The Smarter E India expo is India’s innovation hub for the new energy world and brought together three shows under one roof; the renowned Intersolar India, ees India and Power2Drive India. The three-day exhibition and conference was held on 2-4 December 2021 at the Helipad Exhibition Grounds, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, organised by Messe Muenchen India Pvt. Ltd. The expo had 100 exhibitors and 16,000 visitors over the three days. The exhibition was inaugurated by Shri Mukeshbhai Zinabhai Patel, Honourable State Minister for Agriculture, Energy & Petrochemicals, Government of Gujarat, India.
The Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC), in collaboration with the Indo-German Energy Forum (IGEF-SO) Support Office, organised the German pavilion at the Intersolar India exhibition. The German companies who participated had the opportunity to showcase their company’s products and services and had market access to one of the world’s largest renewable energy markets. Over 30 companies and associations participated in the pavilion.
The show presented cross-sector energy solutions and technologies and reflected the interaction of the solar, energy storage and electric mobility industry. The Smarter E India/ Intersolar India addressed all the key areas along the value chain and brought together local experts and international stakeholders in the energy future.
Participating German companies had access to a meeting area and lounge facilities to conduct B2B meetings at the pavilion.
The Indo-German Energy Forum (IGEF) and the National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI) jointly hosted a session on 2 December on “The Agri-Renewables: A Double Engine to India’s Growth Story”. The topic of this session is attributed to the rising demand for food-energy-water security in India, caused by rapid urbanisation, rising global population, and economic growth. The way we generate energy, produce food and use water substantially form significant challenges of this century, considering the Agricultural sector consumed 17.67% of electricity in the year 2019-2020. Hence, in the ongoing energy transition, renewable energy plays an important role.
The session panel discussed the way forward for Agri-Renewables in India’s journey to sustainable farming and energy. Speakers in the session included Ipsa Sweta Dhal, Fraunhofer ISE, Dr. Priyabrata Santra, CAZRI, Dr. Sunil Khanna, Director General, GERMI, and Dr. P. M. Chauhan, Director of Research, Junagadh Agricultural University. Special focus was laid on topics such as the co-location of agriculture and renewables, the design and economics of agrivoltaic systems, government policies of APV, as well as ongoing projects and challenges.
On 3 December, NSEFI and IGEF organised an event with renowned speakers to share their insights on business opportunities in photovoltaics (PV) and battery storage systems. The session was held on-site in the conference area with speakers on a dedicated stage joined by an international group of presenters virtually. The session was opened by Pranav Mehta, Chairman of NSEFI and Dr. Nicole Glanemann, Deputy Head at Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Government of Germany. The speakers shared valuable insights at the session; Christophe Lits, Market Analyst, SolarPower Europe (SPE), Debi Prasad Dash, Executive Director, India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA), Dr. Rashi Gupta, Founder, Vision Mechatronics Pvt. Ltd, Vinay Rustagi, Managing Director, Bridge to India, Maria Roos as Technical advisor at the German Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft e.V. (BSW). The 14th edition of the exhibition is to be held at Gandhinagar on December 7–9, 2022. IGCC, in collaboration with IGEF is planning a German pavilion. In case you are interested in participation, please send an email to Shivani Chaturvedi at shivani.chaturvedi@indo-german.com
