Due to Covid pandemic concerns, the organizers of The smarter E Europe and its four concurrent energy exhibitions – Intersolar Europe, ees Europe, Power2Drive Europe and EM-Power Europe – have decided that the event will not take place from July 21–23, 2021. Instead, The Smarter E Europe Restart 2021 is now scheduled to be staged about 2.5 months later at the same location, Messe München from October 6–8 2021.
This decision comes in the wake of German policy makers not giving a clear go ahead for the event, despite the current developments surrounding vaccinations and rapid testing in Europe, and the comprehensive health and safety plan prepared by the organizers.
Explaining the postponement, CEO of Solar Promotion GmbH Markus Elsässer said, "We came to this decision in close coordination with the industry's international associations. We knew that everyone involved – from exhibitors, visitors and conference attendees to speakers, sponsors and ourselves as organizers – was in the process of making their final arrangements and that, in the interests of planning, we couldn't delay making a decision."
However, The smarter E Industry Days, including the AWARD Ceremony, will take place online from July 21–23, 2021, the dates on which the in-person event should have been held. The online event will include keynote speeches on the latest industry trends, product presentations, panel discussions, interactive workshops and digital factory tours from exhibitors. The winners of The smarter E AWARD, Intersolar AWARD and ees AWARD 2021 will also be honored on a virtual stage during the Industry Days.
The move of the physical event from July to October is the second rescheduling; originally, the smarter E Europe was planned to be held in June.