The Smarter E India expo is India’s innovation hub for the new energy world and brings together three shows under one roof; the renowned Intersolar India, ees India and Power2Drive India. The three-day exhibition and conference held from 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 urbanization, rising global population, and economic growth. The way we generate energy, produce food, and use water, substantially form major 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 deployment of advanced renewable energy solutions must be targeting Energy-Water-Food security, which makes it imperative to use the same piece of land for energy generation, food production and saving water losses. The panel of the session discussed the way forward for Agri-Renewables in India's journey to sustainable farming and energy. Speakers in the session included Ms. 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-SO 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 the conference area with speakers on a dedicated stage who were joined by an international group of presentees virtually. The session was opened by Mr. Pranav Mehta, Chairman of NSEFI and Dr. Nicole Glanemann, Deputy Head at Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Government of Germany. The first presentation was given by Mr. Christophe Lits, Market Analyst at SolarPower Europe (SPE). Introducing their recent report European Market Outlook for Residential Battery Storage 2021-2025, Mr. Lits elaborated on the findings regarding the development of the market for residential battery energy storage systems in the EU. It was observed that the strong growth in the European residential battery market in the year 2020 and two important milestones for the first time: First, it is notable that over 100,000 systems were added in one year and second, the annual GWh-scale was reached in the European market for the first time. For the full report, please visit European Market Outlook for Residential Battery Storage 2021-2025 – SolarPower Europe. The event continued with a presentation fromMr. Debi Prasad Dash, Executive Director at the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA). He presented IESA's work on making India a global hub for R&D and manufacturing of advanced energy storage and EV technologies, including previous milestones and state of the art insights into current developments. Among other projects driving their mission, Mr. Dash elaborated upon the two annual flagship market reports on Stationary Energy Storage and EV, which provide forecasts for the Indian market over the next 7 years. Additionally, an overview of evolving EV & Energy Storage Policies was given. Thereafter, Dr. Rashi Gupta, founder of Vision Mechatronics Pvt. Ltd. was introduced and offered her expertise in a variety of topics regarding renewable energy storage solutions. In a strong intro statement, she  emphasized that "this transformational decade will unleash the full potential of distributed renewable generation with energy storage in a sustainable way for meeting the critical need of energy self-sufficiency and resiliency". After presenting general storage solutions for renewable energies, Dr. Gupta discussed financing solutions such as debt financing, power purchase agreeements, capital expenditures and grant subsidies, hence unraveling the misconception that renewables are more costly in their energy storage options. As a virtual participant, Mr. Vinay Rustagi (Managing Director, Bridge to India) joined the stage. He explained that rooftop solar capacity addition has suffered recently while  the main driver for most consumers remain financial savings. In consequence, Mr. Rustagi suggested that focussed policy report such as affordable financing solutions for residential and SME segments, consumer education and quality assurance for small consumers, and financial incentives for onsite storage can incentavise further PV rooftop installations. Additionally, he introduced the India RE Navigator (india-re-navigator.com), which is powered by Bridge to India. In a final presentation, Ms. Maria Roos as Technical advisor at the German Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft e.V. (BSW), gave an overview of the German PV market. BSW noted an increase in residential rooftop solar systems over the past seven years, but a drop in annually installed PV capacity compared to the year 2020 in Germany. Moreover, Ms. Roos covered the motivation for private owners to install PV-storage systems, under which fall the reduction of the electricity bill (Electricity purchase costs), independency from energy suppliers and electricity price fluctuations, as well as a personal contribution to the energy transition. In her conclusion, Ms Roos found that energy storage will play a key role in a flexible and responsible smart grid powered entirely by renewable energy.
The full slide deck of each presentation can be found through the links below:

Mr. Christophe Lits (Solar Power Europe) - European market developments in Storage Systems | Recording

Mr. Debi Prasad Dash (India Energy Storage Alliance) - Present battery storage market in India and latest developments 

Dr. Rashi Gupta (Vision Mechatronics Pvt. Ltd. ) -  PV Rooftop plus Storage projects implemented in India | Recording

Mr. Vinay Rustagi (Bridge to India) - Potential for PV Rooftop combined with battery storage in India | Recording

Ms. Maria Roos (Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft e.V) - New Developments in behind the Meter PV & Storage Systems | Recording