ees Europe 2015 packs a punch with higher exhibitor numbers and dedicated conference

Munich, June 12, 2015 - ees Europe 2015 draws to an end. This year, Europes largest exhibition for batteries and energy storage systems played host to 158 exhibitors show- casing technologies, products and services in renewable energy storage - marking a threefold increase from last year. The exhibition and accompanying ees Europe Confer- ence are indicative of the growing importance of energy storage systems in future power supplies.

Growing quantities of renewable energy have led to increased interest in, and higher demand for, energy storage systems. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Storage Roadmap, which was presented at ees Europe, anticipates that we need to install 150 gigawatts (GW) of stor- age capacity by 2030 if we are to increase the share of renewable energy in our power supply to 45%.

This years ees Europe exhibition space was considerably larger than last year to accommodate for the enormous potential of the energy storage industry. In hall B1 at Messe München, exhibitors showcased the entire value-added chain of energy storage technologies on an exhibition area of 9,000 square meters, which represents a fivefold increase in space from 2014. In total, around 330 of the more than 1,000 exhibitors at ees Europe and Intersolar Europe presented products, solu- tions and services in the field of energy storage. The organizers counted over 38,000 visitors at this years ees Europe and Intersolar Europe, which took place at the same time.

Complete solutions for on-site consumption

Combinations of solar installations and storage systems are becoming increasingly attractive. Ger- many is also one of the global frontrunners in this area. The number of solar storage systems installed in the country doubled to 20,000 in the last 12 months - proof that the battery storage incentive program introduced by the German government in 2013 is making an impact. According to monitoring results produced by RWTH Aachen University, the majority of energy storage system owners opt for lithium-ion batteries, followed by lead batteries. In addition to protection from rising electricity prices, supporting the energy transition is another key argument for purchasing a bat- tery storage system. Whats more, the price of energy storage systems dropped by around a quarter over the course of last year, further increasing the economic attractiveness of combining solar installations with storage systems.

Furthermore, the energy storage industry is working on making it as easy as possible for compa- nies and homeowners to fit or retrofit systems. Plug&play solutions, which simplify the process of mounting or retrofitting storage devices, were one of the trends that stood out at this years ees Europe. Several manufacturers at the exhibition also presented all-in-one solutions which combine batteries and power electronics in one single system.

From batteries to large-scale storage systems

In addition to viewing the range of exhibits, visitors were invited to learn about new technologies and innovative solutions at the ees Forum. The forum covered storage solutions for private house- holds and commerce as well as large-scale storage systems for industry and new business models for the sector. Swarm concepts, which combine several decentralized storage units to create a large-scale virtual storage system, were also showcased. Such concepts allow excess electricity generated from renewable energy to be stored and fed back into the grid as required. Together with ads-tec, MVV Energie is currently testing a district storage system in Mannheim, which pro- vides private households and commercial businesses with virtual storage capacities in proportion to the wattage of the connected installation. Electricity is generated, stored and consumed on site with the aim of eliminating losses during transportation and easing the burden on the power grids.

Automotive industry jumps on the battery storage bandwagon

E-mobility and renewable energy are made for one another. More and more automobile manufac- turers are also recognizing this potential. Tesla, one of the frontrunners of e-mobility, introduced its new battery storage system Powerwall to Europe for the first time. German automobile manu- facturers have also caught on to this opportunity, however. Solarwatt and BMW, for example, are collaborating on complete e-mobility packages, and Daimler AG also exhibited at ees Europe after entering the market for stationary energy storage systems with its Deutsche ACCUmotive subsidi- ary. During the Innovative Mobility special exhibit, manufacturers like Mitsubishi and Nissan also presented bidirectional charging systems, which allow electric car batteries to be used flexibly.

ees Europe Conference - industry meeting point

This year for the first time, ees Europe was joined by a dedicated conference - the ees Europe Conference. From June 9-10, experts from industry, research and associations flocked to the ICM - Internationales Congress Center München to discuss developments in the industry. Eight confer- ence sessions were dedicated to market trends as well as political and economic conditions, while other presentations covered technological developments in small and large-scale storage system applications, energy management and mobility solutions, and uninterruptible power supply (UPS).

ees Europe 2016 takes place alongside Intersolar Europe at Messe München from June 22-24, 2016.

Further information on ees Europe can be found at www.ees-europe.com.

About ees Europe
ees Europe is the international exhibition for batteries and energy storage systems. Since 2014, it has been taking place in conjunction with Intersolar Europe, the worlds leading exhibition for the solar industry and its partners.

An accompanying, three-day specialist conference consolidated the topics at the ees Europe exhibition and Intersolar Europe 2015. Around 220 speakers and around 1,500 conference attendees discussed current indus- try topics and shed light on the background of technological, market and political developments. At the conference, a total of eight ees sessions provided an overview of the latest energy storage system develop- ments.
For more information on ees Europe, please visit: www.ees-europe.com