With the official Closing Session, the 24th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy
Conference and Exhibition in Hamburg (24th EU PVSEC) ended on Friday after five
very busy days. Until Thursday, 943 international manufacturers, suppliers and
service providers covering every aspect of photovoltaics took part as
exhibitors, attracting over 40,000 visitors. The share of international visitors
amounted to more than 50%.
During the 24th EU PVSEC, many new trends and
developments in photovoltaics were presented and up for discussion. Among the
many topics covered, the debate centred on new cell concepts for the future,
increased automation in production, and standardisation. New manufacturing
processes and production machinery for silicon and thin-film technology were
showcased on the 65,000 sqm exhibition area. Numerous exhibitors even displayed
entire production lines, some of them operating. Cutting-edge measurement and
control equipment for quality assurance in cell manufacturing was also unveiled.
Production samples of large panels of glass with a photovoltaic finish
illustrated the rapid advances being made in the field of thin-film solar
technology. The 24th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and
Exhibition is the largest trade show in the photovoltaics industry, and also the
one with the highest number of operational exhibits.
The international
scientific Conference of the 24th EU PVSEC, which ran from September 21 to 25,
2009, attracted 4295 delegates. A broad spectrum of topics spanning every area
of photovoltaics was on offer on each of the conference's five days.
The
keynote speech by David Nelson, Senior Partner and Head of Design at Foster +
Partners, London, UK, was among the event's highlights. In his speech entitled
"Sustainability and the Future of the City", David Nelson presented his thoughts
on the objectives of responsible architectural planning. Making reference to the
new zero-emissions Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, he illustrated how the idea of
sustainability in architecture still harbours immense potential.
The PV
Policy Debate focusing on the "EU Renewable Energy Directive" on Tuesday,
September 22, marked another highlight of the 24th EU PVSEC. The international
panel discussed the impact of the "EU Renewable Energy Directive" on the
European PV industry and on PV markets. A lively debate including high-ranking
specialists from throughout the European Union and the USA was chaired by Roger
Harrabin, Environment Analyst for BBC News, UK.
In the course of the 24th
EU PVSEC, the 6th European PV Industry Forum presented on Wednesday, September
23, the results of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association’s and AT
Kearney’s study ‘SET for 2020’. The study establishes a vision
for the industry to achieve a market share of up to 12% in the electricity
sector in Europe by 2020. Michael Splinter of Applied Materials gave the
industry perspective on this goal and Hans-Josef Fell, Member of the German
Bundestag, discussed the feed-in-tariff’s decisive contribution to the
development of PV. Interesting presentations on the topic were also given by the
key stakeholders outside of the PV community. Moving towards smart cities,
designing smart grids, the role of energy storage and the breakthroughs in
electric vehicles were all emphasized as areas where the PV industry should work
together in close collaboration with the other relevant industries to achieve
this 2020 goal.
All areas of photovoltaics were covered in more than
1,300 plenary and specialist presentations as well as visual poster
presentations. Papers on the new organic photovoltaic cells generated particular
interest.
Prof. Wim Sinke, from the ECN Energy Research Centre of the
Netherlands, acted as General Conference Chairman, comments: “This 24th European
Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition was held at the right moment
in time and has generated important messages for the PV sector itself, for
governments working on their national action plans to reach the EU 2020 targets
and for society as a whole. There is not a trace of doubt that PV solar energy
is crucial for the transition to a sustainable energy system. Globally, on a
European level, and on country level. It is not just a long term option, but a
short term reality which should have a clear position in these action plans. To
contribute to the 2020 targets and to lay the foundation for much bigger
contributions after that. I am convinced that the problems the PV sector faces
at this moment are no more than ripples on a robust trend of growth for decades
to come.”
Dr. Peter Helm, Executive Conference Director stated:
"Photovoltaics has ample scope for development. In fact, it is still in its
infancy. Over the next few years we will see the appearance of cell concepts
offering much higher performance. The research results are quite clear about
that. The 24th EU PVSEC is the most important international platform for
presenting and discussing such developments."
In his speech to the
Closing Session of the 24th EU PVSEC, Dr. Heinz Ossenbrink of the European
Commission’s Joint Research Centre, and Technical Programme Chairman, emphasized
the progress PV technologies have demonstrated during this Conference. “The
costs will continue to decrease with the results achieved in terms of
processing, material consumption, high and volume manufacturing equipment. There
also is a very dynamic and innovative community presenting entirely new concepts
and announcing new technology start-ups. In the upcoming 12 months until the
next EU PVSEC many unknowns of this week, such as the impact of Europe’s
Renewably Energy Directive, the financial crisis, commitment to CO2 reductions
or even changed governments will have a major impact on the progress of PV solar
energy.“
The Conference Executive Committee of the 24th EU PVSEC
announced during the event that next year's 25th European Photovoltaic Solar
Energy Conference and Exhibition will be a joint Conference with the 5th World
Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion.
The 5th World Conference
on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion will unite the 3 most important scientific and
strategic conferences for the global PV solar sector: the 25th European
Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, the 36th US IEEE
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference and the 20th Asia/Pacific PV Science and
Engineering Conference.
This event will take place in Valencia, Spain,
from September 6-10, 2010 (Conference: September 6-10, 2010 - Exhibition:
September 6-9, 2010).
For further information, please visit:
www.photovoltaic-conference.com
or contact the:
Press Office of the
24th EU PVSEC
MetaCom Corporate Communications GmbH
Bruchköbeler Landstr.
37, 63452 Hanau, Germany, Fax: +49 6181 9828010
Yvonne Meyer-Grandpierre,
e-mail:
[email protected]
Tel.: +49 6181 9828042, Mobile: +49
160 98950324
Bernhard Krause, e-mail:
[email protected]
Tel.:
+49 6181 9828020, Mobile: +49 170 9202924