Schedule
6:30 AM – 5:00 PM CST | Registration Opens | Ballroom Hallway
7:00 AM – 9:00 AM CST | Grab and Go Breakfast | Ballroom Hallway
8:00 AM – 2:30 PM CST | EnergyTech University Prize Pitches | Gold Standard Ballroom
8:15 a.m – 8:30 a.m. Welcome & Introduction to Judges
8:31 a.m – 8:46 a.m. Battery Doctor, The University of Alabama
8:47 a.m – 9:02 a.m. Icorium Engineering Company, The University of Kansas
9:03 a.m – 9:18 a.m. ReLi, The University of Virginia
9:19 a.m – 9:34 a.m. Heliotrope, New York University
9:35 a.m – 9:45 a.m. Break
9:45 a.m -10:00 a.m. LiQuidium, University of Houston
10:01 a.m – 10:16 a.m. Flux XII, University of Wisconsin-Madison
10:17 a.m – 10:32 a.m. Pike Robotics, The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Houston
10:33 a.m – 10:48 a.m. Carbon to Stone, Cornell University
10:49 a.m – 10:59 a.m. Break
10:59 a.m – 11:14 a.m. Rockfix, Stanford University and Harvard University
11:15 a.m – 11:30 a.m. Bio-Based Terrazzo, University of Louisville
11:31 a.m – 11:46 a.m. Low Temperature Hydrothermal Synthesis, University of California, San Diego
11:47 a.m – 12:02 p.m. Direct Recycling of Battery Manufacturing Waste, The Ohio State University and The University of Akron
12:02 p.m – 12:37 p.m. Lunch
12:37 p.m – 12:42 p.m. Electricity / Large Power Transformers Bonus Prize Winner: Solid-State Transformer for the New Electric Grid, The University of Texas at Austin
12:43 p.m – 12:48 p.m. Geothermal Bonus Prize Winner: Team Visionergy, University of Maryland
12:49 p.m – 12:54 p.m. Water Power Bonus Prize Winner: Team Magnetic Gears for Wave Energy, Texas A&M University
12:55 p.m – 1:00 p.m. Electricity / Grid Enhancing Technologies Bonus Prize Winner: Team RLGrid, Cornell University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1:00 p.m – 1:10 p.m. Break
1:10 p.m – 1:25 p.m. H2 Ceramic Solutions, Prairie View A&M University and the University of Houston
1:26 p.m – 1:41 p.m. Wildflower Project, Oregon Institute of Technology
1:42 p.m – 1:57 p.m. Electromaim, The George Washington University
1:58 p.m – 2:13 p.m. Carbonbusters, Purdue University
2:13 p.m – 2:15 p.m. Conclusion
1:00 PM – 2:15 PM CST | Workshop – Orchestrating the Clean Energy Grid | Rainmaker
The electrical grid is being forced to evolve due to impacts from severe weather, increased adoption of renewables and cybersecurity threats. We will unpack the challenges that both distribution and transmission face to keep energy affordable, reliable and sustainable. The session will be active and dynamic as the group identifies and discusses key areas to ensure we are moving forward with adopting renewable capacity while meeting the standards of operation that the market expects.
1:00 PM – 2:15 PM CST | Workshop 2 – Solving the Climate Puzzle | Don’t Mess with Texas
Climate action plans are top of mind for companies and municipalities committed to climate change. How can we produce a sustainable solution that’s more actionable than aspirational? Walking through real-life scenarios, participants will review proven strategies for multiple criteria decision analysis and learn to guide various stakeholders to reach a sustainable, consensus-based climate plan.
1:00 PM – 2:15 PM CST | Workshop 3 – So you think you want a DERMS? | Toasts and Tributes
This workshop aims to facilitate an honest discussion about DERMS, the barriers to implementation, and share resulting best practices among utility attendees of the ETS conference. Key points of the session will be:
- What is a DERMS versus DRMS and VPP platform?
- What are the barriers to rolling out a DERMS and how do we best address?
2:15 PM – 2:40 PM CST | Networking Break
2:40 PM – 2:45 PM CST | Welcome to ETS23 | Gold Standard Ballroom
2:45 PM – 3:00 PM CST | Welcoming Address | Gold Standard Ballroom
3:00 PM – 3:15 PM CST | Keynote – Future of the Grid | Gold Standard Ballroom
Grid modernization is critical for energy transition and two key concepts seem to be driving the conversation: acceleration and orchestration. This keynote will explore why these themes point to an inflection point on the grid as the world races to energy transition. Hear from Sean Moser, Chief Product Officer at GE Digital as he discusses grid modernization and what industry leaders believe to be the path forward to the grid of the future.
3:15 PM – 4:00 PM CST | Panel – Accelerating Access and Efficiency | Gold Standard Ballroom
This session focuses on the benefits of equitable policy as well as how to avoid blind spots in service and accessibility featuring how to bring community back into the conversation.
