The View from Intersolar/EES 2016

To say it was an eventful week would be an understatement, but let's start with the show.  I have to confess I love Intersolar and EES, and not just for the hot weather and wurst. In fact this year was particularly hot, and wearing a suit wasn't too comfortable, especially between halls. 

Of course there were the usual range of product launches and awards, too many for me to list here, and probably better listed elsewhere. Although we as a business continue to have a strong solar focus and passion, much of my time was in EES and hall B1, deep in Energy Storage territory. Already 70% of our assignments are in Energy Storage and grid services areas. It was of course to be expected given the year the industry has had, but the energy storage showing had developed significantly since last year. We saw great stands from clients Sonnen and LG Chem, how they have progressed since last year, and from others like Varta, E3/DC and Tesvolt in particular. Also, Mercedes Benz energy were making a big splash, Trina launched a storage product and we had EV charge points aplenty, and some nice cars on show to, thanks ABB (BMWi8) and Tesla (Model S).

The big thing for me though was the energy and buzz in both solar and storage, yes the show was smaller again this year, reflecting market consolidation, and activity in Europe, but boy was there a buzz. Speaking to event veterans and those who have ridden the punches in solar for many years, there was much business being done, and a lot of positivity. It wasn't just the coffee and energy drinks on offer keeping me going for three days. I hope that this reflects the situation, of course there are hotter markets for solar than Europe at present, and the UK in particular has taken a dive in the last year, but the market is maturing and by and large becoming more stable.

Then there was Friday morning! Wow, not the news I wanted to hear, by a long shot. Brexit was voted for. I won't go into detail, my views are probably well known, but the early mood was somber, among the Brits at least. Fortunately I had meetings and a busy schedule to get stuck into, so couldn't dwell for long. The impact of the decision though is still so unknown, not just in the UK and Europe but also beyond. At Hyperion though over 60% of our assignments are overseas anyway, so it doesn't really affect the plans and growth we already have underway, but it was a sad day. 

Overall though a great show could not be diminished by politics, we have some new assignments and clients and managed to cram a whole lot of meetings in. Apologies to those myself and the team didn't manage to catch up with. We are very much looking forward to next year, but first Clean Energy Live in October. Hope to see many of you there.