Smarter E Europe Conference to be Held in Germany This Summer

After consulting with exhibitors, organizers postponed the popular energy conference to July 21–23 from its original date in June. 

The annual The smarter E Europe conference and exhibition will proceed in-person this summer at the Messe München in Munich, Germany. With 1,450 participating exhibitors and four parallel events, the program will include several exhibition halls, topical sessions, forums and workshops covering the latest trends and developments in today’s energy industry. 

Image courtesy of The smarter E Europe.

 

The event is the largest storage and energy exhibition of its kind in Europe, drawing around 50,000 visitors every year. 

If the 2021 event goes as planned, it will be the first iteration of the program since 2019. At the start of the pandemic last March, organizers canceled the 2020 smarter E Europe, initially set for June 16–19.

This year’s conference was originally set for June 9–11, but organizers announced last month it would be postponed for six weeks to July 21–23. The move came after discussions between exhibitors and the program’s organizers, Solar Promotion GmbH and Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe GmbH & Co. KG. 

The announcement noted that the majority of exhibitors were in favor of postponing the event to late-July. Organizers anticipate months of vaccination progress and lifted travel restrictions by then. 

“More than 75 percent of the available exhibition area has already been booked and we believe that we will be able to hold a successful The smarter E Europe 2021 at the end of July and shape the future of our energy supply with even more (renewable) energy than ever before,” FWTM GmbH & Co. CEO Daniel Strowitzki stated.

In addition to a trade show featuring more than 1,400 exhibitors, the 2021 conference program includes dozens of sessions covering a variety of market trends, from rural electrification to vertical farming and renewables to floating solar farms. There will also be an award ceremony to celebrate notable achievements in solar innovation, energy storage, and the broader renewable energy market. 

The event website lists three focus areas for the 2021 exhibition: Rising startups, climate-neutral companies, and companies developing green hydrogen, fuel cells and power-to-gas technologies. 

Beyond the main smarter E Europe program, four companion conferences will cover key markets in the power space: 

• Intersolar Europe covers photovoltaics, solar thermal technologies, and off-grid power. 
• ees Europe covers stationary energy storage solutions for electrical energy and battery production. 
• Power2Drive Europe centers on clean transportation solutions, showcasing charging infrastructure and e-mobility technologies. 
• EM-Power Europe focuses on energy management and integrated energy solutions, including microgrids and smart metering, building automation, and decentralized and renewable energy supply. 

Organizers have been working with the venue, Messe München, on a health and safety concept to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 among attendees and exhibitors. On its website, Messe München says it requires social distancing of at least 1.5 meters (or around 5 feet), mask-wearing, traceability for all participants through pre-registration and admission, and more safety and hygiene measures.