GENERA 2023 breaks its all-time record

The International Energy and Environment Trade Fair, GENERA 2023, held from 21 to 23 February at IFEMA MADRID, was an absolute success with an unprecedented professional attendance, reinforcing its status as a benchmark platform for the sector at a key moment characterised by the boom in the development of renewable energies, the interest in efficiency and self-consumption issues, and the great potential represented by the energy market in our country.

In overall figures, GENERA attracted a total of 35,107 visitors, an increase of 76% compared to the previous event. Also noteworthy is the 67% increase in the number of domestic visitors, and the consequent growth in professional attendance from all the Spanish Autonomous Regions. After Madrid, which accounted for 46% of the visits, the regions with the highest number of visitors were, in the following order, Valencia, Catalonia, Andalusia and Castile-La Mancha.

Even more striking was the growth in the number of international professionals, which at this event showed an increase of over 144%, with a total of 2,804 visitors from 63 countries. As far as Europe is concerned, attendance increased by 54.8%, with a notable presence of visitors from Portugal, Germany, Italy and France, although the presence of professionals from China this year is also worth mentioning.

The trade fair, organised by IFEMA MADRID, with the support of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, through the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving, IDAE, also showed strong growth in terms of participation this year, bringing together a total of 402 companies, representing an increase of 50.76% over the previous year. As for the origin of these exhibitors, 64.3% were Spanish companies and 35.68% were foreign companies from 21 countries, among which the presence of companies from China and Turkey was particularly noteworthy.

• High professional level of visitors

With regard to the profile of visitors according to their activity, the presence of managers, directors/CEOs (33.21%) was particularly noteworthy, followed by engineers (25.75%), the commercial segment (15.54%), consultants, analysts and specialists (8.45%), entrepreneurs and investors (4.50%) and students (3.33%). In terms of company activity, the majority of visitors belonged to energy services, installation and maintenance companies (31.27%) and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies (16.52%). In the analysis by sector, 31.88% of the visitors expressed interest in solar energy, while 13.46% showed interest in wind energy. Other sectors of interest include biomass (6.29%), cogeneration (5.70%), biomass energy (5.96%), energy from waste (5.33%), geothermal energy (7.64%), hydropower (7.31%) and marine energy (4.87%).

• Technical Conferences and activities at full capacity

GENERA's technical sessions were also very well attended, and all the auditoriums were at capacity. As every year, they complemented the commercial exhibition with spaces for analysis and debate on such important issues as energy transition and new models based on energy communities; energy storage; green hydrogen; self-consumption; and decarbonisation processes in the sector, among other topics. Moreover, FORO GENERA addressed new industrial and technological developments and financing schemes, among other proposals, and FORO GENERA SOLAR focused on decarbonisation in rural areas and the promotion of renewable energies in the context of rising inflation, among other issues. Meanwhile, as it does every year, GENERA's Innovation Gallery highlighted 16 projects with a clear technological innovation component, to showcase some of the lines of research in renewable energies and energy efficiency on which the sector is working.

GENERA was held to coincide with the International Renewable Energy Conference (SPIREC), organised by the Spanish Government, through the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE), and the international platform REN 21, making Madrid and Spain the world hub for renewable energies. SPIREC23 was inaugurated by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Vice-President and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera. 

Meanwhile, GENERA was inaugurated by the Secretary of State for Energy, Sara Aagesen Muñoz, and was also visited on the second day by the Third Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, among other authorities.