11 Jan A New Format for the ESGC: Let’s Make it Hybrid
Challenge
Bi-annually, CLERENS organises the Energy Storage Global Conference (ESGC) on behalf of EASE – The European Association for Storage of Energy. The conference brings different players in the energy storage sector together to debate the latest developments in energy storage technologies, regulatory and policy frameworks, and the future of the market. This 3-day conference not only promotes energy storage technologies but also increases the revenue of the association.
The third edition of the ESGC was held in 2018 with the promise of the fourth edition come 2020. However, this traditionally physical event, along with the entirety of the events sector, faced the challenge of a global pandemic.
Solution
CLERENS assessed the feasibility of organising the conference during the sanitary crisis and advised EASE to postpone the conference to 2021 and transform the format of the conference from a physical event to a hybrid to give the audience the option of choosing their preferred way of participating.
For the first time, the ESGC was organised as a hybrid event: online and on-site, between 19-21 October 2021 in Brussels. To ensure the safety of the participants, the physical participation was limited to a hundred people in possession of the mandatory Covid Safe Ticket following Belgian governmental guidelines.
The online platform of the conference enabled participants to join different sessions, exchange business cards, organise meetings, start discussions and have access to the presentations as well as the recordings even after the conference ended.
Result
The fourth edition of the ESGC, covering market, policy and technology topics, closed with 350 participants, 130 speakers and 11 exhibitors, once again cementing itself as the leading event for the energy storage industry. Mr Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight, opened the conference highlighting that energy storage will be a crucial enabler for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
More information about ESGC is available here.