Thank you for attending the 2023 UNC Cleantech Summit!
We had record attendance, engagement, and sponsorship.
The 10th Annual UNC Cleantech Summit will be on March 21 – 22, 2024!
Read student interviews with Cleantech Summit speakers here
Keynotes and Featured Speakers
Terry Boston Consultant, Retired CEO of PJM
Grid Protection Alliance
Jeff Guldner Chairman of the Board, President and CEO
Pinnacle West Capital Corporation, Arizona Public Service
Arshad Mansoor President and CEO
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
Henry McKoy Director, Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP)
United States Department of Energy
Anna Siefken Senior Advisor, Office of Technology Transitions
U.S. Department of Energy
Award Recipients
Cleantech Pioneer Award
Bob Kingery Co-Founder and Owner
Southern Energy Management
Cleantech Trailblazer Award
Chris Castro Chief of Staff, Office of State and Community Energy Programs
U.S. Department of Energy
Cleantech Entrepreneur Award
Kent Satterlee Executive Director
Gulf Offshore Research Institute (GORI)
Fireside Chats
Hardy Boeckle Minister, Head of Economic, Trade and Finance Department
Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
Miki Deric Managing Director - North America Utilities
Accenture
Víctor Marcos Morell Director for Renewable Energy and Electricity Market
IDAE (Spanish Renewable Energy Agency)
Pavel Molchanov Managing Director and Equity Research Analyst
Raymond James & Associates
Paul Rennie Head of the Global Economy Group
British Embassy, Washington DC
The 2023 Summit will feature keynote speakers, panels, workshops, and TED Talk-style engagement opportunities for the following topics.
Carbon Capture and Removal Strategies
The Global Energy Transition
Green Hydrogen and Energy Storage
Building Foundations for Cleantech in the Mid-Atlantic Region
Energy Policy
Smart Mobility and Electric Vehicles
Nuclear Power and the Energy Transition
Manufacturing and Supply Chains
Bluetech and Ocean-related Solutions
Green Finance: Investing in Our Future
Agriculture’s Solutions to Climate Change
In addition, the Mentor Match program will return this year and there will be an in-person career fair.
Register Now
Need a hotel? Book with the Courtyard Chapel Hill for our special UNC Cleantech Summit group rate of $144 USD per night. The last day to book this rate is Friday, March 17 at 5:00 p.m.
Panelists
Stan Ahalt Dean
UNC School of Data Science and Society
Saleem Ali Chair of the Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences
University of Delaware (USA)
Elisa Alonso Assistant Chief for the Minerals Intelligence Research Section
U.S. Geological Survey
Roy Aneed Co-Founder & CEO
Edge Natural Resources
Omar Aoun VP Sales North America
Energy Vault
Stephen Arbogast Professor of the Practice, Director Energy Center
Kenan-Flagler Business School
Meredith Bandy Vice President, Investor Relations & Sustainability
Albemarle Corporation
Ethan Beaulieu North Carolina Program Associate
Southeastern Wind Coalition
Brian Bednar President and Founder
Birdseye Renewable Energy
Doug Beebe Vice President, Clean Energy
Key Equipment Finance
John Bell, IV House Majority Leader Republican - District 10
NC House of Representatives
Jeff Benavides Director of City and Building Performance
U.S. Green Building Council
Michelle Bolas Chief Innovation Officer & SVP for University Partnerships
NC Innovation
Zachary Brenton Founder and Chief Technology Officer
Carolina Seed Systems, Inc
Aaron Brickman Senior Principal, U.S. Program
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)
Toby Bryce Policy and Market Development Lead
The Open Air Collective
Chris Castro Chief of Staff, Office of State and Community Energy Programs
U.S. Department of Energy
Bryan Cheong Director of Programs and Strategy
The Global America Business Institute (GABI)
Trish Cozart Director
NREL’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center
David Cummins Executive Director, President and CEO
Blue Sky Maritime Coalition
Alsey Davidson Associate, Climate Infrastructure Investment Team
Blackrock
Gabe de Paz Account Manager, SE Gov’t Fleets
Ford Pro Charging
Keegan Dean Renewable Commodities - Corporate Sustainability
STX Commodities
Paul Dobbins Senior Director, Impact Investments
World Wildlife Fund
Max DuBuisson VP, Head of Sustainability Policy & Engagement
Indigo Ag
Leif Fixen North America Agriculture Strategy Manager
The Nature Conservancy
Thomas Foust Center Director II-Technical
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Mike Fox President
Piedmont Triad Partnership
Sam Gattis Senior Director, Target and Portfolio Strategy
Oerthbio
RD Gauss Principal
