At Intersolar Europe 2026, NGEN put its own software front and centre — and won an international award for it.
The Slovenian energy technology company NGEN returned from Intersolar Europe 2026, the largest European event for solar power and energy storage, with a clear message and an international accolade. On 23 June, its energy management platform SG Connect received the EUPD Research Top Innovation Award 2026 in the Energy Management Systems category.
This year, Intersolar confirmed what is no longer in question within the industry: battery energy storage is not a niche product but the backbone of a modern power system. The density of storage exhibitors was remarkable — and precisely for that reason, a second question grew ever louder: what sets a genuinely good solution apart from an interchangeable one?
An award decided by those who use the systems
The EUPD Research award, presented by the renowned Bonn-based research institute, is considered one of the most respected product distinctions in the solar and storage industry. Its weight stems from its methodology: the assessment is formed in three independent stages — 30 percent from the institute’s own analysts, 30 percent from an external panel of experts, and a full 40 percent from a direct survey of installers. The greatest share of the decision therefore rests with the people who put energy management systems into operation every day.
The distinction was awarded for the German and Austrian markets, where competition among storage providers is the fiercest in Europe. For a company headquartered in Slovenia, this is proof that Slovenian-developed technology can succeed on the most demanding markets.
Software is not an add-on — it is the product
While a large share of exhibitors foregrounded hardware, NGEN emphasised something else: its proprietary control and optimisation software, SG Brain, as its key differentiator. Live demonstrations made tangible what this means in practice — intelligent charge and discharge management, predictive control based on consumption data and weather forecasts, and comprehensive monitoring, all integrated within a single platform.
“Many manufacturers build good batteries. But a battery is only as smart as the software behind it. SG Brain is the result of years of development and real-world field experience — something that shows in operation, not just on the spec sheet,” said Marco Scholz, Country Manager Germany at NGEN.
The difference is greatest in more demanding installations. Systems with dynamic electricity pricing, self-consumption optimisation, or coupling with a solar plant benefit disproportionately from software that reasons and adapts. SG Brain is independent of the manufacturer’s hardware and tailored to the needs of each individual customer.
From home to industry: everything from a single partner
Beyond households, the segment of commercial and industrial customers pushed increasingly to the fore. Wherever energy is a significant cost, smart storage is becoming a strategic tool for reducing costs and ensuring security of supply. NGEN manages commercial projects from start to finish — from needs analysis and planning through technical design to turnkey delivery, with a single point of contact accountable for the entire project.
This connects NGEN to the largest projects in its portfolio. The group today manages more than 200 MWh of storage capacity and has a European project pipeline exceeding 2 GWh in development — including large grid-support systems in Slovenia, Austria, Croatia, Poland, and Portugal.
Installers as the key to success
A further common thread ran through every day of the fair — partnership with the trade. NGEN regards installers not merely as a sales channel, but as a central part of the quality promise made to the end customer. This shows in concrete terms: preconfigured systems significantly reduce the planning effort, support runs through a single point of entry, and the software relieves installers rather than burdening them.
“An installer who fits our system must be able to rely on it — on the day of installation and years later. That is only possible if the hardware and software come from a single source, and if we, as a partner, are genuinely reachable when it matters,” said Andreas Ljuba, Country Manager Austria at NGEN.
Looking ahead: when everyone has batteries, intelligence will decide
Intersolar 2026 showed that competition in the storage market will increasingly shift to the level of software — which system learns, which responds, and which satisfies the customer over the long term. Hardware alone will not be enough for this, and conventional control logic also runs up against its limits.
NGEN is therefore firmly committed to AI-driven optimisation. SG Brain continuously analyses consumption profiles, weather forecasts, and market data, and on this basis makes decisions that a system built on fixed rules simply cannot. The system becomes more precise with every device and every year of operation — not because anyone adjusts the settings manually, but because the artificial intelligence learns.
According to the company, the impressions from Munich will not be lost in a post-event report — they will flow directly into the development of a system that does not merely react but anticipates. The goal remains clear: five years from now, the installer and the customer should have a better system than the one they received at installation.
About the NGEN Group
The NGEN Group is a vertically integrated energy technology company headquartered in Slovenia, operating in 12 countries. By combining its own software and hardware for large-scale storage and smart home energy systems, NGEN provides the digital infrastructure for a stable, climate-neutral power grid. The company manages more than 200 MWh of storage capacity and has more than 2 GWh of European projects in development. More information: www.ngen-group.eu.
