ees Europe, the international exhibition for batteries, energy storage systems and innovative production, will open its doors for the second time on June 10. The exhibition is already showing signs of repeating last years success, with almost three-quarters of the available exhibition space already reserved. This tremen-dous interest highlights the potential of the energy storage market.
Technical advances and increased demand are driving forward the market for battery storage sys-tems, which, in turn, is reducing prices. According to a current survey by the German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar) and Intersolar/ees Europe, electricity storage systems had al-ready considerably reduced in price in the second half of 2014 compared with the previous year. The costs of lead-acid batteries dropped by 26.7%, while lithium storage devices became 21.9% cheaper. As such, storage solutions are becoming increasingly important for the mass market and may hold the key to one of the biggest challenges facing the energy transition storing volatile renewable energy until it is needed. Manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and research institutes will once again showcase the entire value-added chain of battery and energy storage technologies at ees Europe from June 1012.
Increasing numbers of exhibitors and new partners
With around 250 exhibitors, last years ees Europe, which was organized in conjunction with Inter-solar Europe, was already a great success. Between them, the two exhibitions played host to a total of around 1,100 exhibitors and welcomed 42,380 visitors, of which over 26,000 received in-formation about pioneering energy storage products, solutions and services. This year, exhibition space is set to increase considerably the organizers expect the exhibition to span an area of around 9,000 sqm, four times larger than the previous year. This great interest has prompted or-ganizers to predict all available space to soon be sold out. While many returning exhibitors from last year will be increasing their exhibition space in 2015, a host of new exhibitors have also al-ready registered. Industry leaders, such as LG Chem, VARTA Storage, HOPPECKE, Deutsche ACCUmotive, Samsung SDI, Saft, Sonnenbatterie and Sharp Electronics, already view ees Europe as a leading industry platform. Associations are also expected to strongly support the exhibition. In addition to established partners, including the Association of European Automotive and Industrial Battery Manufacturers (EUROBAT) and BSW-Solar, this years exhibition has attracted the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers Association (ZVEI) as well as American battery industry association NAATBatt International. Furthermore, strong knowledge partners like the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) reinforce the link between industry and research.
International industry meeting point
ees Europes focus extends beyond products and services. The exhibition also offers a comprehen-sive accompanying program that includes the ees Forum, the special exhibit on innovative mobility and the ees AWARD. The ees Europe Conference will also be introduced this year for the first time, providing a platform for industry experts to discuss market developments, technological trends as well as the economic and political conditions governing the energy storage industry. In addition, exciting presentations and panel discussions at the ees Forum in hall B1 will fuel discussions among experts.
ees AWARD for technological excellence
In addition to providing industry representatives with a platform for exchanging knowledge, ees Europe also pays tribute to the industrys innovative strength with the ees AWARD, which will be awarded on June 10, 2015 for the second time. The prize honors outstanding products and solu-tions in the fields of materials, production, systems technology, applications, second-use concepts and recycling. Companies are invited to submit their applications for the ees AWARD between Feb-ruary 2 and March 27, 2015.
ees Europe 2015 takes place alongside Intersolar Europe at Messe München from June 1012.
Further information on ees Europe can be found at www.ees-europe.com.
