Page 38 - ESJ – ENERGY STORAGE JOURNAL

EES EUROPE

PHOTOS: ees Europe
BIGGER, BETTER AND COOLER: SUCCESS

AT EUROPE’S LARGEST AND MOST WELL

ATTENDED ENERGY INDUSTRY EVENT

FRIENDSHIPS WERE FORMED, BUSINESS DEALS FINALISED AND DELEGATES AND
VISITORS FROM AROUND THE WORLD LEFT INFORMED AT THE SMARTER E EUROPE
— WITH ITS FOUR INNOVATIVE PLATFORM EXHIBITIONS: EES EUROPE, INTERSOLAR
EUROPE, POWER2DRIVE EUROPE AND EM-POWER.

This year’s ees Europe event was held a month earlier than usual, storage systems and by the rapidly growing electromobility.
allowing delegates to enjoy the lower temperatures of Munich’s It is clear the production of batteries and battery cells is
May climate. But where the ambient temperatures were cooler, becoming a key industry of the future. For the EU Commission,
business was as heated as usual as a total of 466 exhibitors battery production has therefore become a strategic necessity for
(out of 1,354 exhibitors — up 15% from last year) showcased Europe, both for the energy transition and for the competitiveness
their energy storage technologies and systems to around 50,000 of the automotive sector.
visitors (up 8%) from 162 countries at the continent’s largest and
most international exhibition for batteries, e-mobility, renewables Exhibition tours
and residential to utility-scale energy storage systems. With an event as large as The Smarter E Europe — the exhibition
Walking around the stands its was clear that domestic and space was 16% bigger than 2018 at a foot throbbing 100,000
commercial storage systems are a key driving force in the market. square meters — the exhibition tours proved a great way to gain
While the show was technology-agnostic — on show were use- a quick and compact overview. Held in German and English, the
cases for lead batteries and alternative, emerging technologies tours gave insight into firms over three days.
in connection with renewables — the trend in ESS is clearly The tours took delegates along the value chain to exhibitors
focused on lithium ion and redox flow batteries. For example, with know-how in component and electrode production, cell,
in 2016 the European market for ESSs grew by 49% to nearly module and pack assembly as well as plant manufacturers. In
600 MWh in 2017. Even decades old lead battery companies are addition, experts from the fields of research, engineering of the
turning to lithium ion such as Hoppecke, who were included in overall system and recycling of batteries were visited.
the manufacturer overview guided tour. The tour on battery production, given in English by PEM from
Another key market trend in battery production has been RWTH Aachen University, was a particular highlight of the event.
highlighted by strong growth in annual installations of stationary Focused on sustainability in production, the two-hour tour ran

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