Hamburg’s 2018 Global Wind Summit to discuss energy storage and flexible innovations

The 2018 Global Wind Summit in Hamburg has officially begun, having opened with a senate reception in Hamburg City Hall.

The summit is expected to include 1,400 exhibitors with 35,000 trade visitors set to attend. Over 50 conference sessions will take place this week including more than 500 speakers and presenters.

Each day of the summit will deal with a distinct theme. Day one (Tuesday) will focus on electrification and sector-coupling; day two will look at digital wind and new technologies; day three will focus on the wind industry in a merchant environment; and day four will consider a long-term outlook at the wind industry, including new markets.

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The summit is described as the most important and largest meeting of the wind energy sector in the world. At the opening ceremony, Mayor of Hamburg Dr Peter Tscentscher said: “Hamburg backs the energy transition. More than 20,000 people work in the renewable energy sector in the metropolitan region, two thirds of them in the wind sector.

“Research institutes, startups and innovative companies are working together on solutions for high-performance wind turbines, flexible and efficient grids and modern storage and conversion technology. The ‘Global Wind Summit’ brings the entire industry to the Elbe to shape the future of wind energy.”

Among other innovations, GE’s new Cypress platform will be showcased, which promises an innovative, more efficient solution to wind energy production which is set to be more flexible, with lower logistics costs than previous models.

Wind energy storage is also set to be a key issue, with Hans-Dieter Kettwig, managing director of OEM Enercon, stating that the wind sector needs to pool its knowledge with other sectors and more action should be taken to expand storage as well as electricity networks.

Another key issue on everyone’s lips is how to globalise the industry and look at new markets rather then just the current leaders. On Thursday, members of government, educational institutions and wind companies will discuss the potential for offshore wind in Poland, while other events will look at how facilities can be more flexible for the needs of emerging markets.

Some notable attendees to look out for this week include Ivor Catto, Chair of WindEurope, Hermann Albers, CEO of BWE, Philippe Kavafya, CEO of MHI Vestas and Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath, CEO of E.ON Climate & Renewables.