Energy Progress & Innovation Conference

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 and reception offers an opportunity to learn about innovations in advanced energy and recent policy developments. The program includes main-stage panels, breakout panels with expert panelists, and presentations from energy experts. It brings together leaders in Michigan’s advanced energy industry, utility executives, policymakers, and regulators.

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 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.

The program examines North American advanced battery markets and technologies across grid-connected storage, electric vehicles, heavy-duty transportation, data centers, robotics, defense, and aerospace. Market briefings address light- and heavy-duty EVs, data centers and the grid, robotics, aerospace and defense applications, energy materials, and battery recycling and second-life markets. Plenary sessions cover data-center energy storage, foreign battery manufacturers in the U.S., and EV manufacturers navigating battery supply-chain gaps. Impact Sessions address non-lithium and emerging chemistries; defense batteries and domestic supply-chain security; truck, rail, and transit electrification; battery materials and the missing pCAM/CAM/AAM midstream; battery-technology financing; U.S. battery-materials mining; robotics and aerospace; domestic battery-manufacturing equipment supply chains; next-generation batteries; Chinese battery and technology supply relationships; and digitalization and AI in battery manufacturing. Other program elements include Community Action Labs, member company and research-institution presentations, and a closing roundtable on the future of battery technology. Featured program speakers include Bob Galyen, NAATBatt International’s Chief Technology Officer; M. Stanley Whittingham, NAATBatt’s Chief Science Officer and Nobel laureate; and David Hochschild, Chair of the California Energy Commission.

Public power utility leaders meet with experts in technology, energy, and policy. Attendance is limited to facilitate productive dialogue. Sessions address shifts in the global energy landscape, including the energy transition, energy security, geopolitical and economic competition, and investment in energy infrastructure, renewable technologies, nuclear power, and fossil fuels. Other discussions examine reliability and affordability amid growing demand, rising costs, regulatory pressures, and customer expectations; resource adequacy, infrastructure investment, workforce challenges, supply-chain constraints, and emerging technologies; and leadership through outages, cyber incidents, severe weather, safety emergencies, and public scrutiny. The program also explores AI and other emerging technologies, including their utility applications and questions around governance, cybersecurity, workforce impacts, and risk management. Additional topics include evaluating and integrating significant new loads, generation and infrastructure investments, contracts and rate protections, aligning economic development with the public power mission, and workforce development, succession planning, leadership training, and knowledge transfer.

The conference is for public power professionals who design, develop, and maintain the electric system. Program themes include Environmental, Generation & Fuels; Grid Modernization; Transmission & Distribution; Reliability & Resilience; and Safety. The audience includes vice presidents, superintendents, directors, managers, engineers, safety and training specialists, electric utility directors, city managers, and emerging leaders.

TechAdvantage is a conference and expo for electric cooperative engineering, operations, information technology, purchasing and supply management professionals. Its stated focus includes grid resilience, cybersecurity, data, AI and emerging technologies, with content areas spanning engineering, broadband and supply chain. Program topic areas include advanced metering, distribution automation, distributed energy resource management systems, microgrids, resiliency, EV charging and electrification, GIS, grid visibility, communications and connectivity, IT operations and cloud infrastructure. Other areas include cybersecurity, risk and regulatory compliance; data, AI and analytics; procurement, supply-chain resilience, logistics, inventory and materials management; broadband deployment, fiber and wireless technologies; disaster recovery, storm response and business continuity; and workforce strategies and load growth. The expo features technologies and solutions for electric cooperatives.