4:00 PM – 4:30 PM CST | Solving the Energy Trilemma | Gold Standard Ballroom
A fireside chat that aims to explore a variety of solutions that can simultaneously address the challenges of reliability, sustainability, and affordability in the energy sector.
4:30 PM – 5:15 PM CST | How Public Funding is Enabling Modernization | Gold Standard Ballroom
A session that will discuss how recent legislation and policies will shape the industry as well as what actions local, state, and federal governments can make to help meet decarbonization goals.
5:15 PM – 5:20 PM CST | EnergyTech Up Winner Announcement | Gold Standard Ballroom
5:15 PM – 7:00 PM CST | Networking Reception | Group Therapy
Theme Night – Keep Earth Weird Wear your craziest getup or even some fun glasses! It’s time to get weird!
6:30 AM – 5:00 PM CST | Registration Opens | Ballroom Hallway
7:00 AM – 9:00 AM CST | Breakfast & Networking | Group Therapy
8:30 AM – 8:45 AM CST | Welcome | Gold Standard Ballroom
8:45 AM – 9:00 AM CST | Zpryme Research | Gold Standard Ballroom
9:00 AM – 9:15 AM CST | Opening Keynote | Gold Standard Ballroom
9:30 AM – 10:00 AM CST | Fireside Chat – Creating More Resilient Communities | Gold Standard Ballroom
A discussion about the technologies and strategy that will add resilience to the energy grid and community infrastructure of cities and spaces across North America.
10:00 AM – 10:45 AM CST | Transportation Electrification Progress and Pitfalls | Gold Standard Ballroom
A pulse check on the state of electrification transportation and a forum for sharing lessons learned both in success and setback.
10:45 AM – 11:00 AM CST | Networking Break
11:00 AM – 11:15 AM CST | ETS Talk – A Revolution We Can Manage: Overcoming 5 Pain Points of the EV Boom | Gold Standard Ballroom
11:15 AM – 11:45 AM CST | Fireside Chat – Future of Workforce | Gold Standard Ballroom
A look forward at what Gen Z entering the utility workforce is going to mean for the future of the industry as well as how to interest generations beyond in the space.
11:45 AM – 12:30 PM CST | The Many Facets of Resilience | Gold Standard Ballroom
A session that seeks to address a new era of resilience and sustainability challenges to keep electricity service uninterrupted, be it from changing climate, asset health, software issues, security, or other challenges.
12:30 PM – 1:45 PM CST | Lunch | Group Therapy
1:45 PM – 2:30 PM CST | Breakout A – Managing the Potential of Distributed Energy Resources | Don’t Mess with Texas
A session about DER use cases demonstrating how solar, storage, and other distributed energy resources help utilities with long-term goals, and how utilities are managing the growing number of DERs on the grid.
Gene Rodrigues
1:45 PM – 2:30 PM CST | Breakout B – Decentralization as Resilience | Toasts and Tributes
A session about how decentralization can be used to make the grid more resilient against physical and virtual threats.
1:45 PM – 2:30 PM CST | Breakout C – Advancements in T&D tech | Rainmaker
The clean energy transition is underway, and transmission & distribution systems need to adapt to larger amounts of renewable energy generation. This panel focuses on how utilities are approaching challenges to their T&D systems and how they can improve technological and operational efficiency as they decarbonize.
Khalil Shalabi
2:45 PM – 3:30 PM CST | Breakout D – Electric Vehicle Programs | Don’t Mess with Texas
A dialogue about best practices when designing EV programs as well as what the goals of such programs should be
2:45 PM – 3:30 PM CST | Breakout E – Utility as Community Leader | Toasts and Tributes
A breakdown of a utility’s role in a community and beyond a power supplier and what works best for creating a thriving relationship with a community.
2:45 PM – 3:30 PM CST | Breakout F – Resilient Cybersecurity: IT AND OT | Rainmaker
A deep dive into the realities of modern cybersecurity – how it relates to asset management as well as new complications as IT converges with OT.
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM CST | Networking Break
4:00 PM – 4:30 PM CST | Fireside Chat – Supply Chain and Asset Traceability for the Electric Grid | Gold Standard Ballroom
A discussion about the importance of capturing high-quality asset data as utilities build the grid of the future, and how standards and technology can play a role in enabling this transition.
4:30 PM – 5:15 PM CST | ESG more than investing | Gold Standard Ballroom
A look at how ESG standards are moving beyond the realm of investment strategy and are defining customer expectations
5:15 PM – 5:30 PM CST | Keynote – Filling the Energy Gap: Serving Multifamily Communities, the Great Neither/Nor | Gold Standard Ballroom
5:30 PM – 5:45 PM CST | Thought Leader of the Year Announcement | Grand Ballroom
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM CST | Networking Reception | Group Therapy
Pull out your best boots, buckles, and cowboy hats and get ready to have a Texas good time in the Lone Star state!
