The smarter E Award - Smart Integrated Energy & Outstanding Projects Finalists 2024

We speak with Martin Vogt and Dr. Julian Hochscherf about the progress in the electricity market

We speak with Bernd Strohmayer about smart meters and direct marketing

To provide much-needed flexibility to the increasingly renewables-dominated power systems, energy storage requires suitable market schemes and fair market conditions. Although authorities are increasingly recognizing the benefits of storage, regulations are still lagging behind. Lack of contracted revenues, barriers to co-location with PV, and an uneven playing field for European cleantech manufacturers are only a few examples of where storage needs regulatory action.In this panel, experts discuss the most exciting developments in regulatory frameworks, their suitability for unlocking the full potential of energy storage as well as necessary improvements.

Agricultural PV is on the rise - in many European countries, this application, which combines agriculture and PV on the same piece of land, is on the verge of a market breakthrough. The beneficial effects of PV systems on many types of crops as well as dual land use and protecting agricultural activity by avoiding competition for land are some clear advantages. In this session, pioneering agricultural PV companies will present their projects and best practices, demonstrate the profitability of agricultural PV and the benefits of this combination for agriculture and power generation.

As the share of fluctuating electricity producers (PV and wind power) continues to grow, electric energy storage systems will have to fulfill more and more functions in the grid. Batteries play a particularly important role here. From commercial and industrial storage systems to utility-scale storage systems for multi-use cases, the requirements are increasing. Key quality indicators are not only safety (including functional safety) but also reliability as well as performance, defined by efficiency and effectiveness, over an ideally long service life. Compliance with site-specific requirements, such as noise generation, is also important. In this session, these aspects will be examined from different points of view, providing recommendations beyond existing standards based on operating experience.