SolarEX publishes a rule that catches foreign exhibitors every year: a stand with no submitted project is capped at 2.50 m. Send drawings and you may build to 5 m. Don’t, and you get a chest-high stand in a hall where Huawei, Sungrow, JA Solar and sixty-odd other manufacturers have built to the limit. The drawings are the difference, and they are due long before you think.
SolarEX İstanbul 2027 runs 7–9 April 2027 at Istanbul Expo Center (İFM), Yeşilköy — the 19th edition. This page is written for exhibitors looking for a SolarEX Istanbul stand builder: the rules this organiser actually publishes, what modules and inverters need on a stand, customs, and prices.
Contents
ToggleSolarEX İstanbul at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dates | 7–9 April 2027 (19th edition) |
| Venue | Istanbul Expo Center (İFM), Yeşilköy, Istanbul |
| Frequency | Annual, consistently in early April |
| Exhibitors (2026) | 401 — 293 Turkish, 108 international |
| Visitors (2026) | 43,789 — 33,965 domestic, 9,824 international |
| Visitors (2025) | 45,627 — 9,226 international |
| Halls used (2026) | 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, including a dedicated storage hall |
| Sector | PV modules and cells, inverters, mounting and tracking, energy storage, solar thermal, production equipment |
| Country pavilions | None — exhibitors are placed individually across the halls |
Worth understanding before you design: there is no national pavilion at this fair. The organiser’s own hall plan divides the floor by function — Platinum, Gold, storage, start-ups, B2B — not by country. Roughly 60 of the exhibitors at the 2026 edition were Chinese manufacturers, scattered through the halls rather than grouped, which means your neighbours are as likely to be Huawei Digital Power or Sungrow as a local EPC. Your stand is judged against theirs, in the same aisle.
The rules, which this organiser does publish
Most Turkish fairs keep their exhibitor manual behind a login. SolarEX does not, and that is an advantage worth using:
| Rule | Figure |
|---|---|
| Maximum height, custom stand with an approved project | 5 m |
| Maximum height, no project submitted | 2.50 m, with technical office approval |
| Maximum height, foyer stands | 3.50 m |
| Two-storey stands | Permitted to 5 m, with static project approval and an authorised signature |
| Stands 4 m and over | Architect-signed undertaking plus a static control fee of €140 + VAT per stand |
| Stands over 2.50 m | Rear walls must be closed and finished — otherwise the organiser does the work and invoices you |
| Island stands | Each side must be 50% open so neighbouring stands are not blinded |
| Submission | Stand dimensions plus electricity, water and compressed-air demands, emailed to the organiser’s technical contact |
| Unapproved projects | Installation is not allowed |
| Foyer restrictions | No wooden stands, welding, iron cutting, paint, drywall or timber cutting |
| Handling | Cranes and forklifts through the fair’s official contractor, booked in advance |
| Leaving debris | Photographed and charged at 10,000 TL + VAT per stand |
One honest caveat. At the time of writing, the build-up and dismantling dates printed on the organiser’s technical page belong to a previous edition, and no 2027 build-up schedule or drawing deadline has been published. Do not plan production against the dates currently on that page. Write to the organiser for the 2027 schedule, or ask us and we will obtain it with your stand details.
Note too that the €140 static control fee applies per stand, at 4 m and above. It is small, but it is a line item most foreign exhibitors have not budgeted and it is charged by the organiser, not by us.
What a solar stand actually has to carry
- Modules, upright and secured. A full-size module shown vertically needs a restraint and a tip-over calculation, and it will be touched. Laid flat it is safe but consumes floor you are paying for. A canted frame at working height, in a mount a visitor can actually inspect, does more work than a wall of panels.
- Mounting and tracker hardware. This is the part buyers buy and the part most stands under-show. A short section of real rail, clamp and ground screw, assembled as it ships, beats any render. It is also heavy and awkward — tell us the piece and we design the base for it.
- Inverters and storage cabinets. String inverters and liquid-cooled ESS cabinets are front-face products: visitors read the terminals, the ingress rating and the service access. Mount them at eye level on a serviceable panel rather than standing them on the floor.
- Declared services. SolarEX requires electricity, water and compressed-air demands to be declared with your drawings. The organiser publishes no kW allowance, so state your load and get the figure confirmed rather than assuming.
