Post Show Report RENWEX 2019
RENWEX 2019. Renewable Energy and Electric Vehicles International Exhibition and the International Forum on Renewable Energy for Regional Development
These projects are aimed at the development of renewable energy sources (RES) in the energy sector and green transport by showcasing advanced technologies and equipment and creating a highly efficient networking platform for businessmen, government officials and members of society to discuss and address the most important industry issues.
Dates: 18-20 June 2019
Venue: Expocentre Fairgrounds, Moscow, Russia
Organised by Expocentre AO
Supported by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, EUROSOLAR Russia Non-Profit Partnership for Development of Renewable Energy, Russian Solar Energy Association, National Oil and Gas Forum OOO
Under auspices of Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Exhibitors: 66 companies, among them Hevel Group, Solar Systems, Isovolta AG, Energon-Electro, Fronius International GmbH, Autonomous Solutions, Solargis S.R.O., Victron Energy, eMobility, NEOSUN Energy, MicroART, etc.
Countries: 9 (Austria, China, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Turkey)
Visitor attendance (exhibition + forum): 3,500+
Visitor profile: energy experts, representatives of government agencies, industry committees and associations, investment and high tech companies, the media, generating and construction companies, logging and woodworking companies, owners of buildings and structures, production facilities, and industrial enterprises, etc.
Types of products on display: equipment and technology for wind, solar and bioenergy; electric transport and electric cars; service providers engaged in installation, set-up and maintenance of different equipment using RES.
You can learn more on the participants and products in the RENWEX 2019 web catalogue.
"When tackling the global environmental crisis, people pin their hopes on alternative energy sources. In this case the reduction in the costs spent on their production will result into release of material and human resources. The exhaustibility of fossil fuel and a growing difficulty in its extraction will inevitably require speeding up the transition to renewable energy sources."
Vladimir Kononov, Deputy of the Russian State Duma
"Alternative energy is rapidly developing in this country and is in the focus of attention of the Russian Ministry of Energy. More and more regions and towns, industrial enterprises and remote settlements are ready to make their own investments in their energy supply based on RES. These segments make it possible to develop not only large but also medium businesses which can provide innovative and cost-effective solutions."
Anton Inyutsyn, Deputy Minister of Energy of Russia
"Safe and quality environmentally sustainable transport is a crucial component for successful development of the Russian transport system. Zero air pollution, less noise and vibration, simplicity and longevity of the rolling stock make the electric transport more and more sought-after and competitive."
Alexey Semenov, Deputy Minister of Transport of Russia
International Forum on Renewable Energy for Regional Development
The participants are industry experts from 15 countries: representatives of relevant ministries and departments, regional and local administrations, scientific community, financial institutions, etc.
1. Plenary meeting on Renewable Energy: Global Trends and New Opportunities
The meeting was moderated by Chairman of the Board of NP "EUROSOLAR Russia" Georgy Kekelidze. He identified the Forum aims which were to show projects, bring everything necessary for them, e.g., technology, finances, and to overcome administrative barriers which greatly limit the potential of the industry when developing renewable energy.
According to First Deputy Chairman of the Energy Committee of the Russian State Duma Sergey Yesyakov, the essential trend in RES is commitment to decarbonisation that can be observed in both most relevant approaches to the RES development. The first is 3-D approach focused on decarbonisation, decentralisation and digitalisation; the second is the Energy Trilemma including environmental friendliness, reliability and availability. Besides, the speaker mentioned high costs for production as one of the main challenges in the industry and said that it was necessary to ensure minimum guarantees for investors and criteria for selection of energy sources generation at the legislative level for further increase in the share of RES.
Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Energy Policy and Energy Efficiency of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) Yury Stankevich questioned the optimistic forecast of the RES prospects. He said that regulatory authorities had not made any decisions about the share of renewable energy in the energy supply mix yet and to make this decision it is necessary to have a common concept of state goal setting. He also added that to speak about transition to low carbon economy, one should reduce the energy consumption and improve energy efficiency of the power industry.
Ulrich Benterbusch, Head of Department of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy of Germany explained that though transition to the low carbon economy would be long and require a long term development strategy, Russia still had a favourable geographical location, especially in the context of resource riches. Kristina Haverkamp, Managing Director of the German Energy Agency (dena), added that Russia should take into account foreign experience and seek autonomy from imported technology.
2. Panel discussion on Use of Renewable Energy Sources in the Regions: Best Technologies and Projects
The participants highlighted key trends not only in production but also in implementation of alternative sources of energy. The participants were experts of Russian and foreign companies and representatives of regional companies. Counsellor of the Swedish Embassy to Russia Gunnar Haglund pointed out to the necessity to shape the agenda for development of the enrgy sector attracting regional administrations.
3. Session on Regulatory Control: Localisation of Production of Renewable Energy Components: Experience and Prospects for Further Development
The speakers told about the first results of localisation of equipment in wind and solar energy, proposals to develop the system of project support in isolated areas and retail markets. Dmitry Smolin, Director for Cooperation with Authorities at Vestas explained, "There are many weaknesses in regulation but all of them can be overcome. The key aim is to ensure and maintain cooperation among enterprises. The cooperation is based on competitiveness. Enhancement of the competitiveness of local products is the basis for export". The session participants paid attention to the necessity to make amendments to regulatory aspects of the industry, in particular, identification of the 'threshold' of localisation. Besides, Vice President of OPORA ROSSII Mikhail Kolesnikov said, "To promote RES, it is necessary to change the approach, culture and use of electrical appliances".
