the electric boiler needs for district heating. This reduces the load on the battery and makes the whole system more cost-effective. The project has been implemented without public support and serves as an example of a local energy system that combines the electricity grid, heat production and reserve market control.

In Herrfors' model, hybrid energy is a step towards a future where different forms of energy support each other and local companies can play an active role in the transformation of the electricity market.

Esse Elektro-Kraft & Autocirc - electric car batteries get a new lease of life

Batteries in electric trams now serve as energy storage in Ostrobothnia.

A joint project between Esse Elektro-Kraft and the international Autocirc group shows how to extend the life of electric car batteries. The batteries of decommissioned cars are used as energy storage devices - their own control system remains in use, allowing safe and controlled operation.

The battery stores operate as a reserve market on Esse Elektro-Kraft's balance sheet, and Autocirc is responsible for the procurement and testing of the batteries. The solution is not only a technical innovation, but also a circular economic one: the batteries will be given a second life before final recycling, and new skills and business will be created in the region. The batteries can also be easily returned to road use, so that in practice a battery dismantled from a car wreck is a productive rather than a consumable item in storage.

In the future, the company will have up to gigawatt-hour energy storage capacity to develop through its recycling activities.

Conclusion - energy storage is already here to stay

The five sites visited on the day provided a broad overview of the current state of battery and storage technology in Finland. The tour showed that the transformation of the energy sector is not only limited to large installations or investments, but is equally taking place in SMEs, industrial transport, the circular economy and local energy companies. It was also good to see that this is an area where we are at the forefront of developments.

What all the sites had in common was a practical approach: solutions are already in place and delivering value to both businesses and the electricity system. At the same time, they lay the foundations for a future where energy storage, electrification of transport and the circular economy are combined into a sustainable regional growth.

Lessons learned from the battery trip in a nutshell:

• Energy storage is no longer an experiment - solutions are already working in industry and SMEs.
• Electricity market flexibility offers new sources of revenue and opportunities for energy efficiency.
• The circular economy and battery reuse are creating new business models and skills in Finland.
• Local businesses and energy companies have a key role to play in making the clean transition a reality.
• Change is fast, in a year's time even these lessons will be outdated.

The fact-finding mission was made possible by the Kase ESSI and Semukas projects, funded by Leader Pirityiset ry, private companies, the Central Ostrobothnia Regional Council and the municipalities of the Kaustinen and Sydänsuomessa regions.