The smarter E Europe Conference to celebrate its premiere: digitalization, decentralization and sector coupling in the spotlight

Conference Program specially tailored to stakeholders in the smart, connected energy infrastructure of the future

The premiere of The smarter E Europe marks the beginning of a new era: With four energy exhibitions, the innovative platform will showcase the key topics of tomorrow’s energy world. The increasing interconnection of the generation, storage, intelligent distribution and use of renewable energies will be in clear evidence on the exhibition floor, offering plenty of material for discussion. At the inaugural The smarter E Europe Conference on June 19 and 20, 2018, experts from industry, business and research will take an in-depth look at the key themes of digitalization, blockchain technology, decentralization and sector coupling. In addition, the first The smarter E AWARD will be presented in recognition of innovative business models and pioneering solutions in the area of sector coupling as well as promising projects.

The innovative platform The smarter E Europe in Munich is the ideal meeting point for international players in the new energy world. Starting in 2018, the organizers are combining the established Intersolar and ees Europe events with two new exhibitions – Power2Drive Europe and EM-Power – to create a platform that covers the new energy world as a whole. At The smarter E Europe, the close, cross-sector integration of individual energy sectors will take center stage. Photovoltaics (PV), wind, storage, infrastructure and consumption can no longer be considered in isolation. Instead, new ideas are needed for consolidating and coordinating these aspects of a clean energy supply.

Creating grid stability through sector coupling and digitalization
Take one look at the way that PV is used to stabilize the grid and the increasingly integrative approach to energy becomes clear: Today connections can be forged between PV installations and energy storage devices as well as the electricity, heating and transportation sectors. Intelligent systems and digitalization help ensure that stationary storage devices and electric vehicles are charged and operated in such a way that they contribute to the stability of the grid and thus also help minimize peaks in feed-in and consumption. However, managing transmission bottlenecks in the German power grid still results in high costs. The German transmission network operator TenneT alone paid more than a billion euros for grid stabilizing measures last year, for example. These high costs can be attributed primarily to fluctuations in the feed-in especially of wind energy in northern Germany, where consumption is low, to an excess of coal-generated power and to delays in the expansion of north-south transmission lines. A key approach to lowering costs for intervening in the grid and expanding the main electricity highways is to balance energy supply and demand locally and achieve even closer coupling of the electricity, heating and transportation sectors.

The smarter E Europe Conference will feature several sessions dedicated to the balancing of supply and demand. In the session “Sector Coupling – How Is It Emerging,” experts will discuss concrete technologies and projects to explore how sectors can be efficiently interconnected. Topics include vehicle-to-grid concepts that turn electric cars into storage devices. The presentation series “New Business Models for Coordinating Distributed Assets” will address decentralized renewable energy installations. If they are connected to an energy storage network, such installations can be used to compensate for fluctuations in the power grid. This networking concept is increasingly giving rise to new business models which also include virtual power plants.

Virtual power plants: The beginnings of the “Internet of Energy”
Virtual power plants, also known as combined or hybrid power plants, bundle the energy generated in order to ensure its controlled feed-in to the grid and are among the most sustainable ways to make efficient use of fluctuating energy sources. Additionally, more and more solar storage systems, electric vehicle batteries and heating installations are being integrated. Electricity and storage capacities are provided by utilities and battery manufacturers as well as by prosumers. Every installation that wants to be connected can participate in the market. This creates an “Internet of Energy,” which connects millions of decentralized installations with one another and ensures the efficient provision of both electricity and storage resources. Digitalization is a fundamental prerequisite for efficiency and successful integration. In further sessions, experts will address issues such as how renewable energy can be integrated into the energy system and how processes can be automated in order to react to changes more quickly.

By addressing digitalization, decentralization and sector coupling, The smarter E Europe Conference covers future-oriented topics that are indispensable for the success of a modern energy world. These core areas of focus are complemented by presentations on blockchain trading centers for green power, energy clouds and cyber security in the digitalized energy sector.

The smarter E AWARD: Outstanding sector coupling
With the first The smarter E AWARD, the organizers are connecting the exhibition and The smarter E Europe Conference with another program highlight. Exhibitors at all four energy exhibitions were encouraged to submit their most innovative solutions for the premiere of the new industry award. The smarter E AWARD honors achievements that epitomize the interlinking of all of the core areas along the energy supply chain. The award is divided into two categories: The Smart Renewable Energy category recognizes exceptional, innovative business models and solutions in the area of sector coupling, while the Outstanding Projects category honors projects undertaken in the areas of solar, storage, energy management and clean transportation.

The best submissions will be presented at The smarter E Europe Forum on June 20, 2018 in hall B2, booth 570. The first The smarter E AWARD will then be presented at 5:00pm at a special award ceremony held in the same location. Throughout the exhibition, the Forum will also provide insights into current approaches and solutions with an eye to their practical application.

The smarter E Europe and its single events are set to take place at the same time from June 20–22, 2018 at Messe München.

For more information, please visit:
www.TheSmarterE.de/en

About The smarter E Europe
The smarter E Europe, the innovation hub for empowering new energy solutions, forms an umbrella for events and topics that drive the new energy world. Digitalization and decentralization are changing the face of the energy world for good, and the steady rise in electricity from volatile and renewable sources requires new concepts and solutions for generating, storing, distributing and using energy efficiently. The smarter E Europe unites four exhibitions and conferences that take an in-depth look at these topics.

Intersolar Europe, the world’s leading exhibition for the solar industry and its partners, has been dedicated to solar energy for 26 years and has established itself as the industry’s most important platform. It focuses on the areas of photovoltaics, solar thermal technologies, solar power plants, and solutions for integrating renewable energies.

In 2018, ees Europe, the continent’s largest and most-visited exhibition for batteries and energy storage systems, will take place for the fifth time, presenting the entire value-added chain of innovative battery and energy storage technologies.

Power2Drive, the new exhibition for charging infrastructure and electromobility, reflects the opportunities and the necessity of the energy transition in the transportation sector. The focus is on traction batteries for electric vehicles as well as infrastructure solutions and technologies for clean mobility.

EM-Power, the new exhibition for intelligent energy use in industry and buildings, is the first exhibition in Germany where professional energy customers – with their demand for efficient energy technologies, intelligent control systems and energy savings – and the key concepts underpinning the energy transition in industry and the building sector take center stage.

For more information on The smarter E Europe, please visit: http://www.thesmartere.de/en

The smarter E Europe is organized by Solar Promotion GmbH, Pforzheim and Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe GmbH & Co. KG (FWTM).