The smarter E Europe wrapped up in Munich this week with organisers and researchers making a pointed case that the renewable energy sector is ready to displace fossil fuels entirely, and that the economics now support doing so. The four-day event, which brought together around 2,800 exhibitors and drew more than 100,000 visitors to Messe München, was framed as a statement of industrial readiness: a 24/7 energy supply from renewable sources is no longer a projection but a demonstrated possibility.
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The claim rested in part on a new study commissioned by the organisers. The research, conducted by Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, modelled a cost-optimal transformation of the German energy system by 2045 and concluded that an all-renewable grid could remain stable under real operating conditions. Dr Charlotte Senkpiel, a senior scientist at Fraunhofer ISE, pointed to the complementary nature of solar and wind generation, combined with battery storage, controllable gas-fired backup capacity and demand flexibility, as sufficient to offset weather-driven fluctuation.
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The economic case was put bluntly by Dr Christoph Kost, head of energy system analysis at Fraunhofer ISE. The cost of avoiding a tonne of CO2 through the energy transition comes to around 210 euros, noted Kost, against a damage cost estimated at 880 euros per tonne by Germany's Federal Environment Agency. The cumulative additional investment required over 25 years amounts to around 1.3 trillion euros, though this figure excludes replacement investment that would be required regardless. The researchers argued the system would eventually reach cost parity, with decentralised generation insulating consumers from the volatile import prices that amplified the 2022–23 energy crisis.
That crisis, which required a German government relief package of around 187 billion euros, featured as a recurring reference point throughout the event, underpinning the argument that dependency on fossil fuels carries economic risk beyond the environmental. Reducing import reliance by around 80 percent, as the study modelled, was presented as a security as much as an energy policy issue.
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The show's centrepiece was a special exhibit, Renewables 24/7, which attempted to translate the modelling into a physical demonstration of integrated renewable generation, storage and grid management. It drew backing from a broad coalition of industry associations including BEE, BSW-Solar, VDMA and SolarPower Europe, with CATL, Siemens and GE Vernova among the contributing technology partners.
The wider message from exhibitors and speakers was consistent: the industry has the technology, the business models are in place, and the remaining constraint is the pace of regulatory and political change. (TF)
