With less than five months to go before kick-off, EnergyDecentral 2024 – the international trade fair for decentralized energy supply - is already attracting a high level of interest among exhibitors and visitors. From November 12-15, 2024, at the exhibition grounds in Hanover, Germany, some 260 exhibitors will be presenting innovations that not only reflect the key trends in the alternative energy sector but also offer solutions for secure energy supply and decarbonization.
Organized by DLG – Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft (German Agricultural Society), EnergyDecentral takes place parallel with EuroTier, the world’s leading trade fair for animal farming and livestock management, and the “Inhouse Farming – Feed & Food Show”, the global B2B meeting place for self-contained agricultural and food systems of the future.
The EuroTier exhibition thus provides an ideal framework for the specialist range of EnergyDecentral – manure management including anaerobic digestion (AD) systems for biogas production is one obvious intersection but also solid biomass fuels, combined heat and power (CHP), power-to-X, and solar PV feature at EnergyDecentral.
Decentralized, renewable energy sources continue to play a prominent role in the debate about alternative supply concepts. The EnergyDecentral exhibition with its accompanying technical program is dedicated to this topic and showcases state-of-the-art processes and technical solutions for the optimal use of solar, wind, biogas, biomethane, and wood energy, as well as their storage, said Marcus Vagt, Project Manager of EnergyDecentral.
As a professional trade fair for decentralized energy supply, EnergyDecentral, together with EuroTier, offers an international platform and a network of experts for professional exchange.
One focus this year will be on solar energy and agrivoltaics which are topics that visitors are particularly interested in according to the most recent visitor survey, said Marcus Vagt.
Apart from the “Solar Transition” Spotlight alluded to by Marcus Vagt, this year’s special features also include the t, the pavilion of the international biogas associations, and the DLG.Prototype.Club.
DLG.Prototype.Club: Challenge inspires technological developments
Starting with the latter, the DLG.Prototype.Club, an open innovation platform, is part of the EnergyDecentral technical program for the first time this year.
In the rapid prototyping competition, software developers and start-up companies will compete against each other to develop applications that exhibitors and partners have set as challenges in advance of the exhibition.
The teams receive the task 14 days before the start of the trade fair. They will present their fully functional prototype together with a business plan to the challenge partner live during EnergyDecentral.
Companies interested in participating as a Challenge Partner can register here.
Biogas is a key pillar
Biogas and hydrogen will play a major role at EnergyDecentral. Germany plans to be completely climate-neutral by 2045, the first industrialized nation in the world to do so.
Since the introduction of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), a series of German laws offering feed-in tariffs (FIT) to encourage renewable electricity, biomass has become an integral part of the energy mix.
Today’s biogas plants show the enormous potential for decarbonization that still lies in the use of biomass. They convert manure and slurry into fertilizer through a fermentation process and simultaneously produce biomethane aka renewable natural gas (RNG) in gaseous or liquid form (bioLNG).
Hydrogen can also be produced from biogas, which opens up a new perspective for biogas plants when subsidies in Germany shortly expire.
With every additional flexibilization of a biogas plant, we reduce the need for new, central gas-fired power plants, said Markus Vagt.
With a total output of around 6 GW, some 10,000 biogas plants in Germany today generate over 33 TWh of electricity annually. This corresponds to around six percent of electricity consumption in Germany and the same amount of heat, which is mainly used in rural areas.
Doubling the current output to 12 gigawatts by 2030 would be possible without any problems, said Horst Seide, President of the German Biogas Association.
This assessment is shared by Silke Weyberg, Managing Director of the Lower Saxony/Bremen Renewable Energy Association.
In Lower Saxony alone, the current output of 1.4 gigawatts could easily be doubled to 2.8 gigawatts by 2030. That is roughly equivalent to the output of six gas-fired power plant units, said Silke Weyberg.
It would not be necessary to use more biomass or require more space.
Instead, additional combined heat and power plants could be set up to produce electricity simply when neither sun nor wind are available, Silke Weyberg said.
Hosted in a joint pavilion the International Biogas Associations will be the ideal destination for anyone interested in the latest innovations and framework conditions as well as networking in the international biogas industry.
The venue will gather international experts to share their knowledge and facilitate access to international biogas markets.
Featuring an array of board displays and professional information points, the pavilion invites visitors to not only explore the international biogas industry but also network in the lounge.
Presentations and discussions with leading experts and organizations round off the offering.
DLG spotlight “Solar Transition”
Against the background of decentralized energy generation, photovoltaics is increasingly the focus of agriculture.
Both the German government’s expansion targets and the increasing energy demand for the electrification of agriculture are creating enormous investment potential for ground-mounted and storage systems as well as agricultural photovoltaics.
This high interest is also reflected in the exhibitor registrations: 30 of the 260 exhibitors who have signed up offer solutions for photovoltaics and agrivoltaics. The new DLG spotlight “Solar Transition” offers visitors to EnergyDecentral the opportunity to take advantage of free initial consultation on the opportunities of photovoltaics for agricultural businesses.
Recognizing pioneering work and visions for the future
As part of EnergyDecentral, DLG will be presenting two leading international awards for innovative solutions in the field of decentralized energy production:
- The “EnergyDecentral Innovation Award” recognizes innovations that are ready for practical use in the field, underlining the importance of modern engineering for the industry, while;
- Pioneering work and future concepts for sustainable energy production are evaluated by the international jury with the “DLG-Agrifuture Concept Winner Award”.
A key concept for the future is currently the topic of “Energy supply and efficiency”. The aim is to form alliances between agricultural professions such as energy producers and livestock farmers.
This involves combining crop production systems, animal husbandry, and indoor farming systems with renewable energies.
The “Women in Ag Award” honors inspiring women from agriculture, agribusiness, education, research and development.
The best YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram channels will receive the “DLG Agri Influencer Award”.
Getting tickets in advance is recommended
The online ticket shop to EuroTier / EnergyDecentral 2024 launched this month, and the organizers recommend purchasing admission tickets, either day tickets or full event “season” tickets, in advance as these offer significant savings compared to buying at the door.
The Hanover hub offers convenient accommodation and travel to EuroTier/EnergyDecentral 2024 by train, car, or plane. In addition to the public transport options, an exclusive EuroTier/EnergyDecentral shuttle service is available to visitors arriving at Hanover airport.
