In the current climate of economic and geopolitical instability and increasingly fierce global competition, energy is still a strategic lever for ensuring independence, security, autonomy and competitiveness for Europe and its industrial system. Financing the transition and controlling energy costs is a priority for both end consumers and companies, particularly those that are energy-intensive.
In this context, KEY – The Energy Transition Expo, the leading IEG (Italian Exhibition Group) event on energy transition in Europe, Africa and the Mediterranean basin, scheduled to take place from 4th to 6th March at Rimini Expo Centre, confirms its role as the most important European platform for technologies, services and integrated solutions to accelerate decarbonisation.
“With this new edition, we are consolidating KEY’s role as a global hub for energy transition, open to international dialogue with players, operators, institutions and associations from all over the world, setting ourselves apart through the diversity and comprehensiveness of our exhibition, which makes us unique among other energy trade shows. We will put Europe on centre stage, restoring the leading role it deserves in the great ongoing transformation, and enhancing the industrial and technological skills and wealth of solutions we already have in-house to build a sustainable and competitive energy future,” says Alessandra Astolfi, Global Exhibition Director of Italian Exhibition Group’s Green & Technology Division.
“It is with renewed interest that I look forward to this new edition of KEY – The Energy Transition Expo, an event that I have personally followed closely over the years and which today confirms its status as the beating heart of the energy debate in Italy and Europe. We are not just witnessing a trade show, but an authentic laboratory of energy innovation. The path towards energy security and decarbonisation requires total synergy between institutions and companies. KEY is the ideal platform to accelerate the change of pace needed to make Italy a strategic Mediterranean hub for renewables and new green technologies,” comments Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Minister for the Environment and Energy Security.
“For GSE, the annual appointment with KEY is a valuable opportunity to listen to the needs of companies and associations and to showcase the tools, services and opportunities that GSE provides to support the energy transition and facilitate investment in the sector. At a time when competitiveness and sustainability must go hand in hand, we are committed to helping the production system access the measures available and implement concrete projects, thus contributing to transforming decarbonisation objectives into opportunities for the country’s development,” declares Vinicio Vigilante, CEO at GSE Spa (energy services provider).
KEY 2026 will provide a comprehensive overview of new investment models and innovative solutions for reducing energy bills by bringing together financial institutions, EPC contractors, leading Italian and international companies, associations and institutions.
The focus on finance will also be reflected in the exhibition offer with an entire hall dedicated for the first time to EPC contractors and finance, which are becoming increasingly strategic in the construction of large renewable energy and utility-scale storage plants in light of the recent FER-X decree auctions and the new Energy Release mechanism.
More than 1,000 exhibiting brands are expected to attend, of which approximately 32% will be from abroad, with a significant presence of companies from around 30 countries and over 500 hosted buyers and delegations from around 50 countries, thanks to the valuable and constant collaboration with the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI).
A Japanese delegation is also expected to attend, involved in collaboration with H2IT and Emilia-Romagna Region’s Clust-ER Greentech as part of the hydrogen partnership between the two countries and as a follow-up to IEG’s mission to EXPO OSAKA.
New Layout To Tell The Energy Supply Chain Story
For the 2026 edition, KEY has extended its exhibition space to approximately 125,000 square metres, occupying almost all the Rimini Expo Centre with 24 halls divided into seven thematic areas: solar, wind, hydrogen, energy efficiency, energy storage, e-mobility and Sustainable City.
The solar sector has been extended the most, confirming the strength of the market and the maturity of this technology, with a significant expansion of the areas dedicated to EPC Contractors, agrivoltaics and companies involved in fixing and mounting systems for the installations. The wind power area has also been increased and will include the focus Su.port – Sustainable Ports for Energy Transition on the role of ports as logistics hubs for the assembly and maintenance of floating farms and hydrogen storage and transportation.
