On June 10, 2011, the third and final day of Intersolar Europe drew to a close with new records set for both exhibitor and visitor numbers. Following a provisional analysis of the numbers performed on the final day of the event, the final figures for the exhibition are now in. This year 2,286 companies exhibited at Intersolar Europe. Added to this, a total of 76,738 visitors from Germany and abroad attended the world’s largest exhibition for the solar industry. The Intersolar Europe Conference and its side events, which ran in parallel to the exhibition from June 6-10, 2011, attracted 2,543 attendees. However, even more important than the size of the exhibition is the great satisfaction shown among exhibitors and visitors: 96% of exhibitors plan to participate again next year and 98% of Press visitors rated the exhibition as either, ‘excellent’ or ‘good’.

The positive responses from exhibitors and visitors confirm that Intersolar Europe’s continue development of the breadth of its offerings is strongly resonating. Alongside the long-running topics of costs and efficiency, in 2011 the exhibition focused on future issues affecting the industry. In a range of forums and special exhibitions such as the PV Energy World, Intersolar Europe spotlighted specific issues and potential solutions concerning grid integration, energy storage, e-mobility and many other topics.

More Companies and Greater International Representation

The number of exhibitors rose from 1,884 in 2010 to 2,286 companies in 2011, or an increase of 21%. The entire solar industry value chain was represented at Intersolar Europe. 74% of exhibitors displayed products and solutions within photovoltaics and PV production technology. 11% of the companies exclusively exhibited solar thermal products, while 15% showcased innovations from both photovoltaics and solar thermal technology.

This year, 57% of companies exhibiting at Intersolar Europe came outside of Germany (2010: 53%). The event welcomed exhibitors from a total of 47 countries to Munich. The largest proportion of companies was from Germany, followed by China, Italy, Spain and Taiwan.

The swell in exhibitor numbers was accompanied by corresponding growth in exhibition space: 2011 saw companies occupying a total of 169,000 square meters of exhibition space in 15 exhibition halls and the venue’s outdoor exhibition area?an increase of 26% compared with 2010.

Visitors from All over the World

Interest from visitors also intensified in 2011. Organizers, Solar Promotion GmbH, Pforzheim, and Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe GmbH & Co. KG., were pleased to welcome 76,738 visitors from 154 countries across the world to Intersolar Europe. This total is 5% greater than last year. Accounting for 60% of the overall figure, visitors from Germany made up the largest contingent, followed by those from Italy, Austria, Switzerland and France.

The fact that industry professionals made up 94% of the visitor numbers reaffirmed Intersolar Europe’s role as the world’s largest exhibition for the solar industry.

Intersolar Europe Conference Shines with New Conference Committee

In 2011, 2,534 participants from 60 countries attended the Intersolar Europe Conference and its side events?14% more than in 2010. 90% of all attendees were decision makers within their companies.

This year’s most-visited events were the ‘CEO Panel Discussion’, the sessions ‘PV Power Plants’, ‘Global Markets?Future Prospects’ and ‘European Markets?Future Prospects’, and the ‘7th Advanced PV Manufacturing Forum’.

In order to ensure that development of the event continues at a high level in future, 2011 marked the debut of the Intersolar Europe Conference Committee, a first-class panel whose members are all internationally recognized experts. It comprises a Chairman for each of the fields of photovoltaics and solar thermal technology, as well as an Advisory Board and an Industry Board. This year’s Chairman for photovoltaics was Professor Dr. Gerhard P. Willeke, photovoltaics coordinator at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) in Freiburg. Dr.-Ing. Harald Druck, head of the Research and Testing Center for Thermal Solar Systems (TZS) at the Institute for Thermodynamics and Thermal Engineering (ITW), University of Stuttgart, acted as the first Chairman for solar thermal technology.