2026 Ignitis ON EV race: Baltic Science Goes Electric will start on June 12 in Kaunas

Participants will be challenged to choose the best route, decide which of the ever-increasing number of charging stations to charge at and when. However, this event has been a testing ground for electromobility from the very beginning. This time, two categories will compete at the same time. Participants in the “Business” category will try to reach Cēsis and Tartu as efficiently and quickly as possible, choosing a shorter route and not turning away from it to admire memorable places. The “Tourism” category will be won by those crews that will drive the most kilometers in 8 hours. A total of 70 teams with unmodified electric cars will be able to participate in the competition. Registration of participants begins today and will end when 70 teams submit applications.

This year, the competition will also have another important element – ​​science. Participants will start in Kaunas at the “Science Island”, stop at the “Space Exploration Center” in Cēsis and finish at the “Ahhaa” Science Center in Tartu. In all cities, it will be possible not only to see the latest electric cars, but also to get acquainted with the activities of modern science centers, expositions and special activities that will take place only on the day of the competition. The competition partners Ignitis ON, ABB and IF Insurance will also not leave participants and spectators without surprises.

“Electric car competition are naturally growing along with electromobility in the Baltic States. This year’s route through Kaunas, Cēsis and Tartu shows that it is now possible to travel comfortably by electric car not only in individual countries, but also throughout the region. The Ignitis ON network today covers about 91 percent of the territory of the Baltic States, so such routes are becoming more and more commonplace, not the exception,” says Eimantas Balta, head of the Ignitis electric mobility department.

According to the competition organizer Darius Grinbergas, the current competition route was chosen for a simple reason – the desire to draw attention to the rapidly developing regional electric car infrastructure. "If Kaunas, located in the middle of Lithuania, can really boast of an abundance of charging stations, we want to check whether a similar situation will be in the north of Lithuania, in the middle of Latvia or in the east of Estonia. I have already covered the planned route in an electric car, and I was convinced that when driving alone, it was very convenient to charge only in the "Ignitis ON" network in Latvia and Estonia. I think that there will definitely be enough charging stations for all participants in the competition, no one will have to wait in lines, and victory in the competition will be determined by charging at the right time, when the battery can receive the maximum power. Of course, the efficiency of electric cars is only improving every year, and the newest models participate in the competition, so I am sure that the competition will be huge, and the results will not differ much. By the way, many electric car manufacturers reserved places for their newest models this year, so electric car enthusiasts will definitely have something to look at," said D. Grinbergas.

Anyone who wants to can participate in the "Ignitis ON" electric car competition! You can familiarize yourself with the rules and register here https://ignitison.lt/varzybu-registracija or https://ignitison.ee/registreerimine-toimuvale-elektriautode-voistlusele or https://ignitison.lv/registracija-elektroauto-sacensibam