Closing report: Record number of visitors and exhibitors at the 20th Annual Conference of the German Biogas Association with BIOGAS Trade Fair
Discussions focused on amendment of Renewable Energy Act 342 exhibitors and 6,911 trade visitors and conference participants
The German Biogas Association celebrated a brilliant 20th anniversary in the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg from 11–13 January 2011. 6,911* trade visitors and conference participants (some 30% more than the previous year) poured into the BIOGAS Annual Conference and Trade Fair and confirmed this event as the key forum for the European biogas industry. 342 exhibitors (+20% over the previous year) presented their innovative products and services. The biogas industry achieved remarkable growth again in 2010. The biogas experts were agreed that further development depends on the approaching amendment of the Renewable Energy Act (German EEG).
“We are delighted with the success of the conference and more records for the number of visitors and exhibitors. These reflect the present positive situation in the industry,” said Dr.Claudius da Costa Gomez, General Manager of the German Biogas Association – and then qualified his pleasure in the very next sentence: “However, it also became clear in the talks and discussions at the conference that the players are very worried by the current debate on the amendment of the Renewable Energy Act.”
To mark the 20th anniversary of the event, a special show took visitors back to the beginnings of the conference and illustrated the rapid development of the industry at the same time. NürnbergMesse also congratulated the association on this success: “We and the association are pleased about the extremely positive development of the event. The BIOGAS Annual Conference and Trade Fair also creates an impressive start to the new event year here in Nürnberg,” says Claudia Reindl, Exhibition Director of the BIOGAS Trade Fair at NürnbergMesse.
At the first Annual Conference in 1991, less than 100 participants met at the conference sessions on topics such as “Biogas for Emancipation” and represented a niche industry. The use of biogas developed into a major economic motor in rural regions in the following 20 years. The boom and professionalization of the industry are reflected in the synchronous growth of the conference and trade fair. Besides the technical discussion on improved plant efficiency, attention at the plenary sessions and in the exhibition halls was focused particularly on the amendment of the Renewable Energy Act.
Anniversary conference influenced by Renewable Energy ActThe plenary sessions at the 20th anniversary conference covered a total of 28 expert presentations. The majority of the conference participants (66%) were particularly interested in the “EEG 2012” block, followed by “Higher Efficiency and Plant Optimization” (43%) and “Grassland: Alternatives to Corn (36%). Twelve workshops dealt in depth with current issues like “Potential and Opportunities of Various Export Markets” and “Legal Regulations on the Use of Biogenic Residues”. The panel discussion on the Renewable Energy Act 2012 was the highlight of the programme and filled every single one of the 1,000 seats in the plenary hall. Representatives from the five German parliamentary party groups and Josef Pellmeyer from the German Biogas Association discussed the pending amendment to the act and the discussion was chaired by Detlef Steinert from the DLZ Agrarmagazin. Despite different opinions, there was broad agreement that renewable forms of energy are already a success story and that a dependable government policy is a basic requirement for keeping the multitalented biogas fit for the future. That biogas is an issue with a future was also shown by the parallel events “Biogas for Municipalities” and “Biogas for Newcomers”, which attracted an outstanding response. The descriptive study tours the day after the annual conference were also very popular again. The tours visited various renewable raw material, waste and gas injection plants in the Nürnberg area.
Association honours deserving figures on the biogas sceneThe traditional presentation of the Dr. Heinz Schulz Medal of Honour to deserving figures on the biogas scene took place on the second day of the annual conference. Dr. Rupert Schäfer from the Bavarian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry received the award for his political support in expanding the use of biogas. The biogas pioneer Ekkehard Schneider received the award in his absence for his indefatigable commitment long before the first annual conference. The third person to receive the medal was Dr. Dörte Fouquet. The lawyer was honoured for her “unrelenting commitment as a lone fighter and spearhead for small producers in the battle against the industry’s big players”.
Largest BIOGAS trade fair worldwideMost of the 342 exhibitors were manufacturers and suppliers of plant components (52 %), planners and manufacturers of biogas plants (10 %) and service providers / consulting firms (15 %). There were also companies in Nürnberg from the segments of renewable raw materials, substrate provision, agricultural engineering and biomass logistics. Virtually all exhibitors (98 %) said they had reached their major target groups. These came from various fields of activity: operators of biogas plants (77 %), companies from the biogas industry (55 %) and farmers (59 %) made up the largest groups. Energy utilities (12 %), banks and investors (11 %) and institutions / organizations (7 %, multiple answers possible) were also represented. Nine out of ten exhibitors (96 %) were satisfied with the professional competence of the visitors. The newly introduced Exhibitors Forum proved its worth as an extra platform for dialogue between visitors and exhibitors. At 31 practically orientated short presentations followed by discussions, representatives of the exhibiting companies spoke on topics such as “Safety in Biogas Plants” or “Improving Gas Output with Optimized Fermenter Feeding”. There was also a job market for the first time. The 50 vacancies advertised by the exhibiting companies clearly showed that the biogas segment is an employment market with a future. 85 % per cent of the companies currently intend to take part in the next BIOGAS Annual Conference and Trade Fair in Bremen.
International demand for German biogas technologyGerman biogas technology is meanwhile in demand in many countries. Besides the specialists from all over Germany, eleven per cent of the visitors in Nuremberg came from other countries. The biogas experts were not only from European countries like Austria, Switzerland, France or Hungary, but even travelled to Nürnberg from North America, Asia and Australia. Simultaneous translation of all presentations was available for these international guests. The strongest groups of visitors came from the sectors of agriculture (26 %), biogas plant operators (26 %), plant manufacturers (8 %) and planners from the biogas industry (8 %).
Date in 2012! The 21st Annual Conference of the German Biogas Association with BIOGAS Trade Fair takes place in Bremen from 10–12 January 2012.
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