Energiesparmesse is Austria’s largest annual trade fair devoted to renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable building. The four-day in-person event takes place every March at the Messe Wels exhibition centre, occupying nine halls and roughly 45,000 m² of display space. Organisers expect 700 exhibitors and around 60,000 visitors from Austria, Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic, making it the country’s most visited green-energy platform.

The exhibition is divided into clearly marked zones: solar PV and storage, heat pumps, biomass and wood-log boilers, façade and roof insulation, windows and doors, e-mobility charging infrastructure, and financing services. A parallel “Smart-Home Area” demonstrates interoperable heating, lighting and security systems, while the “Green-Finance Forum” lets banks present subsidised loans and federal grants available under the national “Klimabonus” programme.

Keynote speakers confirmed for 2024 include climate researcher Prof. Helga Kromp-Kolb, Austrian Energy Agency managing director Theresia Vogel, and Wels mayor Andreas Rabl, who will jointly open the fair at the Congress-Center Wels. Daily expert panels tackle the 2024 focus topics: replacing fossil boilers by 2035, large-scale heat-network conversion, and integrating PV into listed buildings. Morning “Energy-Surgery” sessions offer householders 15-minute one-on-one consultations with certified energy advisors.

Practical training is provided in the outdoor “Renewable Energy Park”: visitors can help install a 6 kW balcony PV kit, watch a robotic heat-pump dryer, or test-drive the latest electric cargo bikes. Young professionals meet recruiters at the “Green Jobs Wall”, while pupils attend the “Klima-Quiz” for school classes. Admission is free for anyone under 19 and for holders of the federal “Energiesparmesse-Card”, which can be printed at no cost from provincial energy offices. Free shuttle buses link Wels railway station to the fairground every ten minutes, and 1,500 bicycle parking spaces are provided to underline the event’s low-carbon philosophy.