The leading international trade fair for PV production technology, and the accompanying international conference series, will take place in Stuttgart starting in 2010. Moreover, the trade fair’s scope is being expanded. Next year, the trade fair for production equipment, modules, inverters, mounting systems (BOS), and solar industry research will take place between April 27th and 29th. The trade fair and conference organizer is PV publisher PHOTON Europe GmbH.
This year, the Photovoltaic Technology Show Europe met from March 4th to 6th in Munich. In just one year, the number of exhibitors grew from 176 to 295. The number of visitors at the trade fair and conference series rose from 7,800 to more than 10,000. Moreover, at the investor conference, CEOs from the world’s leading PV companies met to discuss the current state of the PV industry. “Even if financing for many projects has stagnated, temporarily, the PV industry continues to grow, despite the financial crisis,” says Anne Kreutzmann, editor in chief of solar electricity magazine PHOTON.
“One of the trade fair’s focuses is mechanical engineering. By moving to Stuttgart, the trade fair will be closer to several machinery builders’ company headquarters. The trade fair’s expansion into the areas of modules, inverters, mounting systems (BOS), and research is a reflection of our effort to meet the needs of manufacturers who want a pure, expert PV trade fair. The Stuttgart convention center is the most modern in Europe, and offers a better infrastructure for exhibitors and visitors. This is true not only in regard to hotel capacity near the convention center, but the possibilities for reaching the trade fair with public transportation,” explained Philippe Welter, commercial director at PHOTON, explaining the reasons for the move, and its root in the consistent growth across the last three trade fairs held in Munich.
The trade fair and conference series is organized by PHOTON Europe GmbH, the world’s largest publishing house for periodicals in the area of solar electricity. PHOTON releases solar electricity magazines in English, German, Spanish, Italian, and Chinese, as well as a consumer magazine titled Haus+Energie.
At this year’s investor conference, representatives from PV companies such as REC, Q-Cells, First Solar, Sunpower, Solarworld, Applied Materials, GT Solar, Yingli, Centrotherm and Suntech, among others, discussed the current state of the industry. Most companies predicted further growth, although they recognized that lack of available credit was an obstruction to growth. For instance, Q-Cells’ CEO Anton Milner predicted that the solar industry would enjoy continued strong growth, although no longer at the rate it had experienced over the last three years. Investments in PV systems are currently very lucrative for buyers. Jerry Stokes, European president of Chinese PV company Suntech, believes his company will be successful, despite uncertain times. Suntech currently employs more than 250 workers in the area of research and development, and has low production costs. Furthermore, the prices for the silicon are dropping rapidly. Steve Gyoerffy from German PV system house Geckologic expects PV system prices to fall by 20 percent in Germany this year -- that in turn means installation statistics will be much higher thus year.
Most participants agreed that any potential dip in growth would be temporary. Thus interest at the trade fair in innovative production equipment hasn’t waned. Philippe Welter: “PV production equipment exhibitors are very satisfied with the trade fair’s progress.”
This year, the Photovoltaic Technology Show Europe met from March 4th to 6th in Munich. In just one year, the number of exhibitors grew from 176 to 295. The number of visitors at the trade fair and conference series rose from 7,800 to more than 10,000. Moreover, at the investor conference, CEOs from the world’s leading PV companies met to discuss the current state of the PV industry. “Even if financing for many projects has stagnated, temporarily, the PV industry continues to grow, despite the financial crisis,” says Anne Kreutzmann, editor in chief of solar electricity magazine PHOTON.
“One of the trade fair’s focuses is mechanical engineering. By moving to Stuttgart, the trade fair will be closer to several machinery builders’ company headquarters. The trade fair’s expansion into the areas of modules, inverters, mounting systems (BOS), and research is a reflection of our effort to meet the needs of manufacturers who want a pure, expert PV trade fair. The Stuttgart convention center is the most modern in Europe, and offers a better infrastructure for exhibitors and visitors. This is true not only in regard to hotel capacity near the convention center, but the possibilities for reaching the trade fair with public transportation,” explained Philippe Welter, commercial director at PHOTON, explaining the reasons for the move, and its root in the consistent growth across the last three trade fairs held in Munich.
The trade fair and conference series is organized by PHOTON Europe GmbH, the world’s largest publishing house for periodicals in the area of solar electricity. PHOTON releases solar electricity magazines in English, German, Spanish, Italian, and Chinese, as well as a consumer magazine titled Haus+Energie.
At this year’s investor conference, representatives from PV companies such as REC, Q-Cells, First Solar, Sunpower, Solarworld, Applied Materials, GT Solar, Yingli, Centrotherm and Suntech, among others, discussed the current state of the industry. Most companies predicted further growth, although they recognized that lack of available credit was an obstruction to growth. For instance, Q-Cells’ CEO Anton Milner predicted that the solar industry would enjoy continued strong growth, although no longer at the rate it had experienced over the last three years. Investments in PV systems are currently very lucrative for buyers. Jerry Stokes, European president of Chinese PV company Suntech, believes his company will be successful, despite uncertain times. Suntech currently employs more than 250 workers in the area of research and development, and has low production costs. Furthermore, the prices for the silicon are dropping rapidly. Steve Gyoerffy from German PV system house Geckologic expects PV system prices to fall by 20 percent in Germany this year -- that in turn means installation statistics will be much higher thus year.
Most participants agreed that any potential dip in growth would be temporary. Thus interest at the trade fair in innovative production equipment hasn’t waned. Philippe Welter: “PV production equipment exhibitors are very satisfied with the trade fair’s progress.”