4. Meeting on Cooperation of German and Russian Companies on Creation of New RES Generation Facilities in the Regions – Implementation of the Enabling PV in Russia Project
The moderators of the meeting were Christoph Urbschat, eclareon GmbH (Germany), and Ekaterina Galitsyna, Head of representative office of KfW Banking Group in Russia. The discussion was devoted to provision of RES generation in the regions of Russia based on the joint project of eclareon GmbH and EUROSOLAR Russia, attraction of investors for implementation of regional projects, co-design of the systems for solar energy production as well as regulatory aspects of implementation of joint projects.
5. Discussion on Swiss Experience: Organisation of Financing of Innovative Applied R&Ds for Development of Renewable Energy within the framework of international cooperation.
6. Panel discussion on Digitalisation of Modern Energy: From Local Solutions to Transformation of the Whole Industry
The development of the global power market is closely connected with technology innovations. That is why the aim of the discussion was to identify the challenges and prospects of digitalisation and mechanisms for implementation of new technologies in the RES sector. Moderator Yury Stankevich stated, "It is impossible to solve the issue of energy transformation without a purpose. There are different recipes depending on the purpose". The systems of advanced analytics allow benefit from bid data. Apart from the proven benefit for manufacturers, digitalisation is also useful for electricity consumers. Alexander Danilin, Manager of Strategic Projects of the Department on Work with Microsoft Public Organisations, Head of CityNext incentive (City of the Future) told about the prospects of digitalisation, "Firstly, it is necessary to experiment with different business models; secondly, it is a platform to share experience and reduce risks; thirdly, it is necessary to work on regulations. Not any tariff model is suitable for the development of digital technologies. We should make experiments with alternative pricing methods. You can see the changes and more levelydiscussions. The tasks have been realized".
7. Extended meeting on Personnel for Renewable Energy: Global Agenda organised by Expert Council for Science and Technology Development and Intellectual Property of the Russian State Duma Committee for Education and Science
The meeting resulted into identification of the problem in networking between the market and personnel providers. According to Academician Mikhail Paltsev, the market requires experts ready to take an active part in the process while colleges and universities still do not train practice-oriented personnel.
8. Panel discussion on Biofuels and Biomass: Efficiency of Raw Materials Processing and Modern Solutions in Waste Utilisation
President of the Russian Biofuels Association Alexey Ablaev pointed out that hydrocarbon economy prevail in Russia. However, he emphasized that there were many niche segments in this sector which would soon bring Russia to inevitable participation in the global RES market since there were excessive renewable resources in this country.
There was presented a project on recycling of carbon-containing waste using a processing method allowing producing thermal power. Deputy Director General of Novye Technologii OOO Sergey Kulikov told about processing using the method of vortex thermal destruction whose important features were processing without burning and reduction of harmful gas emissions up to 300 times. Moreover, this development exceeds foreign analogues in terms of cost effectiveness.
9. Discussion on Electrochemical Technologies in Renewable Energy: Energy Storage and Hydrogen Cycle
10. International Experience of RES Development: What is 'Good' and What is 'Bad'
The participants discussed the issues concerning RES widespread in Europe, ways of their implementation, and government support of the industry. Deputy Director of IRENA Innovation and Technology Center (IITC) Roland Roesch said that European countries faced a number of challenges on their way to the low carbon economy that could be avoided in Russia if the renewable energy sector wisely used the international experience. According to Roesch, not to face the expenses incurred by foreign players at the early stages, it is necessary to make evaluation based on the data which already exist in the international market of stranded assets.
11. Discussion on Promising Technologies for Power Supply Systems in Remote and Isolated Power Systems
The participants spoke about the mechanisms for implementation of the projects of power supply of isolated areas using RES in different climatic conditions. Victor Murzintsev, Executive Director of UESK AO shared the experience of the company that supplied energy for maintenance of wind and diesel systems in 23 settlements across the whole Kamchatka Region under extreme conditions. The attendees discussed the necessity to use the appropriate technology that provide reliable and safe energy supply in terms of harsh climate and landscape of the region.
12. Panel on Electric Vehicles and New Energy Infrastructure
The participants discussed revolutionary changes in the field of electric vehicles: customers from other countries were concerned about environmental issues thus contributing to making the global energy more eco-friendly as a whole and mass rejection of cars with ICE. Consulting Director in Russia, HIS Markit Maksim Nechaev forecast a further growth and development rates of electric vehicles and assured that the cost of ownership of electric vehicles in 3-5 years might be less than the cost of ICE vehicles.
13. Microgeneration Day
The participants showcased technologies based on solar energy that can be applied in individual construction in the future and discussed the development of green energy in small companies. Many small enterprises from regions presented their green projects. Robert Buhler, Chief Executive Officer of Peer Energy AG (Switzerland), spoke about the necessity of further energy decentralisation. The GreenStroy Association also presented a useful project on green technology integration.
Feedback of exhibitors and visitors to the exhibition and the forum testify to the success and relevance of the event. The exhibitors got maximum feedback from participation, found new clients and potential buyers, held effective negotiations and signed lucrative contracts. A lot of participants expressed their wish to enlarge their stands and learn about the latest developments of the participants in RENWEX 2020.
The 2nd edition of the RENWEX. Renewable Energy and Electric Vehicles international exhibition will run on 21-23 April 2020 at Expocentre Fairgrounds.
Press Service, Expocentre AO