University of Maryland

Resources for the Future and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation bring together researchers and stakeholders to examine energy economics, policy, and technology, with an emphasis on connecting research and decision-making. In-person attendance is by invitation only. The program includes an opening discussion on how researchers can collaborate with decision-makers amid changes in the US energy research and policy landscapes. Topical breakout sessions use lightning talks, practitioner reflections, and moderated discussion to cover energy supply chains, energy workforce transitions, industrial decarbonization, and energy system resilience. Other sessions address consumer perspectives on electricity rate design, energy efficiency, vehicle purchases, and energy policy choices; clean-energy research and deployment involving nuclear energy, geothermal technologies, carbon capture, and carbon dioxide removal; and the United States’ position in global clean-energy innovation. Facilitated networking focuses on data access, combining quantitative and qualitative research, reaching new audiences, and building communities of practice. The program also includes participant-nominated breakfast salons and a funders’ panel on emerging energy-system research needs and opportunities for impact.

Presented by the Center for Hydrogen Safety, the conference addresses practical hydrogen safety challenges, regulations, codes and standards, and applied safety practices. Themes include process safety; quantitative risk analysis; explosions and hazards; materials integrity; hydrogen production and electrolysis; storage; transport and pipelines; fueling and mobility; incidents and lessons learned; public safety; emerging technology; and digital tools. Program topics include updates to CGA G-5.5 for hydrogen vent systems; compressed-hydrogen leak-rate requirements and testing practices; OSHA PSM and EPA RMP applicability and exemptions; hydrogen safety education; ultrasonic gas-leak detection; full-scale liquid-hydrogen tank failure testing; and detonation transmission in hydrogen-air mixtures. Other sessions address safer control architectures for hydrogen production, safety planning for large-scale projects and hydrogen hubs, abnormal-operation decision-making, loss-of-primary-containment indicators, green-hydrogen deployment at a public utility, risk assessment across H2–NH3–H2 supply chains, HyRAM+ modeling, operational data, vehicle-labeling standards, and hydrogen locomotive development.

The technical symposia span ceramic and glass science, engineering, processing, and applications. Topics include ceramic interfaces and grain boundaries; oxide quantum materials; superconductivity, magnetism, and correlated phases; functional ceramics; extreme-environment and microelectronics materials; two-dimensional materials; high-entropy materials; bioceramics; glass surfaces and the glassy state; and computational modeling, data science, and AI/ML for materials discovery and manufacturing. Energy-related subjects include materials for energy storage and conversion, nuclear energy applications, protonic ceramic cells, and materials for a sustainable and resilient energy future. Manufacturing topics include advanced ceramic processing, additive manufacturing, glass manufacturing scale-up, and intelligent manufacturing. The additive-manufacturing symposium covers feedstock design, printing and post-processing, modeling, characterization, process-structure-property relationships, qualification, certification, scale-up, cost, reliability, and industrial implementation. The raw-materials symposium addresses material quality and variability, alternative and recycled feedstocks, sustainable sourcing, circularity, supply-chain resilience, resource security, and decarbonization.

The symposium covers power electronics in aerospace and naval systems, grid applications, industrial automation, renewable energy integration, power semiconductor devices, hardware-in-the-loop systems, electric drives, and simulations. The event also includes industry tutorials, industry demonstrations, and technical panels. Its focus spans power electronics technology and innovation from materials to systems, bringing together industry, academic, and government participants. Co-sponsored by UConn CONPEX and the IEEE PELS/PES Joint Student Chapter.