SAN FRANCISCO, July 19, 2018 – Intersolar and ees North America, the premier solar and energy storage events in North America, featured riveting discussions between industry pioneers in San Francisco during its eleventh annual event. The co-located exhibitions, including SEMICON West, attracted more than 14,000 attendees from around 60 countries and 433 exhibitors, and the high-level conferences featured 35 sessions and 12 workshops, including four sessions focused on e-mobility technologies and market trends during the new Power2Drive track.

Conference sessions, exhibition stage presentations, workshops and conversations on the exhibition floor were all dominated by the same key theme: the intersection where clean energy technologies meet will give way to a treasure trove of new service opportunities and enable a more sustainable, reliable and resilient energy mix for future generations. Keynote speakers Dr. Elaine Ulrich, Ph.D., senior advisor at the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) and Silicon Valley entrepreneur and author Tony Seba emphasize this message of cross-industry collaboration and convergence dominated this year’s standing-room-only Opening Ceremony.

After a year of political uncertainty in the North American market, the speakers delivered comments that offered a bold and optimistic take on the future for solar and storage technologies, and reminded attendees of the industries’ accomplishments and long history of innovation. Dr. Ulrich discussed how the solar industry has surpassed the expectations set by the initial SunShot initiative and emphasized how solar and energy storage will need to evolve together in order to address complex issues in the broader market. Mr. Seba’s discussion of the convergence of disruptive technologies including solar, energy storage, ride-sharing platforms and autonomous vehicles sparked excitement in the audience, which was exhibited throughout Moscone West.

“Intersolar and ees North America continually evolve to address the most important trends affecting the clean energy industry,” said Dr. Florian Wessendorf, managing director of Intersolar and ees global conferences and exhibitions in North America, South America and India. “We were the first event to recognize the value of coupling solar and storage in conference sessions and on the exhibition floor, and we see further opportunities to expand our focus to include grid-edge innovations and e-mobility. Our goal has always been to provide a platform that facilitates important conversations and creates meaningful business connections. We look forward to continuing that tradition next year, with the all-new Power2Drive special exhibit.”

Over three days of the two exhibitions, 433 companies displayed the latest technologies expanding the reach of U.S. clean energy in six exhibition segments. They debuted new products, networked with companies across the solar supply chain, and met potential customers.

"Intersolar is one of our favorite trade shows,” said Marion Wellington, growth marketer for Aurora Solar. “As a solar tech startup, we rarely get to see solar installers in person, so it's a great opportunity for us to get to know the people we're trying to serve. Plus, having it in our backyard allows for everybody from the company to come see the solar industry live!" 

 “ees North America's exhibition was an excellent platform for the EnSync Energy team to debut our new residential solar-plus-storage system and peer-to-peer energy exchange,” said Brad Hansen, president and CEO of EnSync Energy Systems. “With the show's increasing focus on the overlap of solar and energy storage, this was a valuable opportunity for our company to interactively showcase our technologies and foster strong connections with hundreds of potential customers and partners."

In the heart of the show floor, attendees packed seats at the ees and Innovation & Application stages to gain an understanding of new technology solutions hitting the market. The free presentations included product demonstrations, presentations from the Intersolar, ees, and Smarter E AWARD finalists and winners, and case studies of the most important projects of 2017. Additionally, the stages hosted several special events, including the release of a new white paper from GTM Research on grid-edge innovation, available for download online.

Workshops targeting contractors and developers were especially well attended, including the fifth annual Contractor Day, an all-day event hosted by Intersolar and the California Solar and Storage Association (CALSSA). The popular event provided a variety of technical workshops that prepared contractors and developers with industry-best installation practices while providing opportunities to earn 4 NABCEP Continued Education (CE) Credits. Six additional NABCEP workshops provided more opportunities for solar and storage practitioners to practice their skill and earn NABCEP credits.

Power2Drive Special Exhibit To Make Debut Next Year

In light of industry interest, ees North America 2019 will host a new Power2Drive Special Exhibit in addition to conference sessions. The inaugural event will display vendors working in the emerging field of electric mobility and transportation – showcasing batteries, charging infrastructure solutions and electric vehicle providers. If you are interested in learning more, please visit the Power2Drive Special Exhibit page on the Power2Drive website. The 2019 Intersolar and ees North America exhibition and conference will be held July 9 – 11 in San Francisco.

About Intersolar North America

Since 2008, Intersolar North America has served as the industry’s go-to source for invaluable information and premier networking opportunities that move the North American market forward. Co-located with ees North America, Intersolar North America’s exhibition and conference sit at the cross-section of solar technology, energy storage, and smart renewable energy. The event takes place annually in San Francisco, California, the heart of energy innovation, and is co-located with SEMICON West.

433 exhibitors and more than 14,000 visitors from over around countries participated in Intersolar North America 2018. The conference and exhibition program featured 35 sessions and 12 educational workshops with more than 190 speakers.

Intersolar North America is organized by Solar Promotion International GmbH, Pforzheim and Freiburg Management and Marketing International GmbH (FMMI). For more information on Intersolar North America, please visit: http://www.intersolar.us

Intersolar Global is the world’s leading exhibition series dedicated to the future of clean energy.

With more than 25 years of experience, Intersolar has the unique ability to bring together members of the energy industry from across the world’s most influential markets and supply chains. Intersolar exhibitions and conferences are held annually in Munich, San Francisco, Mumbai and Bangalore, São Paulo, and Dubai. These global events are complemented by the Intersolar Summits, which take place in emerging and growing markets worldwide. For more information on Intersolar Global, please visit: http://www.intersolarglobal.com. 

About ees North America
Covering the entire value chain of innovative battery and energy storage technologies, ees North America is the leading exhibition and conference for the electrical energy storage industry. ees North America connects manufacturers, distributers, users and suppliers of stationary and mobile storage products in the epicenter of the U.S. storage market, California.

Co-located with Intersolar North America, North America's premier solar event, ees North America provides the best opportunity to explore energy storage systems in combination with solar technologies and beyond. This year, ees North America will feature the new special exhibition Power2Drive, focused on charging infrastructure, EV batteries and electric vehicles. Together, the events are co-located with SEMICON West at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

In 2018, more than 100 energy storage exhibitors and 14,000 attendees participated in ees North America and Intersolar North America.

Launched in 2015 as a special exhibition, ees North America became a standalone exhibition and conference in 2016, and is now part of the ees global exhibition series. Together with ees Europe in Munich, ees South America in São Paulo, and ees India in Mumbai, ees events are represented on four continents.

For more information on ees North America please visit: www.ees-northamerica.com