Munich’s award organisers have unveiled the shortlist for The Smarter E Award 2026, with winners to be named on the eve of The Smarter E Europe in Munich on 22 June. Solar Promotion has framed this year’s edition against the geopolitical backdrop, from the war in Iran to the lingering effects of the wider energy crisis, presenting renewables as both climate policy and a hedge against fossil fuel exposure. The ceremony is free to attend. The exhibition runs from 23–25 June at Messe München.
The smarter E Europe: cameras rolling on innovation
In energy storage, the finalists range from sodium-ion container and portable systems to home and utility-scale platforms, alongside software aimed at clarifying how much battery energy is actually available for trading and grid services.
Energy storage finalists include:
- CRRC Zhuzhou Institute (China): High Voltage Cascade System, designed to provide medium-voltage alternating current of 10 to 35 kV directly from the battery container
- International Power Supply (Bulgaria): EXERON CheckMate, a modular system for large installations
- minimum Energy (Germany): minimum energy, a cloud-based platform for industry and commerce
- Ore Energy (Netherlands): Ore Heritage, a battery unit based on iron oxide
- PHENOGY (Switzerland): PHENOGY 1 Series, PHENOGY 1.0 and PHENOGY 1.1, sodium-ion container storage
- POWEROAK (Netherlands): Pioneer Na, described as the first portable power supply based on sodium ions
- Sigenergy Technology (China): Sigen Neo, a home storage system with six stackable modules
- Sungrow Power Supply (China): PowerTitan 3.0, a utility-scale battery energy storage system for large installations
- Trina Storage (China): Elementa 3 Platform, a large-scale energy storage solution
- volytica diagnostics (Germany): AvEn, short for Available Energy, a deterministic BESS dispatch KPI designed to reduce uncertainty around the amount of energy available for trading and grid services
The 2026 nominees underline how the storage market is evolving, with attention shifting towards alternative chemistries, more flexible formats and clearer insight into dispatchable energy. (TF)
