The ees Europe Conference, which is being held on May 30 and 31, 2017, will accompany ees Europe for a third year, with this year’s Conference Program highlighting a new area of interest: the automotive industry. The mobile storage system sector is booming, and several panel discussions are dedicated to topics such as automotive battery technology or vehicle-to-grid. Prof. Dr. Werner Tillmetz’s selection as the conference’s second chairman underscores the importance of this topic for the organizers.

As the global storage industry expands to new application areas, all signs in the energy storage market point to mobility. The dominance of stationary storage devices is a thing of the past. Demand for electric vehicles is growing, prompting more and more automotive manufactures to offer e-models with increasingly powerful batteries and solutions for systems integration of mobile storage devices. That doesn’t just sound promising, it represents another separate business area in the energy storage sector with huge potential: According to the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW), as of January 2016, there were more than 1.3 million electric cars worldwide – an increase of 73 percent over the previous year. By the end of 2016, the number of electric cars was expected to reach 2 million. The annual production volume of e-vehicles will soon exceed one million and is forecast to reach 20 million by 2025, which is approximately equivalent to 25 percent of the total vehicle production as announced by several automotive companies. Annual production quantities of lithium-ion batteries would then reach 400 gigawatt hours (GWh) – approximately ten times as many as are produced today.

The industry will discuss the opportunities that these developments offer the battery and automotive manufacturing industry at the two-day ees Europe Conference.

100 percent automotive: Topics at a glance

Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about current market developments and government incentive programs in Europe as well as global hotspots for stationary and mobile storage systems at the session entitled European and Global Market Developments for Stationary and Automotive Storage Systems. This session will also address the topic of storage integration. The session entitled Automotive Battery Technologies will take a detailed look at which types of battery electric and hybrid vehicles are available and the safety criteria needed to protect batteries against vibrations, short circuits and other risks. The presentations in the session entitled Vehicle Integration and Charging Technologies will address charging infrastructure, rapid charging, smart communications and safety aspects.

Practical examples will also be used to shed light on the vehicle-to-grid concept. The session on Real Life Projects: Vehicle to Grid (V2G) will take a look at the flexibility offered by electric cars as storage systems and their contribution to grid stability.

Prof. Dr Werner Tillmetz is the new co-chairman

The ees Europe Conference has evolved. In conjunction with the Intersolar Europe Conference, which takes place in parallel, it offers a comprehensive overview of the key pillars of the energy transition and sector coupling. Solar and battery energy storage systems are both crucial components of the global energy mix. As a member of the board of the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg, Prof. Dr. Werner Tillmetz understands the important role that mobility will play in the future. Alongside Dr. Matthias Vetter, who is head of the Department of Electrical Energy Storage at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, Prof. Dr. Tillmetz will serve as the new co-chairman of the ees Europe Conference. Prof. Dr. Werner Tillmetz is convinced that “The new focus on the automotive industry is necessary. The automotive industry has been and will remain the driving force behind cost reductions and new technologies for lithium-ion cells, and this will continue to benefit the storage industry.” Tillmetz is involved in the development of innovative battery technologies and fuel cells and has long counted on the commitment of automakers.

ees Europe: a model for success

The success of the conference, which is in its third year, is a key factor in the ability to address an additional topic. “The exhibition and conference have a firm place in the industry’s calendar”, says Dr. Matthias Vetter, who serves as the second co-chairman alongside Prof. Dr. Tillmetz. “Our consistent development signals to the industry and our attendees that we want to expand the conference and integrate topics that are relevant to the market”, Vetter continues.

ees Europe and the accompanying ees Europe Conference can look back upon a history of success: The first exhibition in 2014 featured 48 exhibitors across 2,100 sqm of exhibition space and took place in parallel with Intersolar Europe, the world’s leading exhibition for the solar industry and its partners. This year, five times as many exhibitors are expected to use ees Europe as a platform to showcase innovative services, products and solutions across 17,500 sqm of exhibition space.

ees Europe 2017 will take place alongside Intersolar Europe at Messe München from May 31 – June 2; the ees Europe Conference will be held on May 30 and 31 at ICM – Internationales Congress Center München.

Further information on ees Europe 2017 can be found at www.ees-europe.com.