Report from Intersolar Europe in Munich

SOL POWER was back in Munich again this year for Europe’s biggest solar and renewable energy convention, Intersolar. We attend this event every year to learn about the latest technologies, meet directly with contacts at strategic manufacturers or suppliers and to gain insights on future developments in this renewable energy space. With the Euros happening in Germany at the same time we were also able to catch the Germany v Scotland game, courtesy of one of our manufacturer partners.

This is what we learnt:

Tesla Powerwall 3 Launch - This product is now available to buy in Europe. It is a AC & DC hybrid inverter, so can be used both as an AC-coupled battery to add to an existing solar system, as well as having an inbuilt DC to AC inverter so solar panels can be directly attached to it. They will also shortly work with Octopus Energy’s intelligent time of use tariffs. We also like that this product has 3 x MPPTs, giving more flexibility for adding panels arrays on different roof orientations.

Bidirectional EV Chargers - These are EV chargers that not only allow your EV to be charged from the grid or solar panels, but also allow for the energy stored in your battery to be used to supply your home or to be exported to the grid. The vehicles themselves need to be compatible with bidirectional functionality but we saw a lot more offerings in this space. Our partner, Sigenergy, has also launched the “SigenStor DC-coupled charging module”, which charges compatible EVs with DC power directly from the the solar panels, as opposed to the current standard of EVs needing AC power to charge.

High-efficiency Solar Panels - Halls A1 to A6 were packed full of solar panel manufacturers boasting efficiencies of up to 24%, but what really caught our eye was AIKO’s shading optimization design which limits the impact of shading on the panel and can lead to much better production. Panels could be up on the roof for 30+ years and it is a big benefit of having panels that can perform well even if partially soiled or shaded. 

Heat Pump “integration” - Solar or battery manufacturers are adding heat pumps to their line of products that aesthetically match other products, but there seems to be little in the way of optimisation of them to make them work any better with solar or batteries. This is not to say that heat pumps and solar systems are not great bedfellows, but just that the “solar heat pumps” main selling point seems to be that customers can monitor the energy draw of their heat pump on the same app as their solar system.

Balcony solar - Perhaps of less relevance to the UK due to tighter regulations on simply plugging energy generating equipment into the home, but in mainland Europe 2 x solar panel kits with a small inverter can be hung on the balcony and plugged directly into a socket. Only 800W of electricity is allowed to be generated, but it is a great way for those without a suitable roof space to harness solar energy and cut their energy bills

Solar cells everywhere - There were a lot of companies showcasing products of solar cells being integrated into a wide range of products. This included solar panels with half the cells missing in order to let through light to hit the plants below (AgriPV), into commercial building paneling (BIPV), paving slabs, flexible sheets that can be glued onto surfaces that can’t hold standard panel weight and even full car bodies with the solar cells built into them that were barely visible to the naked eye.

It was another great event and the number of exhibitors and visitors continues to grow year on year. We spent the full 3 days at the event and even this didn’t feel enough time to see all that we wanted to.