Competition among trade show organizers in Germany is now ramping up in the energy storage as well as the electric transportation arena. More and more event providers want to establish hubs of emerging technologies and draw industry-wide interest to their locations. The most recent example of this type of effort is the cooperation between Messe Düsseldorf and Stuttgart-based Peter Sauber Agentur.

The electric transportation expos have undergone some changes since 2017. The auto show in Munich that originally started under the name eCarTec is no more. In October 2017, emove360° took place instead. It had a new concept and significantly fewer exhibitors. In 2018, Power2Drive Europe, an event built around electric transportation and charging infrastructure, will be competing for visitors when it is held for the first time on the same show grounds, June 19 through 22. It will run parallel to Intersolar Europe; ees Europe, the electrical energy storage event established in 2014; and EM-Power, the new exhibition for smart building automation and management. All four will be gathered under the umbrella of The smarter E.

In Stuttgart, elect!, an independent e-transportation fair, intends to establish itself as an autumn event (see October 2017 issue of H2-International). In 2018, it will take place Oct. 8 through 9. This may detract from emove360°, which will be held a week later in Munich. Meanwhile, the double feature of Battery Show Europe and Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology Europe, held in Sindelfingen in 2017, will be found in Hannover, May 15 through 17, in 2018, at the same location where Hannover Messe, one of the world’s largest trade shows, will take place toward the end of April.

After the 30th Electric Vehicle Symposium & Exhibition, Peter Sauber Agentur has ended its foray into electric cars and left its Battery+Storage event in the past. Instead, the agency will focus on hydrogen and fuel cells, hosting f-cell in Stuttgart, Sept. 18 through 19. It will also feature these themes at Energy Storage Europe, in cooperation with Messe Düsseldorf, March 13 through 15, after talks with the owner of the Munich show grounds were unsuccessful. With the agency’s involvement, Messe Düsseldorf hopes to attract even more active players in the hydrogen and fuel cell industry to its event by the Rhine and take “the product portfolio of the leading trade fair for energy storage systems to the next level,” as Bastian Mingers, head manager of the exhibition, put it.