MT Group has signed a €27.8 million EPC turnkey contract with Pure Energy Solutions for the design, construction and commissioning of a 35MW/140MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facility in Rietavas, Lithuania. The project represents a significant investment in Lithuania’s energy infrastructure as the Baltic nation accelerates its transition to renewable energy.
Direct Connection to High-Voltage Transmission Network
The project will be directly connected to a 110kV high-voltage substation operated by Lithuania’s Transmission System Operator (TSO) Litgrid, strengthening Lithuania’s flexibility and grid resilience. This strategic location will enable the facility to provide critical grid services as renewable generation capacity expands across the Baltic region.
Supporting Baltic Energy Market Integration
As renewable generation grows across the Baltics, the Rietavas BESS will provide frequency control and balancing reserves, supporting cross-border integration and participation in the Baltic and Nord Pool balancing markets. The project comes at a critical time for the region’s energy infrastructure development.
The Baltic region disconnected from the BRELL grid operated by Russia and connected to Continental Europe via a Lithuania-Poland connection in early 2025. During this transition, Lithuania’s transmission system operator LitGrid deployed a four-project, 200MW/200MWh portfolio of storage-as-transmission asset battery energy storage systems from Fluence, designed to support the grid through the process.
Strategic Importance for Grid Modernization
Dr. Kristina Norvaišienė, Executive Director at MT Group, emphasized the project’s role in advancing smart energy infrastructure. “Rietavas BESS highlights MT Group’s commitment to delivering the next generation of smart energy infrastructure,” she stated. “Battery Energy Storage Systems are becoming central to the modern power grid ensuring flexibility, supporting renewable generation and enabling a more interconnected Baltic energy market.”
Dr. Norvaišienė added: “This project is another step towards building a resilient, future-ready energy system for the region.”
Local Partnership Accelerates Deployment
Artūras Jacikas, Chief Executive of Pure Energy Solutions, highlighted the value of local collaboration in developing modern balancing assets. “This project demonstrates how strong local partnerships can accelerate the deployment of modern balancing assets,” Jacikas said.
“We are proud to have MT Group as the right EPC partner combining proven technical excellence, reliability and a deep understanding of Lithuania’s energy infrastructure,” he continued. “Rietavas BESS will set a new benchmark for large-scale storage projects, enhancing grid flexibility and cross-border stability across the Baltic and Nordic electricity markets.”
Lithuania’s Expanding Energy Storage Market
The Rietavas project is part of Lithuania’s broader energy storage development strategy. Lithuania’s government has approved conditions for increasing funding for its ongoing energy storage support programme, with an additional €45 million pledged on top of the original €102 million commitment. The support is targeted at the deployment of 1,700MW/4,000MWh of energy storage facilities, funded from a total package of €180 million approved by the European Union through its Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework.
According to E energija Group CEO Gediminas Uloza, although the average electricity consumption in Lithuania is around 1,500 megawatts, the installed capacity of both solar and wind power plants is expected to exceed 2,000 megawatts in 2025, enabling surplus electricity to be stored and supplied to consumers during peak hours.
Looking ahead, Lithuania aims to create a comprehensive investment and regulatory ecosystem for energy storage by 2028, targeting the deployment of 1.5GW of storage capacity with a total energy volume of 4.4GWh.
MT Group’s Energy Transition Portfolio
This project complements MT Group’s existing portfolio of strategic energy infrastructure, from Hydrogen projects in Vilnius and Klaipėda to Jauniūnai Gas Compressor Station modernization, Brunsbüttel LNG Terminal EPC works in Germany, and the CO₂ capture project in Denmark with Ørsted.
MT Group is a leading European EPC contractor delivering complex, large-scale infrastructure across energy transition and industrial sectors including hydrogen, CO₂ and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), as well as natural gas and LNG. The company provides end-to-end solutions from concept development through commissioning and operations.
Nord Pool and Baltic Balancing Markets
Nord Pool is a pan-European power exchange that operates Europe’s leading electricity markets, providing platforms for day-ahead and intraday trading, clearing, and settlement services across 16 countries. In the Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—integration with Nord Pool began in the late 2000s, with Estonia joining as a bidding area in 2010, followed by Lithuania in 2012 and Latvia in 2013, enabling coupled day-ahead markets that synchronize prices with the Nordics.
The Rietavas BESS will participate in these markets by providing essential balancing services, including frequency control reserves and other ancillary services that help maintain grid stability as variable renewable energy generation increases.
Growing Private Investment in Baltic Storage
The state-owned Ignitis Group is spearheading Lithuania’s storage development with three landmark projects in Kelmė, Mažeikiai, and Kruonis, which together will deliver a combined 291MW/582MWh of capacity using Rolls-Royce Solutions’ mtu EnergyPack technology, expected to be operational by 2027.
Private developers are also entering the market. In September 2025, Finnish company Olana Energy acquired a 70MW/140MWh project in Šalčininkai from UK-based Aura Power, with commercial operation scheduled for Q4 2026. Infrastructure construction company DS1, headquartered in Lithuania, has begun installing a 30MW/60MWh BESS project near Telšiai with battery storage equipment supplied by Chinese manufacturer CATL.
Regional Energy Security and Independence
The development of large-scale battery storage in Lithuania directly supports the country’s energy security objectives. At the Energy Storage Summit Central and Eastern Europe 2025, the audience heard that ancillary services prices in the Baltic States had been “through the roof” of late, making it an attractive market for storage investors, as the region is no longer able to rely on Russia for its grid-balancing flexibility.
The Rietavas project and other similar developments across Lithuania will play a crucial role in enabling the integration of increasing volumes of renewable energy while maintaining grid stability and reducing dependence on external balancing resources.
