15th Annual Michigan Energy Innovators Conference

The conference brings together public power leaders, policymakers, vendors, and partners to exchange strategies and discover solutions for long-term utility success. Its program addresses how changing policy, technology, and lifestyles are reshaping the energy industry and communities, with multiple tracks and sessions. The Industry Innovations Expo focuses on solutions and tools for utility decision-makers, and the conference also includes a public-power community service component.

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.

The mission is to energize industry and individuals in a competitive market through education, technology, and networking. Programming spans cybersecurity and battery storage and includes pre-conference sessions, general sessions, opening and closing keynotes, breakout sessions, and an exhibitor showcase. Opening keynote speaker Dan Meers is a professional mascot and the official KC Wolf mascot of the Kansas City Chiefs. Closing keynote speaker Dr. Scott Tinker is Director Emeritus of the Bureau of Economic Geology and State Geologist of Texas, a professor holding the Allday Endowed Chair in the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin, and CEO of Tinker Energy Associates. He is also founder and chairman of the Switch Energy Alliance and host of PBS Energy Switch and Earth Date. The conference is intended for professionals and skilled workers across numerous industries and fields, with educational and informative presentations rather than deliberate product advertising.

The conference focuses on innovative technologies, research and design advances, and solutions for renewable and sustainable energy, including utility-level systems integration. Selected papers may be considered for publication in an ASME journal. Tracks cover AI for energy systems; heat pump, refrigeration and cryogenic technology; sustainable and resilient buildings; energy storage; hybrid systems and microgrids; solar optics, thermal applications, chemistry and fuels; photovoltaic and electrochemical technologies, including batteries and fuel cells; waste heat recovery, thermal desalination and water harvesting; alternative energy conversion, including geothermal, nuclear, wind, hydro, ocean and wave energy; hydrogen, bioenergy, biofuels and sustainable fuels; combustion, cogeneration and carbon capture, storage and utilization; advanced energy materials and manufacturing; space energy systems and in situ resource utilization; critical mineral recovery and supply chains; data center energy-water and cooling; and sustainability, safety, durability and recyclability of electrochemical storage. The program also includes lightning talks and poster presentations.

The expo covers battery manufacturing, EV powertrains, thermal management, and energy storage. Conference topics include battery chemistry, manufacturing scalability, EV integration, sustainability, and energy storage.

The symposium focuses on accelerating deployment of transformative clean-energy technologies and policies for the public good, forging cross-sector alliances, and renewing leadership commitment to clean-energy innovation. The agenda includes a fireside chat; sessions on battery innovation and battery research; an emerging leaders panel; “Learning from Hundreds of Millions of Experiments in a Single Afternoon”; “Life Science Lessons”; and “High-Throughput Materials Science for Solar.” An innovation ecosystems panel and closing address round out the program.

The program examines North American energy tradeoffs, grid reliability, clean-energy integration, affordability, and cross-border coordination. Opening keynote speaker Ernest J. Moniz is Founder & CEO of EFI Institute and Former U.S. Secretary of Energy; Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston joins a leadership fireside chat, and Charles Dickerson, President & CEO of the Northeast Power Coordinating Council, gives keynote remarks on the power grid’s current state and future outlook. Day 1 sessions address electricity-demand growth, reliability and the cost curve; U.S. and Canadian energy policy, prices and cross-border coordination; investment opportunities in Canadian critical minerals, clean electricity, renewables, hydrogen, new nuclear and infrastructure; nuclear affordability, small modular reactors, supply chains and regulatory timelines; infrastructure costs related to permitting, litigation, supply chains and community engagement; and grid-operator perspectives on reliability, cost control, planning and interregional cooperation. The program also includes a lunch program and table dialogues. Day 2 sessions cover regulatory and policy approaches to affordable reliability; energy-sector financing and investment; which generation technologies are likely to be built and how cost, deployment speed and scalability shape investment; demand flexibility, distributed energy resources, storage and digital grid tools; and firm-power options including nuclear and advanced geothermal. The Steve Leahy Energy & Innovation Collaboration Award recognizes a U.S.-Canada energy partnership demonstrating innovation, collaboration, and affordability and reliability benefits.

The conference brings public power leaders together to exchange strategies and explore solutions for long-term success. Its content addresses how changing policy, technology, and lifestyles are reshaping the energy industry and communities, alongside an Industry Innovations Expo.

The program covers electricity demand from data onshoring and options for expanding grid generation and infrastructure; agrivoltaics combining cattle grazing with solar; and collaborative, technology-neutral ways to meet Tennessee’s demand for reliable, affordable power. A panel on the Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus focuses on research, industry collaboration, technology development, and resource recovery across the nuclear lifecycle. Power Moves discussions highlight advanced-energy projects, technologies, and investments, including work by Centrus Energy, Kairos Power, and Type One Energy. Power Pitches are grouped around the future of energy, nuclear materials, advanced materials, and manufacturing. The event also presents the Thomas B. Ballard Advanced Energy Leadership Award and includes a featured address on energy innovation and U.S. energy security.