This is always one of my highlights of the year and this years show didn’t disappoint. There was of course an absence of break-dancers and bmx-bandits doing their thing on solar panels, which, along with the big floor space at the front of Hall A1 meant the absence of SolarWorld. The company may have become ever more isolated over the years with their support of MIP, and lost friends in the industry because of this, but no one likes to see a company go under. It’s not good for the industry, for the creditors in the supply chain, and of course it’s not good for the many good people left without an employer. Clearly the company had been a big part of Intersolar for many years, but the show quite literally goes on.
The event was much earlier this year, I’m not sure why. It seems back to it’s late June slot next year. I think the change caught a lot of people out, and some regulars were’t able to make it. Even the weather was only at 28 degrees, but maybe that’s better than last years 35 degrees, especially when wearing a suit!
It’s always a struggle to catch up with everyone you want to meet, so apologies to those I missed. I was surprised at the number of people I spoke with who had just joined their companies, and their first days were in a the deep end at the show. This included one of the guys we had placed with Skeleton. Well done to Niels and all those that were thrown in at the deep end!
Whilst I did manage to catch up with clients and a lot of friends in the A Halls, the solar guys, I personally spent most of my time in B1, 2 and 3. Seeing that most of our business in the last 2 years has been in energy storage (and solar inverters), it was great to see the evolution of the EES Halls and the energy storage stands. The stands for residential/behind the meter storage offerings were really buzzing; Sonnen, SolarWatt, Varta, SENEC, Mercedes Benz, E3/DC, all packed during the day, and for the post show parties. Germany is clearly the leader in deployment of residential storage, and it is expected that these companies make a big splash in their home markets, but there was a big international interest in all these stands too, especially from Italy and the UK, I even bumped into guys from Australia!
There is still a focus on Lithium batteries as they continue to dominate sales, and defy predictions with continued price reductions, but it was good to catch up with contacts in flow batteries, fuel cells, power to gas, supercaps and other storage technologies. The technologies, like the show have really evolved over the last 2-3 years. We work with clients at all scales, from Kilowatts to Megawatts, and across chemistries and mechanical solutions, so all corners of the halls were explored.
Of course the event is great to meet contacts and friends built up over ten years in the industry, to share a coffee, pretzel or beer and some industry news and views, but it is also a time to learn and meet new talent. New companies, technologies and talent are vital to the industry and for our continued growth. After all, that is what we do, find the best talent for our clients in solar, energy storage, and increasingly e-mobility. With that in mind I’ll keep it short, there is lots of post show follow-up to do, and plenty of super jobs we’re in the middle of recruiting. If you are interested in the latest opportunities follow our company Linked In page, or visit the website.
