Representatives of ten Basque organisations have participated together with the Basque Energy Cluster in a mission to Germany to attend the “The Smarter E Europe” event which combines, among others, the EES and Intersolar trade fairs, a world reference in the photovoltaic and energy storage sectors. The mission was organised within the framework of the Smart Mobility Industry Programme, promoted by the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa.

As part of its activity in the project to prospect European markets for energy storage and electric vehicles supported by the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, the Basque Energy Cluster has stimulated the participation of a delegation of ten Basque companies and entities to “The Smarter E Europe” event held in Munich from 14 to 17 May. The Smarter E Europe is the leading event for the European energy industry and it brings together four simultaneous conferences and exhibitions: Intersolar Europe, EES Europe, Power2Drive Europe and EM-Power, with the aim of contributing towards the development of a clean and advanced energy industry.

The comprehensive conference programme combined with an extensive exhibition area (1,354 exhibitors over a total of 100,000 m²) has managed to bring together the sector's most outstanding actors with 50,000 professional visitors from 161 countries, including representatives from CEGASA, SENER, MASERMIC, ORMAZABAL, FAGOR EDERLAN, JEMA ENERGY, GAMESA ELECTRIC, GOMU, IKERLAN, TECNALIA and the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa itself. Some of these companies also had their own stand at the fair, such as CEGASA, JEMA ENERGY and GAMESA ELECTRIC, along with MONDRAGON ASSEMBLY, INGETEAM, CARLO GAVAZZI and SCHNEIDER-ELECTRIC.

During its presence at the event, the Basque delegation took part in a full activity agenda, including a welcome reception by the organisation and a series of guided tours through the exhibition with a specific focus on various topics such as the German battery manufacturing value chain, the integration of charging systems for electric mobility, and storage systems for both industrial and residential use (aimed at self-consumption).

Meetings were also held with companies and stakeholders from the storage, mobility and solar energy sectors, such as Fronius, Ampere, REC-Solar, the German Solar Association, the Solar Cluster Baden-Württemberg, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region and the Norwegian Solar Energy Cluster.

The agenda was completed by attending a large part of the exhaustive panel of conferences and programmed sessions, which covered the central themes for a future oriented towards the energy industry, from renewable energies to decentralisation, digitalisation and energy coupling, with special emphasis on smart and interconnected energy systems. The forums and conferences dealt with a wide range of topics and innovative projects, from state-of-the-art technologies to new business models. In addition, the size of the exhibition area to a large extent facilitated networking among the members of the delegation and representatives of over 1,300 stands present at the event, favouring the identification of collaboration opportunities and synergies.