6:30 AM – 5:00 PM CST | Registration Opens | Ballroom Hallway
7:00 AM – 9:00 AM CST | Breakfast & Networking | Group Therapy
8:30 AM – 8:40 AM CST | Welcome | Gold Standard Ballroom
8:40 AM – 9:00 AM CST | Opening Keynote | Gold Standard Ballroom
9:00 AM – 9:40 AM CST | Fireside Chat | Gold Standard Ballroom
9:40 AM – 9:55 AM CST | ETS Talk | Gold Standard Ballroom
9:55 AM – 10:40 AM CST | Panel – Designing Customer Programs for Evolving Needs | Gold Standard Ballroom
Customer demands are changing, and utilities As customer demands evolve, it’s not enough for utilities to meet them in the middle. Utilities must be forward thinking and keep the customer as the focal point as they design new programs. This session discusses designing programs to facilitate a fulfilling and individualized customer journey.
10:40 AM – 11:10 AM CST | Networking Break
11:15 AM – 11:45 AM CST | Fireside Chat | Gold Standard Ballroom
11:50 AM – 12:35 PM CST | Panel – Managing the Grid Edge | Gold Standard Ballroom
A session about the software, programs, and strategies that will manage the grid edge and leverage edge devices into useful utility resources.
12:35 PM – 1:45 PM CST | Lunch | Group Therapy
1:45 PM – 2:30 PM CST | Breakout A – Customer Experience: Beyond Turning the Lights On | Toasts and Tributes
A look at changing customer expectations and how to create a better holistic customer experience as well as how decisions at every level can affect the customer experience.
1:45 PM – 2:30 PM CST | Breakout B – Prepping for the EV Revolution | Don’t Mess with Texas
A discussion about the data, infrastructure, workforce training, and planning needed for utilities to handle ever-increasing EV adoption among customers.
1:45 PM – 2:30 PM CST | Breakout C – Outage Prediction and AI | Rainmaker
A session talking about how AI and modeling are helping track and prevent outages as well as other notable use cases.
2:45 PM – 3:30 PM CST | Breakout D – Bridging Communities Through Technology | Don’t Mess with Texas
Utilities are prioritizing digital transformation by adopting a human-centered approach that focuses on understanding and meeting the needs of customers and employees. This approach enables utilities to create more effective and sustainable systems that better serve their communities and ecosystem as a whole.
2:45 PM – 3:30 PM CST | Breakout E | Rainmaker
2:45 PM – 3:30 PM CST | Breakout F – Communications Strategies are No Longer Optional | Toasts and Tributes
A discussion about how the changing role of utilities has made public-facing communications a critical business process, and also what some best practices for comms are.
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM CST | Networking Break | Gold Standard Ballroom
4:00 PM – 4:45PM CST | Panel – Accelerating Decarbonization | Gold Standard Ballroom
A session that will discuss progress and pitfalls of decarbonizing the grid through tech, policy, and strategy.
4:45 PM – 5:15 PM CST | Fireside Chat – The Energy Transformation: What’s Behind and What’s to Come | Gold Standard Ballroom
5:15 PM – 5:30 PM CST | Special Dedication | Gold Standard Ballroom
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM CST | Networking Reception | Group Therapy
The ‘Kick’ Back – Ready to show off your coolest kicks? Whether it’s your favorite pair of red bottoms, your most comfortable conference shoe, or the latest pair of J’s, come ready to flex your style and individually that keeps you weird!
7:00 AM – 12:00 PM CST | Registration Opens | Ballroom Hallway
7:30 AM – 9:00 AM CST | Breakfast & Networking | Ballroom Hallway
9:00 AM – 9:30 AM CST | Fireside Chat – Where Nuclear Stands in an Evolving Grid | Grand Ballroom
A deep dive into what the increased attention and resources into nuclear energy will mean for nationwide and global decarbonization efforts as well as what challenges are keeping some apprehensive about it.
9:30 AM – 10:15 AM CST | Panel – Taking a Holistic Approach to Infrastructure Modernization | Grand Ballroom
For electric and gas utilities, infrastructure modernization can mean more than just incremental progress—it can help set utilities up for success with decarbonization, energy equity, affordability, and improved resilience. This panel will highlight emerging opportunities with digital and physical infrastructure modernization and discuss how best to navigate barriers to successful implementation.
10:15 AM – 10:45 AM CST | Modern Demand Response | Grand Ballroom
A session that lays out how demand response is changing with new technology and customer realities.
10:45 AM – 11:15 AM CST | 🤝 Networking Break
11:15 AM – 12:00 PM CST | Panel – Creating a Culture of Innovation Within an Organization | Grand Ballroom
A session that lays out how demand response is changing with new technology and customer realities.
John Kochavatr
12:00 PM – 12:30 PM CST | Fireside Chat – Changing the Industry’s Thinking | Grand Ballroom
Untried ideas, hot takes, just putting new ideas out there in general
12:45 PM – 1:00PM CST | Closing | Grand Ballroom