Power2Drive Europe celebrates successful premiere: Charging infrastructure, technological trends and innovative business models in the spotlight

The Power2Drive Europe exhibition took place for the first time in 2018 under the umbrella of The smarter E Europe and was an instant success with exhibitors and visitors. 148 suppliers presented their innovations for charging infrastructure and e-mobility, while the Power2Drive Europe Conference and the ees & Power2Drive Forum offered deeper insights into the latest hot topics in the industry. Around 47,000 visitors from 155 countries attended The smarter E Europe. The new exhibition Power2Drive Europe put the spotlight on the integration of e-mobility into the renewable energy system. While the exhibition Intersolar Europe focuses on energy generation and distribution, ees Europe is where the energy storage industry comes together. Power2Drive Europe is the platform for clean transportation, and EM-Power is the hub for efficient energy use in private and public buildings and in commerce. The smarter E Europe takes a comprehensive look at the synergies which are being created between the industries by the coupling of the electricity, heating and mobility sectors, giving rise to a host of new, innovative business ideas and strategies.

One of the highlights took place on the eve of the exhibition — the Conference Opening keynote speech by Michael Liebreich, founder of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, UK, which offered the large audience an in-depth and exciting look at the global trends on the road to a world of renewable energies. The changes have already begun, and they will be enormous. The coming years will see hundreds of thousands of new electric vehicles on the roads and millions more charging stations installed, and half of these will be financed by private investors. Electric vehicles could make up a third of all newly registered vehicles worldwide as soon as 2030 — creating a huge demand for energy. The exhibition and the Power2Drive Europe Conference addressed this with a focus on the expansion of charging infrastructure, the development of charging solutions, payment methods and innovative, user-friendly business models. “E-mobility is going to play a huge role in the energy world of the future. It may still be in its infancy, but there’s a vast market behind it,” explains Jonas Mägdefessel, project manager at Kreisel Electric. “In 2018, there’s a special focus on charging parks with more than 96 charging points, with a particular eye to intelligent control systems and load management combined with storage systems and large-scale PV and wind farms.”

Charging infrastructure is key

If e-mobility is to achieve a real breakthrough, charging speeds must be considerably improved. In light of this, many manufacturers are working on innovative high-power charging solutions with power outputs as high as 350 kilowatts. Porsche Engineering too believes that 800-volt charging systems are a key technology. This motivated the car manufacturer to join forces with ADS-TEC, a provider of battery and storage technology, to develop a high-speed charging system with 320 kilowatts of direct current, which was presented at the exhibition.

The Conference too put the spotlight on high-power charging stations and charging systems. Ralf Martin Müller, project manager for research and development, storage and e-mobility solutions at ENERCON GmbH, explored ways of integrating high-speed charging stations into the energy grid and explained how this will affect the power grid.

Thomas Gereke, senior management consultant for e-mobility at Siemens AG, gave an overview of the current status of e-mobility charging infrastructure in Europe and the developments in this field. There was also a great deal of discussion about ways to integrate charging stations into existing infrastructure. “Power2Drive Europe brings together all the crucial elements of a sound transport transition. It interconnects solar, storage and charging technology,” says Carla Serinek, marketing manager at Parkstrom GmbH. “E-mobility has the potential to contribute a great deal to the sensible use of self-generated electricity in the future. This makes e-mobility one of the most sustainable means of transportation.”

E-mobility means more than just electrifying passenger cars

Not just cars are being electrified, but also pleasure boats, ferries and yachts as well as bicycles, light vehicles, special vehicles, trucks, buses and even the first airplanes and helicopters. At a special exhibit, exhibitors and partners of Power2Drive Europe showcased a cross section of the diversity of e-mobility. The test drive for light vehicles was particularly popular. Visitors were able to try out electrified cargo bicycles, scooters and a wide variety of other vehicles.

The market for electrified vehicles is set to grow enormously. According to the Technical University of Munich (TUM), around eight million electric vehicles could be on the road in Germany alone by 2030. This figure currently stands at around 130,000. However, this will only be possible if sufficient charging stations, including high-speed charging stations, are made available. There are expected to be around 4.7 million in Germany by 2030, including 200,000 high-speed charging stations and 2.5 million privately owned stations. By way of comparison, in September 2017, only 4,730 public stations were in operation.

New format The smarter E Europe proved a success

This year, for the first time, The smarter E Europe linked together the exhibitions, conferences and forums and highlighted the synergies arising from the topics of renewable power generation, distribution, storage and intelligent energy usage. The new format was a huge success with exhibitors and visitors alike. “The response we’ve encountered is excellent, the concept is clearly extremely popular, and everything we’ve seen and heard confirms that we’re on the right path,” says Markus Elsässer, CEO of Solar Promotion GmbH. Daniel Strowitzki, Managing Director of Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe GmbH & Co. KG, adds: “As the organizers, we are extremely pleased and we’re looking forward to The smarter E Europe 2019.”

Power2Drive Europe and the parallel events will take place from May 15–17, 2019 under the umbrella of The smarter E at Messe München.

Power2Drive Europe
Power2Drive Europe is the international exhibition for charging infrastructure and e-mobility. It reflects the opportunities and the necessity of the energy transition in the transportation sector. The focus is on infrastructure solutions and technologies for clean mobility as well as traction batteries for electric vehicles.

Power2Drive Europe offers manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and start-ups in this growing industry a professional platform to present new developments and business models.

Power2Drive Europe 2019 will be held in parallel to ees Europe, the continent’s largest exhibition for batteries and energy storage systems, which is taking place for the sixth time. The exhibition’s focus on stationary energy storage solutions and technologies offers the perfect complement to the topics covered at Power2Drive Europe. Intersolar Europe, the world’s leading exhibition for the solar industry and its partners, and EM-Power, the exhibition for the intelligent use of energy in industry and buildings, will also take place at the same time. All four exhibitions are being held under the umbrella of The smarter E Europe – the innovation hub for empowering new energy solutions.

For more information on Power2Drive Europe, please visit: www.PowerToDrive.de

Organizer: Power2Drive Europe is organized by Solar Promotion GmbH, Pforzheim and Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe GmbH & Co. KG (FWTM).