Arrive, Connect, Recharge: Resource-Efficient Travel to the Exhibition Center

Travel to trade fairs and congresses is changing: more and more guests are arriving in electric vehicles and expect suitable infrastructure on site. At the Nuremberg Exhibition Center, this has become reality. With more than 220 charging points, capacity has been significantly expanded. The development demonstrates how resource-efficient travel is becoming an integral part of the event experience.

Written by Johanna Köhler

A person plugs the charging cable of a white electric car into a charging station in the parking lot in front of the central entrance to the Nuremberg Exhibition Center.

Vehicles arrive at the parking areas near Entrance Mitte. Car doors open, charging cables are connected. A quick look at the display – and the first guests head toward the exhibition halls. What continues in the background is the charging process. The trade fair visit has already begun.

For many visitors, this is exactly what matters. Alex Woldrich, Program Director at Radio Fantasy in Augsburg and a visitor to the Lokalmedientage in Nuremberg, sums it up: “On the one hand, it’s great because I can park directly at the entrance. On the other hand, it simply feels good – we had a longer journey, and this way you travel more sustainably. I’m attending panels now, and the car charges while I’m there.”

Infrastructure growing with expectations

With more than 220 charging points now available, we have significantly expanded the infrastructure for electric mobility at the exhibition center in recent years. The reason is a clear shift in mobility. “We are currently experiencing a paradigm shift: the number of electric vehicles has been increasing dynamically for years, both among private users and corporate fleets,” explains Florian Wernhammer, Head of Technical Maintenance at NürnbergMesse. At the same time, user expectations are changing. Charging should not only be possible; it should be convenient, reliable, and available whenever needed.

The demand is clearly visible in the numbers. In 2025 alone, nearly 6,700 charging sessions were recorded at the Nuremberg Exhibition Center. More than 200,000 kWh of energy were supplied – enough for modern electric vehicles to travel a combined distance of over one million kilometers. What was once an additional service is increasingly becoming a standard component of participating in a trade fair.

This development reflects one of the key insights of resource-efficient event organization: travel is one of the most important levers when it comes to reducing emissions. At the same time, sustainable behavior emerges where the right framework conditions are in place. Charging infrastructure therefore becomes a prerequisite, not merely an optional service.

A person is charging a gray electric car in the parking lot in front of the main entrance to the Nuremberg Exhibition Center. — By expanding its charging infrastructure, NürnbergMesse is responding to changing mobility needs among its visitors.

Charging in the background, benefits during the visit

Our charging infrastructure is specifically designed for use during a trade fair visit. The AC charging stations offer up to 22 kW of charging power and are aligned with an average stay of around four hours. For many visitors, this means their vehicle can reliably charge while they attend meetings, presentations, or spend half a day at the exhibition.

A dynamic load management system distributes available power intelligently and ensures that as many vehicles as possible can charge simultaneously, even on busy event days. A key component is the interaction with our photovoltaic system. Using data-based forecasts, energy demand is matched with current solar generation. “In this way, a large share of charging sessions is covered by solar power produced on the exhibition hall rooftops,” explains Wernhammer. And when the sun is not shining in Nuremberg, our customers are supplied with 100 percent renewable electricity.

For our visitors, the main benefit is convenience. “Guests arriving with electric vehicles can charge directly during their visit to the trade fair – without detours and without losing time,” says Wernhammer. For Alex Woldrich, this is an important advantage: “It’s not one hundred percent decisive, but I definitely prefer it. You simply feel on the safe side.”

Several ways to reach the exhibition center – one goal: resource-efficient travel

Resource-efficient travel is not limited to electric vehicles. Rather, it emerges from the interaction of different mobility options. Alongside the growing charging infrastructure, public transportation plays a central role.

The VGN Combined Ticket makes sustainable mobility especially easy for our guests. At all NürnbergMesse-owned events and selected guest events, the admission ticket automatically serves as a ticket for buses and trains within the Nuremberg, Fürth, and Stein transport network. The exhibition grounds can be reached from Nuremberg Central Station in just a few minutes and from the airport in around thirty minutes. This makes resource-efficient travel both simple and convenient.

Subway train at Messe station with passengers arriving on platform. — Resource efficient mobility is driven by the combination of different transport options.

More than infrastructure: a changing understanding of travel

What can be observed at the Nuremberg Exhibition Center goes beyond individual charging points. The way people travel to events is changing – and with it, expectations of exhibition venues. Mobility is becoming part of the visitor experience rather than merely the journey to get there.

By expanding charging infrastructure, we are not simply responding to this development – we are actively helping shape it. After all, resource-efficient travel is not created solely through individual decisions, but through systems that make those decisions possible. In this way, a parking space becomes a charging location, a charging session becomes a natural part of the day, and travel itself becomes another building block of a trade fair that supports the transition toward more sustainable solutions.

Author

Johanna Köhler

Online Editing // PR Trainee