In the electric car competition “Ignitis ON: get to know Lithuania!” – unusual participants

Up to 50 real electric cars will participate in the electric car competition “Ignitis ON: get to know Lithuania!”, which will be held for the tenth time on June 7. This is the largest number in the history of the event, but that is not the only thing that will make this year’s competition unique.

For the first time, a hydrogen-powered car will enter the starting line. Only 2 hydrogen-powered cars are registered in Lithuania, and one of them belongs to a Kaunas University of Technology researcher. Vilniaus šilumos tinklai together with KTU cooperates closely in preparing and searching for energy talents, therefore they will also participate in this event together. The joint VŠT and KTU crew will drive the Hyundai ix35 FCEV. Why choose a hydrogen-powered electric car? Vilnius heat networks already in 2026. the first plans to supply hydrogen to the public transport infrastructure of the city of Vilnius. The company has already started to implement the green hydrogen plant project – thermal power plant No. Area 2 will be the first factory of its kind to be built. The 3 MW electrolyzer is planned to produce 1,140,000 m3 of green hydrogen per year, which will be used by 16 hydrogen-powered public transport buses. The company calculates that the installed 3 MW electrolyzer would be enough to produce hydrogen gas for 40 buses, so in the future there are plans to supply this green fuel at a public access station that would be available to drivers of hydrogen-powered electric cars.

By the way, since none of the hydrogen-powered cars have the possibility to charge the battery from the outside, they are not considered electric cars in Lithuania and are registered as cars with internal combustion engines, although in fact the wheels are driven by an electric motor and there is no air pollution. In Lithuania, it was not possible to indicate hydrogen as the type of fuel in the technical inspection report of a hydrogen-powered vehicle, it is indicated “electricity” (the fuel type is indicated correctly in the registration certificate). Discussions are currently underway with Transeksta to resolve the situation.

Another guest of the competition is the MAN LION’S CITY 12E bus. It is launched by the joint team of “Adampolis” and Vilniaus šilumos nettki, promising to reach Palanga without additional charging, and to seat not only the driver and co-pilot, but also passengers in the cabin. The bus has already been tested in Lithuania and drove through the streets of Vilnius and Kaunas, the feedback from passengers and drivers was good, so the additional extreme test will only be beneficial. The bus, whose central motor reaches a power of 240 kW, is equipped with one of the largest batteries on the bus market. Its capacity is as much as 480 kWh, and the driving distance can reach over 500 km. A full charge at the maximum allowed power takes up to 3 hours. By the way, for safety reasons, the battery pack is installed on the roof of the bus.

It’s true that almost every year we saw guests or an unusual format in the electric car competition. In 2016, all participants started with the same Nissan Leaf electric cars provided by Nissan Nordic. Then the crew of multiple national car rally champion, Vice Minister of Transport S. Girdauskas and the head of the Lithuanian Motor Road Directorate E. Skrodenis won, reaching Palanga in 4 hours. 49 minutes.

In 2017, an electric bicycle and a glider challenged electric cars. 4 hours 21 min. the result was recorded by one of the country’s most titled cyclists, Olympian, Lithuanian road champion, Tomas Vaitkus, who also won a stage of the prestigious Giro d’Italia race. He rode an electric bicycle from the starting place to the railway station, where together with his equipment he took the Vilnius – Klaipėda train to the Kretinga railway station, and from there he reached Palanga again by bicycle. And the gliding master Algirdas Šimoliūnas, together with other participants of the event, started from the European Square in an electric car and reached the Palukni aerodrome. From there, Algirdas, catching favorable currents for him through Ukmergė, Panevėžys, Joniškis, Mažeikis, reached the Klaipėda Aeroclub by glider, and from there he got into an electric car again and rushed to the finish of the race in Palanga.

In 2018, diesel-powered Nissan took to the track together with electric cars. It was driven by journalist Valdas Vilūnas, whose task was to get to Palanga in compliance with road traffic rules everywhere. His time was 3 hours 46 minutes, just 20 minutes behind the electric car winners Spark.

The Yutong U12 bus with a 423 kWh battery capacity and a driving distance of up to 400 km participated as a guest in 2021. It is true that the bus traveled a slightly different route than all the participants. Like the Super Soco electric city scooter.

The 2023 “Ignitis ON: Discover Lithuania!” race showed that electricity is not only suitable for passenger cars. The entire distance from Vilnius to Klaipėda, stopping at “Krekenavas Agrofirma” and Tauragė Castle, was covered only by the battery-powered “Volvo FH” truck and the “Energica EVA Ribelle” motorcycle. The truck passed the route without stopping to load.

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