The energy transition has meanwhile arrived in industry, albeit with varying degrees of pressure for the different sectors to take action. However, issues such as rising energy prices and the necessity of orientation toward renewable energies are here to stay. Companies who fail to face these challenges and find answers and solutions in the short term risk nothing less than economic ruin.
Solar power yes, but only if it is intelligent!
Many companies have already decided to install systems that allow them to cover at least part of their energy demand self-sufficiently, for example with photovoltaics. In principle, this is a good first step, but for the experts at Greenflash, the PV installation on the roof alone is inadequate. “Without intelligent control and a comprehensive concept, a simple PV installation not only leaves huge potential unused, but also costs the owner money,” explains Lennart Oklitz, Project Manager at Greenflash. “That happens on days when there is an oversupply of electricity at certain times. The feeding of self-generated, ‘excess’ power to the grid costs up to 1,000 euros or more in just one day.” More about this below.
For Giga Coating GmbH and the vehicle manufacturer System Trailers just next door – the two companies are affiliated, with headquarters in Twist, near the city of Meppen in the German Emsland region – the joint management decided to use an intelligent energy system such as that developed and implemented by Greenflash. Giga Coating is the site of Europe’s most modern surface coating plant for cathodic dip coating and powder coating, which is also utilized for fully automated coating of large workpieces for use in industry. The high power consumption of the stoving ovens forced the company to find alternatives to fossil fuels.
Energy requirements at System Trailers are likewise high, in this case for the welding robots used for the timely production of large quantities of trailers and semi-trailers in a wide variety of versions. In 2022, the two companies contacted Greenflash with the request to develop a sustainable solution for the power supply.
Comprehensive solution with more than 2 MWp – and an innovative storage system
“There are several reasons why Giga Coating and System Trailers are special customers for us,” explains Lennart Oklitz. “For example, we combined the two connecting points for the power grid to create a single system. The PV systems of both companies were initially installed separately, with 390 kWp at System Trailers and 749 kWp at Giga Coating. They were likewise combined in this process.” Another simultaneously installed PV system with 1.2 MWp was certified and commissioned by Greenflash. Oklitz continues: “Since we are the general contractor for this project, we were able to set the course early on for a comprehensive, intelligent solution, including connection to the energy exchange. Another important milestone was the seamless integration of a power storage system for the solar power generated. This system was built by our partner STABL Energy, delivered in a 20-foot container in June 2025, and commissioned jointly.”
The special feature of the STABL solution is the modular concept, as explained by Nam Truong, CEO and co-founder of the company with headquarters in Munich and a branch in Berlin: “While the market for storage solutions generally relies on long battery chains and high-voltage batteries, our architecture with battery modules provides for increased durability, reliability, and efficiency. This even allows the use of recycled batteries from electric cars, with no compromises in performance and service life. This is an important aspect with a view toward resource efficiency and recycling.”
Modular concept with multi-level inverter
The STABL battery system for the two companies in Emsland comprises a total of 288 second-chance battery modules. Originally intended for installation in electric vehicles, they ended up on the shelf before getting a second chance. The usable storage capacity is 1,233 kWh, with an output of 405 kW. The purpose of the storage system is to smooth out peak loads and minimize grid charges due to atypical grid use. The modular design allows fast and versatile replacement of single battery modules throughout the service life of the system.
Storage capability overcomes disadvantages
The commercial storage unit is very important in that it offers independence from the daily changing dynamics of the electricity market. This eliminates the necessity of immediately feeding unneeded electricity into the grid – with the aforementioned costly consequence of a negative electricity rate due to the surplus. Conversely, a company can purchase electricity at favorable times and keep it in the storage system until it is needed. Project manager Lennart Oklitz: “A comprehensive system like the one we have implemented here at Giga Coating and System Trailers offers companies so many more possibilities to reduce their energy costs than would be possible with a simple PV system on the roof.”
But the storage system is not the final development in the energy system at the affiliated companies in Twist: Giga Coating and System Trailers are meanwhile partners for a pilot project at Greenflash that demonstrates the capabilities of the AI-based energy management system – Greencore AI – in practice. “Simply put, Greencore AI controls an energy system in such a way that the customer always gets the best electricity rate in the end,” says Lennart Oklitz. “As soon as it becomes apparent that the electricity rate will be negative, our AI-based software intervenes to prevent electricity from flowing into the grid, thus eliminating the associated costs. We already have examples from the field that have enabled savings in the five-figure range thanks to Greencore AI.
Greencore AI unlocks the full potential
But the system is capable of much more, and Greenflash provides its customers with software tools that allow them to see in detail how the intelligently controlled energy system works. For example, how it responds to peak loads, how it accesses the storage, and what happens in the case of atypical grid use. “One recent example: Giga Coating wanted to find out from the power utility whether better rates would be possible if they unloaded their stored energy from afternoon to evening in order to lower their consumption,” says Oklitz. “Our task was to implement this request in the system control. In cooperation with the power utility, which had to implement several conversions, we quickly achieved that goal with Greencore AI.”
The handling of atypical grid use is already fully integrated in Greencore AI, including the visualization of mixed operation with the storage system. Numerous additional functions of the new software are still under development, some of which have already proven their potential in the field with pilot customers like Giga Coating and System Trailers. For example, the learning system reliably predicts consumption, and also displays all relevant data such as production, consumption, delivery, and procurement. “The forecast data for production and consumption allows us to control all processes so that the energy costs for our customers are always within the optimum range,” sums up Lennart Oklitz.
Further expansion planned
The two companies in the Emsland region are already well on their way to a greener power supply. Giga Coating and System Trailers are planning to install further energy storage systems, to become even more self-sufficient, and to increase electrification, for example by using high-temperature heat pumps. Lennart Oklitz is convinced that companies with energy-intensive production processes can benefit tremendously from the transformation to renewable energies by using an intelligent, comprehensive energy system: “That it works and provides tangible benefits is apparent in the case of our pilot customers for Greencore AI in a way that sometimes even surprises us. The potential is enormous.”
