Intersolar Europe 2024 - ENGIE at the world's leading trade fair for the solar industry

16 July 2024

Energy efficiency Renewable energy Rent current Photovoltaics Climate neutrality

Generating electricity from solar energy is one of the key projects of the energy transition. There is hardly any other source of energy than the sun that is available to us almost without restriction every day. If we manage to utilise its energy for our electricity production, we will come much closer to the major goal of soon covering our growing energy needs exclusively from climate-friendly energy generation.

The European target for renewable energies was significantly increased last year from 32% to 45% in 2030. This means a doubling of the share of renewable energy compared to the 2021 level. The German government is pursuing the goal of achieving a photovoltaic (PV) capacity of 215 gigawatts by 2030. The associated law with the illustrious name "Solar Package I" was only amended in April 2024. According to this, the annual expansion of PV systems is to be tripled, while bureaucratic hurdles are to be removed and smaller solutions such as balcony PV systems are to increase. Creative approaches are therefore needed to make it easier for as many groups of people as possible to install PV systems. And this was one of the topics discussed at Intersolar Europe 2024, the world's largest trade fair for the solar industry.

Meeting of leading experts from the solar industry

Once a year in Munich, Intersolar Europe brings together project developers, dealers, manufacturers, service providers and other players from the energy industry to exchange ideas and further develop PV. As part of the trade fair alliance "The Smarter E", Intersolar 2024 showcased numerous innovations from the fields of electricity, heat and transport. Around 110,000 visitors from all over the world attended the conference in southern Germany in June 2024. Over 3,000 exhibitors from 55 countries presented their latest ideas and products. One trend emerged clearly: PV is becoming more diverse and flexible.

While solar modules were once square and black, manufacturers now offer them in many shapes and colours. Whether round, as an umbrella or integrated into a house façade, in cheerful colours or wildly patterned - PV fans today have a variety of options for generating electricity from solar energy - and visually spicing up their homes and business premises at the same time. But it wasn't just creative designs for solar systems that were on show at Intersolar 2024. Energy utilisation was also a major topic, as solar power is now regarded as a key green technology that combines all components of the value chain: climate-friendly energy production, economical storage solutions and the efficient supply of end applications. In this context, combined packages consisting of solar systems, wallboxes, electric cars and heat pumps are becoming increasingly popular.

Large-scale and hybrid power plants as well as floating PV - i.e. floating solar power plants on lakes or at sea - were also the focus of interest at Intersolar 2024. Time and again, industry experts are looking at solutions for land utilisation issues. One approach in this regard is to prioritise the installation of solar modules where land is not being used for other purposes. Alternatively, clever dual utilisation models such as hybrid power plants can be used. Modern concepts in the agri-PV sector, for example, provide for agricultural land to be built on with special constructions that allow PV modules to be mounted. In this way, agricultural and fishing businesses can generate additional green electricity on their fields and water areas.

ENGIE Germany - with forward-looking topics at Intersolar Europe 2024

Of course, we from ENGIE were once again present with a well-attended stand, where our German and European teams from Renewables and Energy Management, our PV subsidiary Solarimo and ENGIE Energy Solutions as well as representatives from our research laboratory Laborelec were to be found. We were very pleased with the many exciting discussions about the planning, financing and construction of ground-mounted PV systems and onsite solar, battery energy storage systems (BESS) and flexibility solutions, green Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) and direct marketing and much more.

Our highlight on the first day: the get-together event, where we cheered on the European Championship football match between Germany and Hungary with our customers and partners.

Modern technologies up close: ENGIE's trade fair appearance

Visitors to our stand were able to gain an impression of the practical solutions we are using to promote the CO₂ phase-out. We used a 3D mock-up, reproducing all electricity flows of a logistics site – a C&I customer of Engie in Belgium - to demonstrate our innovative Flexisun® offer. This combination of on-site photovoltaics, battery storage and intelligent energy management system (EMS) is an excellent example of how we offer our customers turnkey solutions for the entire PV value chain. Interested parties were also able to find out about our latest ideas and solutions in our technical presentations.

Technical knowledge from experts for experts: The technical articles from ENGIE

ENGIE experts enriched Intersolar 2024 with four presentations:

In the session "Large-scale photovoltaic systems I: Trends in development, EPC and asset management", Aquin Magnus, research engineer at our subsidiary Laborelec, spoke about modelling future failures in PV systems with the aim of improving operation and maintenance.
The session "Solar and sustainability: ESG aspects and transparency along the solar value chain" by Laurène Gusse (photo below), Deputy Head of Quality & Procurement at ENGIE Renewables, provided information on the necessity for global industrial developers to promote sustainable and ethical energy production and uphold international rights. As a global industrial developer, ENGIE is aware of its responsibility throughout the entire supply chain. That is why ENGIE actively monitors compliance with international rights, conducts thorough due diligence and takes all necessary measures to promote sustainable and ethical sourcing
In the session "Power Procurement through PPAs for Companies: Lessons Learned", Eric Sebaoun (photo above), business development director for ENGIE's distributed solar and storage activity, spoke about how bundling Onsite Solar PV with Battery storage & PPAs can unleash the full renewable potential of C&I customers.
The session "Bess Bankability: Is Risk Management a Thing of the Past?" by Martin Daronnat, Head of Flexibility Germany at ENGIE Global Energy Management and Sales, dealt with the modern optimisation of battery storage systems - for example by coupling them with virtual power plants, which slow down ageing and ensure higher returns.

Thank you, Intersolar Europe 2024! We are already looking forward to next year!

In view of the large number of visitors to our stand, the great interest in our presentations and the lively professional dialogue, we can draw an excellent balance after Intersolar 2024. Our impressions show that photovoltaics is not only making enormous progress in terms of quantity, but also in terms of quality. Solar manufacturers are developing ever smarter concepts and products to advance the energy transition in Germany and Europe - we are proud to be part of this development. According to industry experts, it will become increasingly important in the coming years to maintain the commitment to solar energy and support it with the right infrastructure. We at ENGIE are excited to see which sustainable ideas will prevail and are looking forward to the upcoming Intersolar Europe from 7 to 9 May 2025! Until then, you can look forward to lots of exciting content on the topic of renewable energies in the ENGIE magazine Zero Carbon .