EUSEW Energy Fair 2025: a walk through what powers tomorrow

This year’s Energy Fair, held during the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) 2025 at the Charlemagne Building in Brussels, once again proved to be a vibrant hub of inspiration and exchange. Across three packed days, over 2 000 visitors explored a diverse range of EU-funded projects and organisations all working toward the shared goal: driving Europe’s clean energy transition forward.

The Energy Fair exhibitors showcased not only technical innovation but the power of community, collaboration and commitment.

Here are just a few standout moments that brought this year’s Energy Fair to life.

Transforming industry: SteamDry in the spotlight

Among the many exciting stands, the SteamDry project turned heads with its captivating demonstration of how superheated steam drying can revolutionise the paper industry. Videos of the pilot plant in action gave visitors a closer look at how this technology is reducing energy use and CO₂ emissions in one of Europe’s most resource-intensive sectors.

Alongside other Energy Fair presentations, SteamDry illustrated how targeted technological advances can directly contribute to the EU’s climate and energy goals.

Digital innovation meets clean energy: InterSTORE

At the heart of the Energy Fair 2025, the InterSTORE project stood out as a strong example of how digitalisation is providing more flexible and interoperable energy systems. The project team welcomed visitors to a dynamic exhibition space, offering both live demonstrations and in-depth technical discussions.

Visitors explored real-world applications of distributed energy resource integration, including live demos of open-source solutions, communication protocols, and user-friendly configuration tools. The stand pushed valuable conversations with stakeholders about the future of interoperable energy systems.

The strong interest of EUSEW 2025 attendees in InterSTORE’s solutions reflected a growing recognition of the need for digital tools that make energy systems more adaptable, resilient, and future-ready.

Geothermal potential and subsurface data: GSEU and partners

Geoscience took centre stage at the shared hub of EuroGeoSurveys and EGEC Geothermal. Attendees got a first look at the evolving Pan-European Atlas of Sustainable GeoEnergy Capacities, a powerful open-access tool supporting Europe’s move toward carbon neutrality.

The hub spotlighted the importance of geological data in shaping Europe’s sustainable energy future by focusing on the often-overlooked subsurface layer.

Off-grid and hybrid systems: Airborne Wind Europe and Kitemill

Together, Airborne Wind Europe and member organisation Kitemill, brought a fresh breeze to the Energy Fair, showcasing an innovative solution for Europe’s clean energy future. Through interactive demos, quizzes, and one-on-one chats with the team, visitors explored how this lightweight and low-material technology works. The stand drew interest from policymakers, industry experts and curious attendees alike, highlighting Airborne Wind Europe’s potential in off-grid and hybrid systems.

‘We represent, at our stand, our technology and the sector of airborne wind energy. We are very excited to be among a few different organisations that are exhibiting here and we are joining the different sessions and we are explaining the technology to different people. From policymakers, students, a lot of renewable energy experts, and we are getting quite good feedback.’
Kristian Petrick, Secretary General of Airborne Wind Europe

Youth voices energising the conversation

Youth was once again a driving force at the EUSEW Energy Fair, with YES-Europe bringing their unique expertise to their stand.

‘YES-Europe was delighted to host a stand at the Energy Fair. With our spot positioned right next to the lunch tables, you can imagine how busy our ‘breaks’ were. We were delighted to attend, to meet so many amazing, driven and impressive people, and to learn so much from one another.
EUSEW 2025 showed us how complex the green transition is, but also how incredibly rich and diverse the potential solutions are. It is clear that no one single piece of technology or policy is enough - the answer to this complex problem requires interdisciplinary cooperation.’
Max van der Linden, YES-Europe Vice-President

Their stand, supported by the European Youth Energy Network, was not only about outreach but listening, exchanging and building momentum for a future powered by collaboration.

Innovation in action: clean energy projects

Also drawing attention was a large collaborative stand under the banner ‘EU Clean Energy Projects: Innovations and Impact’. Representing 12 EU-funded projects, the stand gave a comprehensive snapshot of where European energy innovation is headed.

The projects showed an impressive range of innovative solutions: from CO₂ conversion, hydrogen and hidden hydropower, to battery recycling, microgrids, and smart transformers. Through live demos and conversations, visitors saw firsthand how these initiatives are shaping a more resilient and climate-neutral Europe. The emphasis on cross-sector synergies and real-world impact underscored the vital role of innovation in both policy and practice.

Let us keep building the future, together.

Whether it was testing a dashboard, watching a pilot plant video, or hearing Young Energy Ambassadors share their hopes for the future, the EUSEW 2025 Energy Fair offered something for everyone. It was a powerful reminder that, regardless of the field or format, every initiative contributes to the bigger picture.

If you missed this year’s edition or are inspired to take part next year, keep an eye on the EUSEW website and subscribe to the newsletter for updates on Energy Fair 2026.

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Publication date: 3 July 2025
Author: European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency