The conference and trade fair featured over 80 speakers and almost 100 exhibitors when it was recently held in Düsseldorf, Germany.

With over 1,800 specialists from 48 nations, the participation at Energy

Storage Europe 2015 more than doubled compared to the 2014 staging. The
conference and trade fair featured over 80 speakers and almost 100
exhibitors when it was recently held in Düsseldorf, Germany. Numerous
speakers and conference participants agreed with the assessment that in an
increasingly decentralized energy industry, energy storage units are
required for the stabilization of networks and are on the verge of a market
breakthrough. As an important requirement for the successful introduction
onto the market, there was a call for appropriate political framework
conditions as well as new business models that take the multiple uses of
storage units into consideration. Tasks that are rather technical in nature,
such as standardization, would still have to be continuously worked on, but
are no longer a critical obstacle when it comes to market growth.

Hildegard Müller, Chairwoman of the executive management board of the
German Federal Association of Energy and Water Management (BDEW), stated at
the Energy Storage Europe press conference: "It is no secret that we are
undergoing the development from being a centralized energy industry to
becoming a strongly decentralized one - however, without replacing the
centralized energy industry completely. In such a system, we are heavily
reliant upon the system-supporting characteristics of energy storage units.
In order to use these for the energy transition however, storage units also
have to be capable of efficient operation. The BDEW is therefore calling
upon the government to implement measures to remove the obstacles that are
standing in the way of energy storage units. For example, the current
network charge controls results in storage unit operators having to still
pay for the system services made available by them. A contradiction in
itself."

At the press conference, Professor Dr. Eicke R. Weber, President of the
Federal Association for Energy Storage Units (BVES) and Manager of the
Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE), added: "Energy storage
units are ready for the market and their costs are falling quickly. They
require entry into the market that is free of discrimination since the
storage of reusable energy is already economical at the present time and is
going to become a self-evident fact in the future."

In addition to association representatives and researchers, energy
industry experts also spoke about the future opportunities of energy storage
units. Dr. Peter Röttgen, Manager of E.ON Innovation Center Energy Storage,
commented: "The prognoses for long-term market development of energy units
are fluctuating considerably. But all the studies are in agreement
concerning a single thing: Over the medium to long term, storage units for
restructuring our energy system are essential and reduce costs. But:
Noteworthy storage capacities will not be established over night. Installing
them will require a decade or more. We cannot wait but have to introduce the
technology now and build up the required knowledge piece by piece in the
process."

A one-sided view of the energy storage units' functions has been
identified by several studies as the reason for the criticism concerning
their cost effectiveness. "Many studies that question the cost-benefit ratio
of energy storage units ignore their double use. They only take into
consideration the advantages of energy storage for one's own consumption or
only the stabilizing effect of storage units for networks, in the form of
voltage regulation for example. However, if it is possible to implement both
functions simultaneously in a profitable manner, storage units will spread
more rapidly than many experts see as being possible at the current time,"
commented Professor Dr. rer. nat. Dirk Uwe Sauer, Professor at the Institute
for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives (ISEA) at the RWTH Aachen
University (Germany).

Hans Werner Reinhard, Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf, was
extremely satisfied with the results of Energy Storage Europe 2015: "I am
very pleased that it was possible for us to create an even stronger public
awareness for the important issue of energy storage this year. For the first
time, five professional conferences and a trade fair took place at the same
location: Together, Energy Storage Europe, the IRES Conference, the OTTI
Conference Power-to-Gas, the VDE Financial Dialogue Europe and the
Storageday covered the entire range of energy storage topics. At the
accompanying trade fair with almost 100 international exhibitors, visitors
were able to gather information on the latest technology and current
research findings, as well as conclude concrete business transactions. The
commitment of all those involved was awarded by a considerable number of
participants. Over 1,800 experts from 48 nations visited the conferences and
the Energy Storage Europe trade fair over the course of the three days –
twice as many as last year. The meeting point for the energy storage
industry has ultimately been established in Düsseldorf, the center of the
largest energy region in Germany."

The next Energy Storage Europe will take place in Düsseldorf, Germany
from March 15 – 17, 2016. For information on visiting or exhibiting at
Energy Storage Europe 2016 or any of the other energy storage conferences
and trade fairs in the Messe Düsseldorf program, contact Messe Düsseldorf
North America, 150 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2920, Chicago, IL 60601.
Telephone: (312) 781-5180; Fax: (312) 781-5188; E-mail: info@esnaexpo.com;
Visit our web sites http://www.esnaexpo.com and www.worldenergystorage.com;
Subscribe to our blog at http://www.esnaexpo.com/blog; Follow us on twitter
at http://twitter.com/EnergyStorageNA

For hotel and travel information, contact TTI Travel, Inc. at (866)
674-3476; Fax: (212) 674-3477; E-mail: info@ttitravel.net;
www.traveltradeint.com