From market trends and energy storage to the expansion of offshore wind farms, and through to global growth potential: WindEnergy Hamburg’s six stages will bring together thought leaders from the worlds of business, science and politics. Around 300 international experts will discuss the key challenges and opportunities arising from the energy transition, making the world’s leading wind industry fair the sector’s foremost meeting place for knowledge transfer, innovation and networking.

Just a few weeks left until the start of WindEnergy Hamburg, the global wind industry’s top event. Around 43,000 participants from around the world are expected to attend the fair from 22 to 25 September, eager to experience the innovations showcased by over 1,600 exhibitors while using the four-day event to establish and renew profitable business ties. Hamburg’s First Mayor, Dr Peter Tschentscher, will personally open WindEnergy Hamburg, highlighting the city’s role as a wind industry hub.

The exhibition will feature a comprehensive and varied shoulder programme addressing all of the industry’s key topics. “Together with our partners from the industry and the participating professional organisations, we are going to present a veritable fireworks display of on-stage panel discussions featuring leading experts,” says Andreas Arnheim,Director WindEnergy Hamburg and WindEnergy Asia-Pacific powered by RECHARGE. Roughly 300 top-flight speakers will lecture, present and discuss on six open stages.

© Hamburg Messe und Congress / René Zieger

More power – the sustainable way

The “Market Trends and 2030 Outlook” block will kick off the programme on the Energy Transition Stage in Hall B6. Tinne van der Straten, CEO of WindEurope, and two analysts from her association will explore current trends. WindEurope will also be hosting the “Coexistence at Sea” series addressing the impact of offshore wind farms on marine ecosystems and human activities such as fisheries. The featured experts will include Kristin Blasche, Environment & Permitting Manager at the leading wind farm operator Ørsted, Dujon Goncalves-Collins, Principal Advisor at RWE Offshore Wind, and Ecowende Manager Hermione van Zutphen.

Dr. Dennis Rendschmidt, Managing Director of VDMA Power Systems, Europe’s leading equipment engineering industry association, will moderate a panel discussion of industry leaders on the importance of wind energy for energy security in Europe.

Repowering, the replacement of older wind turbines by more advanced and powerful models to increase wind farm output, can give renewable energy a real boost. The question how best to harness the potential of this strategy will be examined jointly by Alberto Clavarino, Head of Business Development at the Italian electricity supplier ERG,Laurie Gilbert, Head of Repowering at Q Energy France, and Juan Virgilio Márquez López, CEO of the Spanish wind energy association AEE.

Ways to make renewables more flexible, profitable and resilient will be the subject of a discussion panel on the Energy Storage Stage in Hall A2. Coinciding with the trade fair’s new focus on energy storage, which is showcased in a hall of its own for the first time, the panel will delve into smart integration of storage technologies, especially battery arrays, in renewable energy projects.

Global growth potential

Equally inspiring insights into the offshore scene should result from the speeches and discussions on the Offshore Stage in Hall B5. The first session of the programme organised by the World Forum Offshore Wind (WFO) will investigate whether the offshore segment is about to experience another boom. The list of panellists includes Ditlev Engel, CEO of DNV Energy Systems, Christine Healy, President & CEO of the Canadian energy supplier Northland Power, and Skyborn CEO Patrick Lammers. The German offshore market will be the focus of a discussion between Holger Grubel, Vice President Portfolio Development Offshore at EnBW, Iberdrola Germany CEO Felipe Montero and others. From project planning and regulatory issues to efficiency improvements, the conference speakers will look into all the challenges facing the offshore segment. For example, questions surrounding the global supply chain will be tabled when Stefan Thimm, Managing Director of the Federal Association of Offshore Wind Energy (BWO), talks to the European heads of Dajin Heavy Industries and Ming Yang,Jarosław Łasiński and Horatio Evers.

© Hamburg Messe und Congress / Romanus Fuhrmann

The programme of the Global Markets Theatre in Hall B1 will be hosted by experts from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). With Vice CEO Rebecca Williams among the moderators, the agenda will address topics such as grid expansion, future perspectives of offshore wind farms, or market potential in Asia, Africa and South America. Representatives of organisations like Iberdrola, the World Bank, the geo-data specialist FUGRO, the Chinese offshore equipment supplier Dajin Heavy Industries or the wind turbine manufacturer Vestas will be on the discussion panels.

Recruiting qualified personnel is a key prerequisite for the industry’s continued growth. At the Recruiting Forum in Hall B3 on Thursday and Friday, human resources managers from companies such as wind farm developer wpd and Austria’s biggest energy company VERBUND will highlight career opportunities at their organisations. Players like Deutsche Windtechnik hope to meet “highly motivated pupils and university students who are ready to get involved and embark on a professional career in renewable energy” at the forum, says Mareen Athene Rohde, Team Lead Recruiting & People Development.

The Speakers’ Corner in Hall A3 will cover an especially wide range of topics. Representatives of companies from segments as diverse as equipment engineering and digitalisation will deliver keynote speeches on innovative products. “This compact format provides an opportunity to present solution concepts for highly specific challenges,” says Claus-Ulrich Selbach, Vice President Exhibitions Maritime & Energy at Hamburg Messe und Congress. This underlines the ambition of the world’s leading wind industry fair to encourage knowledge-sharing on a broad basis, he adds. For an even more personal exchange, the numerous well-established networking formats, such as the popular daily Wine o’clock gatherings on all stages, will provide a suitably relaxed ambience.