Renewable, decentralized and digital

One highlight of this year’s program will be the Smart Renewable Systems conference, spread over two days at Munich’s International Congress Center. While parallel conferences will examine the state of play for solar, energy storage, and e-mobility respectively, Smart Renewable Systems will address the all-important links between these segments, and the development of intelligent systems for energy generation, distribution, and consumption.

As the energy system changes from one based on energy flowing from large generators in one direction, to one where generation is distributed and moving in multiple directions simultaneously, a wealth of technologies and business models are emerging to reshape the market and build the energy system of the future.

The Smart Renewable Systems conference will examine this future energy market, where the line between consumer and producer is blurred and links to heating, transport, and other sectors become ever more pronounced. It will also look at the challenges and opportunities that this transition poses, as well as the solutions that are emerging in the form of smarthome energy management, microgrids, and virtual power plants.

Homes and buildings

Individual sessions at the conference will be devoted to the use of buildings as energy generation facilities, and the innovative sector coupling strategies that can allow commercial buildings to double as electric vehicle charging points, or even providers of flexibility services to the broader grid. Innovations driving the adoption of ‘smart home’ concepts will also be examined, including efficiency measures such as smart thermostats and monitoring/automation for household appliances – which give users control and insight over their energy consumption.

Digital distribution

The technologies and processes that allow us to move toward a reliable, 24/7 energy supply based on renewable resources will be another key focus for the conference – from virtual power plants aggregating and directing the output of geographically separate resources, to microgrid concepts that can allow commercial consumers to greatly reduce their energy costs and emissions.

Finding the value

With new technologies come new applications, and there is a wealth of potential new business models for energy. Sessions at the conference will examine how these innovations are changing the way energy is bought and sold, how transmission and distribution operators can get value from a distributed system, and the growth of both large-scale corporate PPA models and smaller energy community projects.