The smarter E South America wrapped up its 2026 edition on Thursday 27, reaffirming its position as the continent’s leading platform for the new energy world. Held over three days at Expo Center Norte in São Paulo, the event brought together leading companies from the solar energy, energy storage, energy management, and e-mobility sectors across four simultaneous exhibitions: Intersolar South America, ees South America, Power2Drive South America, and Eletrotec+EM-Power South America.
Alongside the exhibitions, an extensive programme of conferences, technical trainings, and workshops tackled issues crucial to the sustainable development of the energy value chain. Together, these sessions attracted around 3,000 participants, including experts, public officials, investors, and executives from major companies, who presented and debated strategic issues facing the industry. Around 50,000 visitors came to see the more than 500 exhibitors. The ees South America exhibition area grew by 30%, while Power2Drive South America doubled in size from last year.
“The importance of Brazil and Latin America to the renewable energy market was once again reflected in the aisles and conference rooms of The smarter E South America, which provided a platform for the exchange of experience and knowledge, the launch of products and solutions, the closing of business deals, and fundamental debates on the integrated energy transition across the region. We conclude this year’s edition convinced that, despite challenges related to grid, generation, and storage constraints, as well as financing costs, the sector remains robust, with the potential to progress even further through innovations enabled by Artificial Intelligence,” says Florian Wessendorf, Executive Director of Solar Promotion International, the event’s international organiser alongside Freiburg Management und Marketing International and Aranda Eventos & Congressos.
Now firmly established as a hub for the energy sector, The smarter E South America 2026 provided the setting for the Brazilian Solar Photovoltaic Energy Association (ABSOLAR) to unveil a set of proposals for the next federal government. Built around three pillars (“Bateria Brasil”, “Energia que Emprega” and “Sol para Todos”), the initiative calls for the procurement of at least 8 GW of storage systems, the addition of 18 GW of large-scale solar generation, and expanded access to clean energy for 3 million consumer units by 2030. “Brazil has a strategic advantage that few countries can boast of: it generates vast amounts of competitively priced, renewable electricity. The next step is to turn this abundance into an economic advantage by consolidating battery storage systems and attracting industry, data centres, green hydrogen projects, and other clean-energy-intensive businesses, while also supplying affordable clean electricity to our Latin American trading partners. To achieve this, we need long-term planning as well as infrastructure that matches the scale of this opportunity,” says Rodrigo Sauaia, CEO of ABSOLAR and chair of the Intersolar South America conference committee.
Sauaia argues that Brazil should promote annual technology-neutral capacity auctions, creating a robust market for energy storage while giving investors greater predictability. Association data shows that solar energy is now the country’s second-largest energy source, with 74.3 GW in operation, equivalent to 27.4% of national installed capacity. Since 2012, the sector has attracted more than R$328.2 billion in investment and created over 2.2 million green jobs.
The Brazilian Energy Storage Solutions Association (ABSAE) also used the event to pre-launch its “Vision 2030 Project”. The initiative maps the challenges surrounding flexibility, power capacity, charges, and tariffs, and sets out an integrated public policy agenda for the sector through to 2030. The aim is to establish energy storage as a state policy, underpinned by greater regulatory predictability, market development, and fair remuneration for the various services provided by storage systems.
Markus Vlasits, President of ABSAE and chair of the ees South America conference committee, says The smarter E South America has become an important part of the energy storage ecosystem. “Both the conference and the exhibition reinforce something we have been saying for some time. In Brazil, energy storage has moved beyond the experimental phase, and beyond simply debating ideas, to enter its first growth cycle. This is evident from the large number of exhibitors bringing storage solutions to the Brazilian market, as well as from the discussions taking place at the conference. Once again, The smarter E South America has demonstrated its value as a vital platform for debating the most pressing issues facing our power sector in relation to energy storage, and as an excellent opportunity to keep up to date with the latest technological developments,” says Vlasits.
Electric mobility was another major focus of The smarter E South America, with the Power2Drive South America conference and exhibition addressing a sector that is expanding rapidly in Brazil. More than 270,000 electrified vehicles were registered between January and July this year, taking their total number on the country’s roads to 700,000, according to the Brazilian Electric Vehicle Association (ABVE). Rafael Cunha, a consultant to the conference, says the timing could not be better for the sector. While the electric power industry faces challenges around capacity and generation, he points to e-mobility as a potential future contributor to grid stability. Technologies such as Vehicle-to-Grid make this possible by allowing vehicle batteries to import or export electricity to and from the grid, helping to stabilise frequency and power levels. “Other current topics, such as regulations governing electric vehicle charging in buildings, were also addressed at the conference, while in the exhibition hall, visitors could explore new solutions designed for residential complexes, including contactors, emergency stop buttons, and alarm system connections,” the consultant added.
