The smarter E AWARD – Championing the Energy Game-Changers
Focusing on intelligently connected concepts and solutions for the efficient generation, storage and use of energy, The smarter E is the world's leading exhibition and conference series for the new energy world. The innovation hub unites the four exhibitions Intersolar, ees, Power2Drive and EM-Power to take an in-depth look at cross-sector solutions and technologies for an intelligent, sustainable and cost-effective energy supply.
This cross-sector approach can only be driven by innovations.This is why The smarter E AWARD shines a spotlight on solutions and concepts that draw on renewable energy, decentralization, and digitalization to intelligently connect all aspects of energy in the electricity, heating and transportation sectors. The renewable energy award pays tribute to these innovations in two categories: The Outstanding Projects category recognizes realized projects undertaken in the areas of solar, storage, energy management and clean transportation, while the Smart Renewable Energy category honors innovative business models and intelligent solutions in the area of sector coupling.
Category Outstanding Projects
Innovation is driven by role models and pioneers. That is why we are looking for outstanding projects or products that have been incorporated into a global project in the field of renewable energies. The projects need to be exemplary for global future applications, unique in their expression and realization, and must have been fully completed between March 2019 and March 2021.
The smarter E AWARD in the category Outstanding Projetcs honors realized projects in:
- Energy storage (with/without PV)
- Grid infrastructure and solutions for the integration of renewable energies
- PV applications (residential, industrial and commercial use)
- Solar thermal applications
- Energy management/energy services
- Decentralized energy systems
- Utility-scale projects
- Energy autonomous regions
- Micro-grid/Off-grid solutions
- Charging infrastructure/e-mobility
Category Smart Renewable Energy
The future of renewables in the energy supply depends strongly on digitalization along the whole value-added chain – as this is the only way to ensure that power from decentralized and disparate volatile energy sources is optimally integrated into the grid. Numerous new digital services, products and solutions will control the decentralized energy market flexibly and safely, and in doing so, optimally coordinate generation and consumption.
The smarter E AWARD in the category Smart Renewable Energy honors products and concepts in:
- Sector coupling
(e.g. vehicle-to-grid, power-to-x like power-to-heat or power-to-gas) - Grid Infrastructure
(e.g. solutions and technologies for smart grids, micro grids or network stabilization) - Digitization
(e.g. blockchain, internet of things/energy, energy management) - Business models for power trading & marketing
(e.g. cloud solutions)
The smarter E AWARD Winners 2021
Innovative business models, projects and products were presented by the winners of The smarter E AWARD 2021. This year, the lucky winners were honored in a virtual AWARD Ceremony, which was attended by viewers from all over the world via live stream.
The award in the category Outstanding Projects was presented to:
- BayWa r.e. Solar Projects GmbH (Germany)
- Boreal Light GmbH (Germany)
- Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy GmbH & Co. KG (Germany)
The award in the category Smart Renewable Energy was presented to:
- HPS Home Power Solution GmbH (Germany)
The smarter E AWARD Finalists 2021
Category Outstanding Projects
The finalists of The smarter E AWARD 2021 have been selected:
- BayWa r.e. Solar Projects GmbH (Germany)
- Boreal Light GmbH (Germany)
- Gold Road Resources/Unlimited Energy Australia (Australia)
- Kearsarge Energy (USA)
- Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy GmbH & Co. KG (Germany)
- SOCOMEC (France)
The smarter E AWARD Finalists 2021
Category Smart Renewable Energy
The finalists of The smarter E AWARD 2021 in the category Smart Renewable Energy have been selected:
- HPS Home Power Solution GmbH (Germany)
- BentoNet GmbH (Germany)
- Smappee NV (Belgium)
- The Mobility House GmbH (Germany)
Virtual AWARD Ceremony
Every year, the official AWARD Ceremony reveals the winners of The smarter E, Intersolar and ees AWARD.
In order to guarantee the visibility promised and to honor the industry’s innovations on an international stage in spite of the current situation, this year's AWARD Ceremony for The smarter E AWARD, Intersolar AWARD and ees AWARD was held online on the first day of The smarter E Industry Days on July 21, 2021.
