Aleksej Zanemanski holds a master’s degree from the Cass Business School of London in Shipping, Trade & Finance. He began his career in the energy sector and was engaged by British Petroleum in London for 12 years. He is also a university and college lecturer and provides his students, be they in Vilnius or in London, with valuable insights into the future of the energy sector: “I receive many questions from students about this topic. The sector is so dynamic and innovative that you should always feel its pulse!”
When Aleksej returned to Lithuania, he joined the PKN Olren Lietuva Refinery in Mazeikiai in northwest Lithuania. However, he believes that the future of energy lies elsewhere – in renewables.
As Aleksej outlined: “The trading market was becoming saturated, so I decided to search for a new niche. I found that new niche – I moved to alternative energy! In 2020 I found a great opportunity in this new and developing sector. I soon identified that there was a great shortage of mounting units for solar parks. I decided to develop and produce new systems for the solar industry. In order to succeed however, it was crucial to first understand the traditional methods of energy production.”
Aleksej Zanemanski, now owner & director of UAB Kozero System LT, advised The Baltic Times Magazine that his Company is now a certified manufacturer of mounting systems for solar panels: “UAB Kozero Systems LT has been trading in solar panels for several years. Nowadays, solar modules have become a commodity, just like oil, gas, and diesel.” For this entrepreneur the biggest personal challenge was to change his mentality and switch from trading to manufacturing. As he explains: “At UAB Kozero Systems LT we installed equipment, purchased metal profile rolling machines, inaugurated a production line in our factory, trained staff, and obtained all the required certifications. This took almost a year to complete. At the same time, we analysed the European market of mounting systems, and we successfully developed our own models.”
Aleksej’s engineering degree, from Vilnius Gedimino Technical University, helped with the task of building a team of engineers for the task. Aleksej reminisces with a smile: “My long-forgotten subjects on metal types, strength of materials, and anti-corrosion metal properties came in very useful. We developed mounting systems for major commercial solar parks where high efficiency bi-facial solar modules are used. Using top quality Magnelis® by ArcelorMittal steel, we now produce outstanding tailor-made products for our customers, paying particular attention to their specific needs. We consider environment, geographic location, the quality of soil on which we perform tests, and specific loads on the systems.
In the Vilnius region for example, wind speed is often 24m/s and there can be 160 kg of snow per one square metre. In Klaipeda, the measurements are 32m/s and 120kg/m2. After all the data is collated and evaluated by experts, the final design is created. UAB Kozero System LT even uses external experts to double check their calculations. We are proud to collaborate with the Department of Material Resistance of Lithuania’s Kauno Technology University.
The current trend is moving from south-facing solar farms to the new east-west layout in order to optimise electricity production peaks for morning and evening. This also saves land space and is an ideal solution for everyone. The biggest projects are usually featured as one-axis trackers. We also have products for small and medium-sized solar installations. One of our bestsellers is a solar mounting system of 10 kW for private households which is packed on a single Euro-palette. Any customer with basic skills can assemble it within a few hours by himself.”
According to Aleksej, the concept is very similar to that of the famous Swedish furniture manufacturer IKEA: “We deliver a Do-It-Yourself Solar Box which includes all parts. Everything is in the box – all the metal profiles, screws, nuts, bolts, and clamps. Everyone in our part of the world is very creative and feels a great sense of satisfaction in assembling the unit himself. Important to all of course is affordability. A complete mounting set for 24 solar modules from Kozero Systems LT costs from €899 + VAT.”
Any forecast for the future, Aleksej?
“What I predict is that there will soon be an excess of solar energy. During sunny days in Europe, we already see negative electricity prices. The main future challenge will be in grid balancing. The crucial question is what to do with an excess of electricity; how to store it; where to use it and where to source electricity overnight and during long European winters. In truth, we must find a way to store electricity. There are two moves for solving this task. Firstly, there ought to be a widespread introduction of lithium batteries for energy storage, large-scale industrial storage, together with small, domestic storage systems. Secondly, excess electricity should be used to produce green hydrogen from water. In this case, energy would be stored, and later used, in liquid form, similar to traditional fuels - though without a CO2 footprint. The technology has been developed but needs further stimulation from the governments of Europe.”
Without doubt, the future is green!
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