Every year, ees Europe, Europe’s largest and most international exhibition for batteries and energy storage systems, offers the ideal networking opportunity for the most important players in the industry under the motto “Innovating Energy Storage”. For over 10 years now, the energy storage exhibition ees Europe has been held in parallel with Intersolar Europe, the world’s leading exhibition for the solar industry.
We think differently about the energy system. Our roots lie in environmentally friendly renewable energy generation. We bring together the players who offer solutions for a climate-friendly energy supply 24/7. The future belongs to this renewable energy system. In many cases, the combination of photovoltaics and storage is now the most cost-effective form of power supply.
Particularly on islands, to which other fuels have to be transported at great expense and where sun and wind are often readily available, renewable energies demonstrated their advantages early on. But for some time now, the next level has been on the agenda. Not only the additional generation of renewable electricity, but above all energy storage has become the focus of attention. This is because the cost of energy storage systems is falling rapidly, making their use increasingly economical.
Islands as laboratories for the energy transition: This was the idea behind the proposal put forward by our long-standing association partner BSW-Solar (German Solar Industry Association) in the run-up to ees Europe 2025. In a competition in the form of a kind of “hackathon”, competing teams of experts were to develop perspectives for a specific island during the days of the exhibition. The decision was quickly made: the “ees Island Challenge” was born and was to become one of the highlights of this year’s ees Europe.
Greening the Islands Foundation came into play as an important bridge builder. Existing contacts to the island of Curaçao were activated in order to develop the task with real data, facts and first-hand experience. The project involves the conversion of a former refinery site covering several hectares into a hub for renewable energies. A high-ranking delegation from Curaçao, consisting of Luelo Girigorie, Secretary General Ministry of Economic Development, Rudolph Garmers, Chief Technical Officer, of the supply company Aqualectra, and Miles Mercera, CEO, CINEX (Curaçao Investment & Export Promotion Agency) traveled to Munich to answer questions during The smarter E Europe.
GTI itself was also available on site as a sparring partner with its accumulated expertise. Over 2,700 companies from the energy sector, including more than 1,000 providers of energy storage solutions, were on site as exhibitors and were able to be involved by the teams in solving the task.
Two teams were formed, consisting of students, doctoral candidates, researchers and professors from various renowned German universities and research institutes. The commitment of the highly motivated young energy experts developed a very special dynamic over the three exhibition days on the energy-packed exhibition platform The smarter E Europe. Trade visitors and exhibitors were able to follow the development live on the ees Innovation Hub Stage, from the kick-off on Wednesday to the final on Friday. At the final, the proposed solutions were presented by the young team members. An audience vote supplemented the evaluation by the jury.
To my surprise, the teams had opted for a cooperative approach instead of competing with each other. They had divided up the topics of the extensive task in order to achieve the best possible result for the island of Curaçao. Numerous industry partners with relevant experience were involved in the solutions. The presentations were convincing with a holistic view of the opportunities for Curaçao on the former refinery site.
Over the course of the competition, a common goal and a lively exchange of ideas developed between the participants. The enthusiasm and commitment of the young experts was palpable and also inspired the organizers and partners of the ees Island Challenge. Of course, the greatest reward for their efforts would be if some of the proposed solutions could be realized. I therefore hope that the connections made during the ees Island Challenge will lead to concrete projects.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the partners of the ees Island Challenge: The Greening the Island Foundation, the German Solar Industry Association and the representatives of Curaçao, as well as the team coaches from the research institutes and universities, the industry partners, the organizing partner Eclareon GmbH and our Freiburg event partner FWTM.
I am delighted that ees Europe 2025 has been able to make a contribution to the future of renewable energy by supporting this competition. After all, this is what we are working towards, not only during the three exhibition days in Munich, but throughout the year. With numerous national and international exhibition and conference events. For over 35 years.
The next date for Europe’s largest exhibition alliance for the energy industry has already been set: The smarter E Europe 2026 with the four energy exhibitions Intersolar Europe, ees Europe, Power2Drive Europe and EM-Power will take place from June 23 – 25, 2026. See you in Munich!