- Rear walls. Over 2.50 m, finished rear faces are mandatory and enforced by invoice. We build them in from the start; it is cheaper than being charged for them.
Istanbul Expo Center’s own limits apply on top: stands are capped at 5.8 m in the halls — so SolarEX’s 5 m rule is the binding one — and the floor carries 2,250 kg/m², which is ample for modules and inverters and worth checking for a ballasted mounting demonstration or a loaded battery cabinet.
Bringing modules and equipment into Turkey
Modules, inverters and sample hardware you will take home again normally travel under an ATA carnet as temporary admission. Anything you hand over, give away or leave behind is not covered and needs a full export declaration. Lithium batteries carry their own transport classification and documentation requirements independent of the carnet — confirm those with your freight forwarder in writing well before shipping. A pallet held at the border during a three-day fair cannot be recovered.
Cranes, forklifts and in-hall handling are ordered from the fair’s official contractor and must be booked in advance, not arranged on arrival.
Prices
| Included in our price | Paid to the organiser |
|---|---|
| Design and 3D visuals, revised until approved | Floor space rental |
| Technical file, architect undertaking and submission | Electricity, water and compressed-air connections |
| Manufacturing in our own workshop | Crane, forklift and in-hall handling |
| Pre-assembly before shipping | Compulsory service and catalogue fees |
| Transport, installation and dismantling | Static control fee of €140 + VAT for stands 4 m and over |
| A technician on call during the fair |
Our band for a custom stand is 400 – 750 EUR per m², quoted as a fixed price in EUR against an approved design, so the figure you receive is the figure you pay. Island stands add 10–20%; double-decker structures add 40–60%, including the static project and the longer installation. If the organiser requires a change after approval, we tell you what it costs before we make it.
Send your hall and stand number, size, number of open sides and what you are bringing, and you get a 3D design and a fixed quotation.
Timeline for April 2027
| Stage | When |
|---|---|
| Product list, module and hardware decisions, services needed | December 2026 |
| Confirm the 2027 drawing deadline and build-up schedule with the organiser | December 2026 — it is not published |
| 3D design and dimensioned drawings | January 2027 |
| Architect undertaking and static control if 4 m or over | January–February 2027 |
| Submission to the organiser with declared electricity, water and air | Per the confirmed deadline |
| Manufacturing, print, pre-assembly | February–March 2027 |
| Freight and customs | March 2027 — separate from the stand |
| Installation | Within the organiser’s setup window |
We work to 10–12 weeks for a custom stand. The binding date is the organiser’s approval deadline, not our production schedule.
One scheduling note for that week: Tube Eurasia and wire Eurasia are scheduled at Tüyap on overlapping dates, and IDEX opens at Istanbul Expo Center five days after SolarEX closes. Installation crews, handling equipment and hotels across Istanbul are stretched in that window, so we build a day of slack into SolarEX installations.
Frequently asked questions
When is SolarEX İstanbul 2027?
7–9 April 2027 at Istanbul Expo Center (İFM), Yeşilköy — the 19th edition. The fair is annual and has run in early April every year except 2021. The 2026 edition had 401 exhibitors and 43,789 visitors, 9,824 of them international.
How tall can my stand be?
5 m with an approved project; 3.50 m in the foyer; and only 2.50 m if no project is submitted. Stands of 4 m and over need an architect-signed undertaking and a €140 + VAT static control fee paid to the organiser.
When is the drawing deadline for 2027?
It has not been published. The dates currently shown on the organiser’s technical page belong to an earlier edition, so do not plan against them. Ask the organiser for the 2027 schedule as soon as your space is confirmed, or send us your stand details and we will obtain it.
Is there a Chinese or German pavilion I can join?
No. SolarEX has no national pavilions — the hall plan is organised by function, not country, and exhibitors including the large Chinese manufacturers take individual stands across the halls. You book your own space and build your own stand.
Can I display modules upright?
Yes, with a restraint and a tip-over check — visitors will touch them. In most cases a canted module in a real mounting assembly at working height sells the product better than a vertical wall of panels, and it shows the mounting hardware at the same time.
Creostand is an exhibition stand builder in Istanbul: we design, manufacture in our own workshop in Esenyurt — about 35 minutes from Istanbul Expo Center — and install on site. For other fairs and dates, see our Istanbul exhibition calendar.
Request a free 3D design and quotation for SolarEX İstanbul 2027 →