This year's The smarter E Europe brought together 2,650 exhibitors from 52 countries across all 19 halls of Messe München – a record turnout, and a notably international one, with 66 percent of exhibitors coming from outside Germany. Their offerings spanned the full breadth of the energy transition: modules, inverters, mounting systems and other PV components alongside complete energy systems and solar-electric buildings.
The smarter E Europe opens with the innovation awards
Special exhibition shows the networked energy system
Providers of electricity storage systems and EV charging solutions were again well represented, and their offer has broadened considerably: alongside components, many now present complete business and operating models for storage and charging infrastructure. Interest in the energy system as a whole was strong. In Hall B5, organiser Solar Promotion staged a special exhibition titled "Renewable Energies 24/7", illustrating how the individual offerings across the fair combine to form a complete renewables-based energy system. A further special exhibition on bidirectional charging showed how vehicles are becoming a central element of that picture.
Hall B0 was used for the first time this year, giving young companies and start-ups a platform of their own. The breadth of what was on show underlined the message the fair set out to send: that renewable energy sources can supply power reliably, securely and cost-effectively, around the clock and seven days a week.
The smarter E Europe opens with a message: 24/7 renewables are ready
The solutions on display extended to the coupling of generation assets with storage, heat suppliers and mobility services, energy flows that in future will be managed intelligently by the kind of digital platforms also present at the show. "This year, with our focus on Renewables 24/7, we picked up the right topic at the right time," said Jens Mohrmann, Managing Director of co-organiser Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe (FWTM). "We have demonstrated that we think ahead and set the agenda for the future."
A glimpse of tomorrow's energy supply
The fair was accompanied by four specialist conferences, with more than 3,000 participants gathering on 22 and 23 June to discuss the latest developments in the solar energy transition. On the exhibition grounds, around 105,000 trade visitors from 163 countries took the opportunity to network across industries, explore new trends and gain insight into the energy system of tomorrow. "Fossil fuels are a phase-out model; the future clearly belongs to renewables," said Markus Elsässer, Managing Director of organiser Solar Promotion. "Over the three days, we used practical examples and scientific evidence to show that renewables stand for reliability, resilience and efficiency, and that they make sound economic sense. That is why we must continue resolutely on the path towards a renewable future. There can be no turning back." (su)
The energy transition continues. The leading trade fair for the solar energy transition will return next year, taking place at Messe München from 8 to 10 June 2027
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