ees Europe Munich, June 22–24, 2016

EES AWARD: TEN ENTRIES HAVE BEEN SHORTLISTED FOR THE ENERGY STORAGE INDUSTRY’S INNOVATION PRIZE Munich, 19 May 2016 — For the third time running, the ees AWARD is set to be presented for outstanding solutions and innovations in energy storage technology. This year, the prestigious prize received a record number of submissions. Ten of these can now pride themselves on having been nominated as finalists. The winner will be announced at the Innovation and Application Forum at ees Europe, the continent’s largest exhibition for batteries and energy storage systems, on June 22, 2016. The event takes place in paral-lel with Intersolar Europe, the world’s largest exhibition for the solar industry and its partners from June 22–24, 2016 in Munich.

Energy storage systems are an important cornerstone of the global energy transition. As volatile energy sources, such as solar or wind power, do not consistently generate electricity, batteries will ensure stability and supply safety in the power grid of the future by decoupling generation from consumption in private and commercial usage. To celebrate the industry’s innovative strength, the ees AWARD pays tribute to outstanding products and solutions in the field of energy storage. Sub-missions ranged from new materials to innovations in the areas of production, systems technology, applications, second-use concepts and recycling.

Submission trends The many submissions for the ees AWARD revealed several trends, such as a new generation of domestic storage systems. These use JH3 lithium-ion cells developed specifically for stationary batteries, and a special separator to guarantee the highest degree of safety. The finalists clearly demonstrate that wireless interfaces, for example smart meters and control options using Apps, are gaining in importance in the energy storage industry. One submission succeeded in closing a gap in the inverter market: A transformerless, high-voltage inverter offering a high level of flexibil-ity for both retrofit projects and new installations. In general, flexibility and diverse fields of application are key topics in the industry. This is why storage devices, which can be used on and off-grid, or are available for both low-voltage (48V DC) and high voltage systems (400V DC), are amongst the finalists.

The industry has also been working on solutions to stabilize weak power grids. Submissions includ-ed technologies to establish microgrids (local, decentralized power grids) as active grid components, and solutions combining photovoltaics and wind power. Why? When the sun does not shine, conditions for wind turbines are often ideal. In this context, energy storage systems to guar-antee supply safety, so that clean energy can be used even in weak power grids or off-grid regions.

ees Europe award ceremony The winners of the ees AWARD will be announced on Wednesday, June 22, at ees Europe at Messe München. Their awards will be presented alongside the Intersolar AWARD at 4:30pm at the Innova-tion and Application Forum. Visitors have the opportunity to meet the finalists before then, as they will be holding short presentations about their submissions and will be on hand to answer any questions between 10:30am and 3:00pm.

An overview of the ees AWARD finalists

- Ampere Power Energy S.L. (Spain): Easily installed storage device with wireless connection to the smart meter and corresponding App.

- BOS Balance of Storage Systems AG (Germany): Additional lithium-ion batteries for energy storage systems based on led batteries extending the entire system’s life span through smart connections.

- Digatron Power Electronics GmbH (Germany): Improved battery tester efficiency using sili-con carbide semiconductors.

- Ferroamp Elektronik AB (Sweden): Bidirectional inverter for different PV strings, batteries and DC consumers. A high-voltage DC nanogrid connects different producers, such as sun, wind and water, and minimizes transmission losses throughout the entire system.

- Green Power Technologies, SL (Spain): Storage solutions on a megawatt-scale, where vari-ous producers can be integrated to help stabilize weak power grids.

- LG Chem (Korea): New generation of domestic storage systems with high energy density using advanced cell technologies (JH3 cells).

- Morningstar Corporation (USA): Charge controller for a wide variety of storage technologies with 98% efficiency.

- SMA Solar Technology AG (Germany): A transformerless high-voltage inverter, this innova-tive battery inverter closed a gap in the inverter market and is ideal for retrofitting existing PV installations with storage devices.

- SOCOMEC (France): Storage solution which can be operated both in the grid and in stand-alone mode — ideal for use as a microgrid in off-grid regions.

- Sonnen GmbH (Germany): sonnenCommunity connects decentralized renewable energy producers with storage system operators and consumers throughout Germany, enabling its members to remain completely independent of the public power grid.

ees Europe 2016 takes place alongside Intersolar Europe at Messe München from June 22–24, 2016. Further information on ees Europe 2016 can be found at www.ees-europe.com

About ees The global ees exhibition series is the industry meeting point, bringing together manufacturers, distributors, users and suppliers of stationary and mobile electricity storage systems. The ees exhibitions are co-organized with Intersolar, the leading exhibition series for the solar industry. The ees exhibitions and accompanying ees Conferences are dedicated to renewable energy storage solutions, from residential and commercial applications to large-scale storage systems for stabilizing the grid. Other focal points are products and solutions for smart renewable energy, energy management, e-mobility and uninter-ruptible power supply (UPS).

With ees Europe in Munich, ees North America in San Francisco and ees India in Mumbai, ees is represented on three continents. ees Europe is the continent’s largest exhibition with the greatest number of visitors for the battery and energy storage industry. More than 158 exhibitors took part in ees Europe 2015 (326 companies together with energy storage exhibitors at Intersolar Europe) and approx. 38,000 visitors from 165 countries flocked to Munich.

Partners of ees Europe ZVEI (German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association), EUROBAT (the Association of European Automotive and Industrial Battery Manufacturers), Naatbatt (the National Alliance for Advanced Technology Batteries), and BSW-Solar (German Solar Association). For more information on ees Europe, please visit: www.ees-europe.com

ees Europe is organized by Solar Promotion GmbH, Pforzheim and Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe GmbH & Co. KG (FWTM).

Contact: Solar Promotion GmbH | Postfach 100 170 | 75101 Pforzheim Horst Dufner | Tel.: +49 7231 58598-0 | Fax: +49 7231 58598-28 | info@ees-europe.com

Press contact: fischerAppelt, relations | Infanteriestraße 11a | 80797 München Robert Schwarzenböck | Tel. +49 89 747466-23 | Fax +49 89 747466-66 | rs@fischerAppelt.de