Testimonials of The smarter E AWARD
Martin Hackl
Global Director Solar Energy, Fronius International GmbH
The smarter E AWARD Winner 2020 - Smart Renewable Energy
„Winning the Smarter E AWARD 2020 increased the awareness of our Solhub, a system solution for producing, storing and using green hydrogen. It is the perfect decentralized refuelling station for ecologically produced, green hydrogen, in particular for heavy-goods and long-distance transport. Companies and other organisations can produce their own green hydrogen from solar and wind power and power their vehicles using fuel cells without producing any emissions."
Sajjad Khan
Galapagos General Project Manager, Siemens AG
The smarter E AWARD Winner 2019 – Outstanding Projects
“The Smarter E Award is a great recognition for our pioneering hybrid solution based on 100% renewables on the Galápagos Islands. It underlines the future-proof approach of this first of its kind local energy system, which replaces diesel and eliminates the associated environmental risks. And, of course, it pays great tribute to all our colleagues worldwide who contributed to the project’s outstanding success.“
Christian Neumann & Christian Reetz
CEOs, mondas GmbH
The smarter E AWARD Winner 2019 – Outstanding Projects
"Our innovative IoT-webplatform was in great demand at The smarter E in Munich. The Smarter E AWARD attracted numerous potential customers who visited our booth. We had the chance to show them how we can help to reduce maintenance and operation cost for their assets. Many Thanks to the jury and The smarter E team for providing us with such a convenient possibilty to meet highly qualified professionals."
Stefan Ulfert, Marcus Vietzke & Stephan Luckow
CMO, CEO & CTO, ready2plugin
The smarter E AWARD Winner 2018 – Smart Renewable Energy
"It’s incredible to see how much momentum we gained after winning – and it hasn’t let up even now. Both the award itself and the reaction we met with confirmed to us that experts and market players value our technology as a major step towards democratizing the energy transition."
Evaluation Criteria The smarter E AWARD
Outstanding Projects
A. Pioneering Character (30%)
- Exemplary effect of the project and the impact on the use of renewable energy
B. Uniqueness (15%)
- Uniqueness of the project compared to existing solutions and applications
C. Economic Benefits (10%)
- Economic benefits for the owner or operator of the project
- Demand, markets and marketing strategy
D. Benefits for the Environment and Society (10%)
- Environmental benefits and socially relevant features
E. Degree of Technological Innovation (20%)
- Technological advancement
- Technological creativity and quality
F. Proof of Innovation (10%)
- Completeness and conclusiveness of the proof
G. Presentation (5%)
- Format and quality of description and presentation
- Extent of application documentation
Smart Renewable Energy
A. Degree of Innovation (35%)
- Advancement / Innovation
- Smartness
- Uniqueness
B. Technical and Environmental Benefits (25%)
- Technological benefits
- Environmental benefits and socially relevant features
C. Economic Benefits (25%)
- Cost benefits
- Market and marketing
- Pricing
D. Proof of Innovation (10%)
- Completness and conclusiveness of the proof
E. Presentation (5%)
- Format and quality of description and presentation
- Extent of application documentation
The smarter E AWARD Jury
AWARD Jury of the category Outstanding Projects
Jonathan Gifford
Editor in Chief - pv magazine global edition
pv magazine group GmbH & Co. KG
Nina Munzke
Team Leader Stationary Storage Systems
Karlsruhe Institut of Technology (KIT)
Hans-Christoph Neidlein
Senior Editor at pv Europe
Alfons W. Gentner Verlag GmbH & Co. KG
Camila Ramos
Managing Director
CELA - Clean Energy Latin America
Prof. Juzer Vasi
Professor at Department of Electrical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Dr. Sean White
Professor & IREC Certified Master Trainer
Diablo Valley College & White House Solar
AWARD Jury of the category Smart Renewable Energy
Dr. Martin Ammon
General Manager, Head of Energy Management
EuPD Research Sustainable Management GmbH
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Roland Dittmeyer
Director Institute for Micro Process Engineering
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Prof. Dr. Volker Quaschning
Professor for Renewable Energy Systems
University of Applied Sciences HTW Berlin
Fabian Reetz
Project Director Digital Energy Transition
100 Percent Renewable Foundation