2026 Georgia Tech Hydrogen Day

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 August 31 member sessions cover RHA advocacy priorities, proposed Washington and Oregon legislative priorities, technical committee work, and a 2026 electrolytic hydrogen case study on long-duration seasonal storage using hydropower, electrolyzers, pipeline connections, and fuel-cell power production. The technical update also addresses waste-to-energy pathways, including technologies for producing hydrogen from waste feedstocks. Other sessions cover transportation-market development, Toyota fuel-cell solutions, and member project and commercial updates. A Douglas County PUD facility tour focuses on electrolyzer systems, hydrogen storage infrastructure, operational safety, and deployment in rural and utility-scale settings. The conference program examines state and local hydrogen policy, Washington’s market strategy, California infrastructure lessons, customer-centered transportation solutions, hydrogen fueling networks, workforce and economic development, and regional transportation markets. Sessions also address electrolysis opportunities amid generation constraints and rising power prices; hydrogen production from wastewater, forestry biomass, and landfill gas; and local innovations for electric and gas systems. The final program day covers alternative fuels and global energy markets, public-private partnerships for transportation infrastructure and fuels, climate policy and energy affordability, and emerging energy technologies including hydrogen, geothermal, nuclear, and biomass. A vehicle and equipment expo and a community celebration are also listed. The August 31 sessions are for members; the facility tour is open to the public, and the community celebration is free and open to the public.

The seminar covers fuel cell and hydrogen products, technical and market research, policy updates, and commercialization strategies across applications and market sectors.

Sessions cover manufacturing profitability; securing operational technology on the plant floor; legal issues facing Georgia manufacturers; leadership, culture, and continuous improvement in high-performance plants; and AI, marketing, and relationship strategies for business growth. The program also features a Georgia Manufacturing Workforce Forum focused on building the workforce manufacturers need.

Sessions examine natural gas market fundamentals for AI data center demand, including basin capabilities, rig activity, storage trends, pipeline bottlenecks, competition with LNG exports and other electricity demand, and commercial strategies for procurement, hedging, and risk management. The program also addresses AI and predictive analytics for pipeline nominations, forecasting, capacity management, and gas-flow optimization, plus integration with ERP, ETRM, CRM, and SCADA systems. Infrastructure discussions cover pipeline capacity, reliability and right-of-way; regional transmission, distribution and generation investment; federal-land development models; and the commercial and regulatory structures needed to advance large-load projects. Utility service challenges include pipeline limitations, public perception, permitting, capital requirements, commercial structuring, cost allocation, reliability obligations, and protecting existing customers. A developers roundtable covers demand forecasts versus speculative projects, developer qualifications, speed-to-power and behind-the-meter strategies, gas procurement, community hurdles, and regulatory and policy issues. Other sessions address mobile gas delivery and virtual pipelines, including CNG/LNG solutions for remote or capacity-constrained markets. The keynote considers AI-driven electricity demand, gas and electric utility bottlenecks, regional load growth, and nuclear energy. A Texas-focused panel examines policy, technology, research, planning, permitting, investment, and cross-sector coordination for large-load development, including data centers and advanced manufacturing.

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.

The forum brings together cleantech innovators, investors, corporates, and other ecosystem participants to address grid stability, water scarcity, waste-to-value, critical minerals, and geopolitical pressures on supply chains and energy security. The program includes a closed-door, peer-level executive roundtable and an opening plenary covering cleantech trends, capital flows, innovation, and the 2027 Global Cleantech 100. Agenda topics include nuclear fuel supply and nuclear supply chains; mineral processing, refining, recovery, and the post-mining supply chain; physical AI applications in grid construction, critical minerals, and dual-use; data-center power demand, grid capacity, water use, cooling, and wastewater resource recovery. Other sessions address heat resilience, energy efficiency for AI compute, geopolitical risk across energy and cleantech supply chains, and investor perspectives on cleantech funding. Innovation Showcases feature cleantech companies presenting technologies and business models.

The program addresses transportation decarbonization, clean transportation, fleet modernization, and sustainable mobility. Themes include zero-emission vehicles, charging infrastructure, energy storage, renewable fuels, fleet management technology, and AI-enabled fleet optimization. Listed sessions include “AI, Data Centers & Transportation: Competing for the Same Megawatts,” on electricity demand, grid constraints, transmission planning, utility readiness, and community considerations, and “Autonomous Transit in the Real World: The SporTran EVOLVE Story,” on electrification, automation, connected infrastructure, accessibility, and transit reliability.

An intensive workshop on projected electricity demand and expanding the supply of natural resources used to generate power. Topics include natural gas, geothermal development and repurposing oil and gas assets; hydrogen, uranium, lithium and critical minerals; and water, environmental, storage, site-selection and regulatory considerations. Program discussions cover grid shortfalls and raw materials for electricity generation, solutions for increasing electricity supply, geothermal, and technology including ORC, sensors and small nuclear reactors. Other sessions address AI prompts for grid and behind-the-meter planning; lithium direct lithium extraction (DLE) and hydrogen technologies; regulatory and legislative factors affecting geothermal, critical minerals, low-carbon energy, grids and data centers; and mining and oil-and-gas intersections, including near-surface imaging and copper for electricity transmission. The program also includes an AI prompt clinic focused on water, the environment, science and regulations.