The energy efficiency area, a pillar of KEY’s role as transition enabler, has been enhanced and reorganised with a transversal vision of decarbonisation in both industry and the built environment: a place for exchange and growth in which to explore challenges and opportunities, analyse the latest legislative proposals in support of Energy Service Companies, learn about the tools that favour the adoption of innovative solutions in the energy sector, and discover services and solutions to electrify consumption, optimise production processes, and promote the intelligent use of resources. The halls for this sector will also feature KEY 2026’s new HOME — Healthy, Optimised, Measured, Efficient project, an educational and cultural area that will reproduce a 100% smart, efficient and sustainable building, demonstrating how healthy and energy-efficient buildings are designed, constructed and measured. The programme will also include the presentation of a study by AGICI on the European economy’s decarbonisation trajectories with particular reference to the civil and industrial sectors. The study will propose an estimate of the contribution of energy efficiency integrated with renewable sources and quantify its benefits.
Italy-Africa Cooperation
In line with Mattei Plan priorities and the growing centrality of the African continent in the global energy transition and in European energy and industrial policies, KEY aims to strengthen cooperation between Italy and Africa by connecting companies, institutions and investors to foster new synergies.
Res4Africa will be organising two events, scheduled at KEY on 5th and 6th March, dedicated to Africa’s energy self-sufficiency, focusing on the continent’s economic and sustainable growth, the potential of photovoltaics and storage systems, and the need to strengthen financing instruments to improve access to electricity.
Furthermore, for the first time KEY 2026 will feature the Africa Investment HUB. An area that will host several African industry associations from Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, the Ivory Coast, Senegal and South Africa, providing a space for networking and business meetings.
During the event and as part of the collaboration between KEY and Piantando – B Corp, which initiates, finances and monitors projects with a high social and environmental impact – three solar street lamps will be installed in a village in Malawi.
Scientific Rigour: The International Programme
The KEY conference programme will feature more than 150 events, of which 90 organised by the Technical Scientific Committee and 18 international: an open and strategic forum for discussion with high-quality, rigorous content based on scientific data and evidence, where skills, data, know-how and best practices will come together to support the energy transition.
KEY 2026 will be inaugurated on Wednesday 4th March with an opening ceremony attended by the Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, and the Director of Sustainability, Technology and Outlooks at the IEA-International Energy Agency, Laura Cozzi.
Further main events scheduled will include the KEY ENERGY SUMMIT on Wednesday 4th March with the presentation of a study conducted by Althesys, which explores the relationship between European and Italian companies’ transition and competitiveness with a specific focus on Italy, the generation-storage-grid triad and energy demand evolution. The same day will see the new edition of ITALIA SOLARE’s ForumTech, which this year will spotlight particularly topical issues such as technological innovation, regulatory developments, and the future of photovoltaics in a day of debates and in-depth discussions with experts, companies and institutions.
On Thursday 5th March, the Report on the state of energy sustainability in the construction supply chain will be presented in collaboration with FEDERCOSTRUZIONI.
Elemens will be organising the conference EPC and Finance: the new phase of renewables to connect banks and EPC Contractors with the aim of promoting new models of collaboration and reducing existing obstacles to the construction of renewable energy plants.
On the same day, the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP), will be organising Energy and Innovation: MASE International Cooperation for Energy Transition with the aim of analysing opportunities for the Italian private sector and the scientific community, illustrating the tools that the Ministry provides, how to access tenders, selection criteria and possible forms of public-private collaboration within international cooperation programmes. Priority initiatives already underway and guidelines for the active and qualified participation of the Italian system will also be presented.
KEY CHOICE – Unlock the future of PPAs
On Tuesday 3rd March, the day before Key, Rimini’s Palacongressi Congress Centre will be staging KEY CHOICE – Unlock the future of PPA. Again on the topic of finance, the B2B event, organised by IEG in collaboration with Elemens, aims to encourage networking and interaction between the parties and making drawing up PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements) easier.
DPE – International Electricity Expo
The new edition of DPE – International Electricity Expo will also be back and in conjunction with KEY. The event, organised by Italian Exhibition Group in collaboration with the Distributed Generation Association – Motors, Components, Generating Sets, affiliated with ANIMA Confindustria – and the ANIE Federation, focuses on the generation, transmission, distribution, safety and electrical automation ecosystem.
Source: KEY – The Energy Transition Expo