Electrical infrastructure and energy management – both central to the energy transition – were also key themes at the Eletrotec+EM-Power South America exhibition and conference, which once again received a record number of abstracts. According to João Cunha, a senior consultant to the Eletrotec+EM-Power South America conference, the abstracts submitted reflect the direction the market is taking. “We see a significant increase in papers on electrical installations focused on sustainable energy: PV systems, e-vehicles, and battery storage systems. Another new feature is our first parallel session focused on outdoor metering , a concept already well established in the European version of EM-Power that we are introducing in Brazil this year,” Cunha says.
The exhibition floor also highlighted the commercial opportunities generated by the event. Nelson Stanisci, Director of Energy Storage at BYD Brazil, highlighted the importance of Intersolar South America to his company. “Being here is an important opportunity to showcase how BYD envisions the future of energy storage in Brazil. The country has all the elements needed to become one of the world’s leading BESS markets, and we want to play an active role in that development. Our investment of up to R$500 million in BESS in the country underscores the scale of our commitment to the Brazilian market, combining proprietary technology, decades of battery expertise, and a long-term local presence. Energy storage is a fundamental component for advancing renewables and building a more flexible, secure, and efficient power grid.”
For Leandro Vicente, Commercial Director at Aldo Solar, the opportunity to generate leads and build relationships is one of Intersolar South America’s key strengths. “For us, the event has been very positive, with a large number of visitors from the very first day. We were able to connect closely with our target audience, that is, installers, who were very interested in the latest innovations. We closed some good deals, and other negotiations are progressing. So, Intersolar is crucial to our brand positioning,” Vicente emphasises.
Patrício Pavez, Sales Director for Brazil at Trinasolar, says the event has once again shown its importance as a meeting point for the industry across Latin America. “At this stage of market consolidation, the exhibition was essential for reconnecting with clients, strengthening relationships, and developing new projects. It is a key event that allows us to reinforce strategic alliances and generate excellent business opportunities focused on long-term partnerships,” he says.
Thiago Melo, Commercial Director for Industrial Batteries and BESS at Baterias Moura, describes this year’s Intersolar as a strategic event for the company. “We presented our extensive, integrated portfolio of energy storage and management solutions capable of handling various scales and levels of complexity to a specialised audience of decision-makers. This ranged from residential homes and condo complexes to commercial and industrial operations and large-scale photovoltaic generation projects.”
Luciana Godoy, Head of Goods and Services at Santander Financiamentos, says that “participating in Intersolar South America reinforces Santander’s presence in a sector that is strategic to our country’s energy transition. Beyond simply financing projects, we aim to connect partners, solutions, and opportunities to drive this market forward.”
Charles Volnei, Head of Marketing at WEG, also viewed the company’s participation positively, noting that “it enabled new contacts and opportunities, fostering a rich exchange of knowledge with our partners, integrators, and customers.”
Petrobras was the platinum sponsor of the The smarter E South America 2026 conference. The next edition of the event will be held on 24–26 August 2027, again at Expo Center Norte.
The smarter E South America 2027
Date: August 24–26, 2027
Exhibition times: Noon–8pm
Conference times: 9am–8pm
Expo Center Norte – São Paulo
For more information on The smarter E South America, please visit: www.ThesmarterE.com.br
“Accelerating Integrated Energy Solutions” – this is the goal of The smarter E South America, LATAM’s largest alliance of events for the energy industry. The aim is to create a future-oriented energy world by shining a spotlight on renewable energies, decentralization and digitalization as well as cross-industry solutions from the electricity, heat and transport sectors for a sustainable 24/7 energy supply.
Spanning four exhibitions, The smarter E South America brings together international stakeholders from across the world’s most influential markets, showcasing the latest market developments, trends, and technologies.
Organizers: The smarter E South America is organized by Solar Promotion International GmbH, Pforzheim, Freiburg Management and Marketing International GmbH (FMMI) and Aranda Eventos & Congressos Ltda, São Paulo as the co-organizer.
Gioia Müller-Russo
Solar Promotion International GmbH
Phone: +49 7231 58598-218
Mobile: +49 151 20835446
mueller-russo@solarpromotion.com
Denise Marson
Aranda Eventos & Congressos Ltda
Phone : +55 11 3824-5253
denise@arandaeventos.com.br
Pimenta Comunicação
Genilson Alves –
genilson@pimenta.com
– Tel.: +55 11 984 338 087
Regina Pimenta –
regina@pimenta.com
– Tel.: +55 11 981 366 835
Tatiana Cantoni –
taticantoni@pimenta.com
– Tel.: 11 95210-2225