Smart solutions for the cities of the future and opportunities in the transition phase of the energy market were hot topics at the E-world Congress 2018. Speakers and participants discussed current developments and challenges in the industry - from sector coupling and the heat transition through portfolio and risk management to the future of the international gas market. Access the knowledge and experience of speakers politics and business: the Congress documents from the conferences are available to download.
“Perspectives on the energy world of tomorrow”
The Energy Leadership meeting opened the Congress programme on the eve of the trade fair. The main topics at this event, held in cooperation with the Süddeutsche Zeitung, were “The Energy Transition in Germany” and “Trends and Developments as framework conditions for new business models”. Speakers included Jochen Homann, Chairman of the German Network Agency; Bernd Westphal, Member of the German Parliament and spokesman for the SPD Business and Energy Working Party; and Dr. Peter Röttgen, Chief Executive of the German Association for Renewable Energy e.V.
22nd Expert Conference on Future Energies
On the first day of the Trade Fair, EnergieAgentur.NRW organised the 22nd specialist congress on Energies of the Future. This year’s slogan was “North-Rhine Westphalia goes Energy 4.0”. The Congress was opened by NRW Minister for Economic Affairs Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart and NRW Minister for the Environment Christina Schulze Föcking. High-level industry representatives then addressed questions such as: How smart is today’s energy world? What does the digital transition mean for the energy industry? And how do consumers perceive the digital transition?
Predictions for the international gas market
The “International Gas Market” conference takes place in the area of tension between increasing uncertainty on the demand side, and globalisation of trading. The first part of the Conference therefore looked at “Prospects for Gas”. The second part was dedicated to current “market developments”. Speakers included Jean-Baptiste Dubreuil from the International Energy Agency; Bart Riemens from Axpo; and Astrid Schober, CIO at Wien Energie.
Current developments in portfolio and risk management
The energy transition is forging ahead in Germany and Europe. At the same time, the framework conditions along the whole value-added chain of the energy industry are changing. The conference on “Current developments in portfolio and risk management” presented the various different facets of the energy markets in Germany and Europe. This event, designed jointly with the University of Duisburg-Essen, was divided into four topic areas: Forecasts, balancing power markets, CO2 pricing and the European gas markets were examined from a practical and scientific perspective. Speakers on these topics included Dipl.-Ing. Karl Resch from STEAG GmbH; Prof. Gerard L. Doorman from the Norwegian University for Science and Technology; and Dr. Ingo Ellersdorfer from Uniper SE.
The development of neighbourhood concepts
Increasing the energy efficiency of buildings is the central lever in climate protection - no other area demonstrates greater potential. The conference “Development of neighbourhood-wide concepts as a business opportunity for public utility companies” was dedicated to this topic. Within the framework of the event, possible solutions to the development of innovative neighbourhood-wide concepts were highlighted from various perspectives. As well as examples which had been successfully implemented in practice, current prospects were also presented from a science and research perspective. Speakers included Achim Südmeier, Sales Director at RheinEnergie AG; Burkard Dewey, Architect and Town Planner at Dewey Muller Partnerschaft mbB; and Daniel Richard, Lawyer at Rödl & Partner GbR.
Sector Coupling and Heat Transition - the key to reducing emissions?
After energy transition in the power sector, the heat transition is now being more closely examined - to achieve emission reduction targets, a transition in heat production is absolutely vital. During the first part of the Conference, Ulrich Benterbusch from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and Dr. Andreas Schnauß from Vattenfall Wärme Berlin AG, amongst others, discussed the possible implications of the heat transition against a background of energy policy targets. In the second part, different options for sector coupling and its effects, for instance on infrastructure and the development of demand in the power sector, were analysed. Speakers included Dr. Ralf Schemm, Head of Competency Team - Energy market models & Price forecasts at the Office for the Energy Industry and Technical Planning; Uwe Asbach from Viessmann Deutschland GmbH; and Dr. Stefan Nykamp, Head of Innovation Management at Westnetz GmbH.
Digitisation of towns and regions
This year’s conference saw the launch of a new event “Digital towns and regions”, organised jointly with the German Association of Towns and Municipalities. The event therefore overlapped nicely with this year’s focus on the Smart City. Alexander Handschuh from the German Association of Towns and Municipalities gave participants information on local authority opportunities and tasks in the digitisation of towns and municipalities. Jan Strehmann from Bitkom e.V. presented the “Digital City” competition and Gerkan Ünlü, Senior Vice President of TÜV Rheinland explained the strategic tasks which local authorities face in progressing towards a digital city.