Over 3 intense days of the debut edition of Energy Storage India (ESI) Conference and Exhibition came to a close on December 06, 2013 at the Nehru Centre in Mumbai attracting 306 delegates from 12 countries throughout the world. Jointly organized by Messe D?sseldorf India, Customized Energy Solutions and powered by India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA), ESI 2013 is the first energy storage Conference and Exhibition in India to focus exclusively on applications, customers and deal making.

The first staging of Energy Storage India Exhibition had 14 exhibitors showcasing innovative technologies and applications in the energy storage sector. The exhibitors include Panasonic, Dresser-Rand, EEI Italy, FIAMM Sonick, Ecoult, Eaton Technologies, Aartech Solonics, Imergy Energy (Erstwhile Deeya Energy), Local Grid Technologies, India Energy Exchange, India Smart Grid Forum, Alliance for Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE) and Customized Energy Solutions.

The 3 day event kicked off with 3 workshops providing delegates with an excellent overview of various energy storage technologies, opportunities for solar storage and wind storage integration. The technologies covered in the workshop and conference spanned complete range including electrochemical batteries such as advanced lead acid, Li-ion, flow batteries, ultra capacitors, flywheels, sodium nickel chloride, sodium sulphur, nickel iron as well as other forms of energy storage technologies including pumped hydro, compressed air energy storage, thermal storage and hydrogen storage.

The two day conference started with a keynote presentation by Dr Rahul Walawalkar (Executive Director, IESA) who provided the vision and roadmap for making India a key player in global energy storage industry while addressing various infrastructure challenges for residential usage. The conference covered the complete range of opportunities for advanced storage technologies in India including renewable integration, rural electrification, microgrids, smart cities, utility and industrial applications as well as electric transportation. The conference also included key policy makers such as Mr Reji Kumar Pillai (President of India Smart Grid Forum), Dr P C Pant (Head, Innovation and Energy Storage Research, Solar Energy Center, MNRE), Dr Rahul Tongia (Advisor, ISGF), Mr V L Sonavane (Member, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission), Mr Balwant Joshi (Idam Infra), Dr Ketan Shukla (Former Chairman , Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission) and Mr Jayant Deo (Former MD, India Energy Exchange), who shared their inputs on the regulatory environment and need of energy storage in India. The potential user perspectives were also provided by leading players in renewable industry from companies including Suzlon, Tata Power Solar, Solar Energy Corporation, MSEDCL, Reliance Power, IL&FS and Alliance for Energy Efficient Economy in India (AEEE).