Global Infrastructure Partners
Preston Gillespie EVP, Chief Generation Officer & Enterprise Operational Excellence
Duke Energy
Megan Gima Hatcher Manager
Thad Cochran Marine Aquaculture Center at USM
Michael Goldman Department Head, Project Finance, Infrastructure and Real Estate
Nixon Peabody LLP
Yunhai Gong School of Transportation & Logistics
Dalian University of Technology
Pete Gould Senior Vice President
Boundary Stone Partners
Ryan Gragnano Senior Manager | Climate Change and Sustainability Services
EY
Patricio Grassini Sunkist Distinguished Professor in Agronomy & Associate Professor
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Brandon Hass Senior Director, Sustainability and Climate Indices
S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI)
Keira Havens Senior Sustainability Project Manager
Pivot Bio
Corey Hessen Executive Vice-President and President, Power, Storage and Origination
TC Energy
Jake Higdon U.S. Manufacturing Advisor, Office of the Under Secretary for Science and Innovation
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Jason Hochman Co-Founder and Senior Director
Direct Air Capture Coalition
Mariliis Holm Co-founder and Partner
Sustainable Food Ventures (SVF)
Jennifer Howard Vice President, Blue Carbon Program
Conservation International
Mark Huang Co-Founder and Managing Director
SeaAhead
Emeka Igwilo Chief Data Officer and VP Operations Support
Southern Company
Nick Irvin Director of R&D, Strategy, Advanced Nuclear, and Crosscutting Technology
Southern Company
Tina Jeffress Senior Manager, Sustainability & Energy
Panasonic Corporation, North America
Zhao Jianlong Director of Data Analytics, Smart Transportation Business Department
Hisense TransTech
Lloyd Jones Global Research Lead for Crop Physiology
UPL
Montravias D. King Clean Energy Campaigns Director
North Carolina League of Conservation Voters
Tiffany King Regional Director of Sustainability
Samet Corporation
Pete Krull Partner, Director of Sustainable Investing
Earth Equity Advisors
Tony Lathrop Board Member, Chair of the Finance Committee
NC Board of Transportation
Anthony Leo Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer
FuelCell Energy
Bonnie Lind Vice President, Business Development, Global Energy & Climate Tech
Brown & Brown Risk Solutions
Eric Lipton Domestic Correspondent, Washington Bureau
The New York Times
Kevin Martin Executive Director
Carolina Utility Customers Association
Amy McGuire Director, Market Development
Highland Electric Fleets
Kevin McLaughlin Vice President, Government Affairs and External Relations
Duke Energy
Steven McManus Innovation Advisor
RTI International, Innovation Advisors Group
Chris Mesrobian Senior Director of Business Development
Monolith Corporation
Susana R. Milla-Lewis Professor and University Faculty Scholar, Crop and Soil Sciences
NC State University
Alex Miller Founder and Principal
Alex Miller Government Affairs
Jeff Mittelstadt Executive Director
Ackerman Center for Excellence in Sustainability (ACES)
Stephen Morel Chief Investment Officer
Montgomery County Green Bank
Dmitri Moundous Director, Energy Storage Strategy and Development
Cypress Creek Renewables
Arjun Nair Manager - Vehicle Programs & Infrastructure Consulting - eMobility
Thomas Built Buses, Daimler Trucks NA
David Nenon EV Supply Chain Strategy Manager
Ford Motor Company
Doug Nowacek Professor, Conservation Technology Environment, Engineering
Project WoW
Erica Ocampo Chief Sustainability Officer
The Metals Company
Jay Oliver Managing Director, Grid Systems Integration
Duke Energy
Luke Oliver Managing Director, Head of Climate Investments
KraneShares
Michael Piehler Director, UNC Institute for the Environment and Chief Sustainability Officer
UNC Chapel Hill
Frank Pollock Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer
Blue Recruit
David Pope Senior Manager, Pre-Sales US Energy
SAS
Robert Reives Representative, District 54
North Carolina General Assembly
Regis Repko Senior VP, Generation and Transmission Strategy
Duke Energy
Ken Riley Aquaculture and Fisheries Scientist
NOAA
Dave Rogers Director, Zero Emissions Truck Business
ETHERO Truck and Energy
Kent Satterlee Executive Director
Gulf Offshore Research Institute (GORI)
Amy Schmid Global Blue Carbon Project Lead
Conservation International
Ryan Silk Infrastructure Investment Analyst
InfraRed Capital Partners, Ltd.
Michael Smith President
Chatham County Economic Development Corporation
Yan Song Professor, Director of Program on Chinese Cities
UNC- City and Regional Planning
Julia Souder Executive Director
Long Duration Energy Storage Council
Blake Stevens Vice President – Science & Technology
Alexandria Realty
Don Stewart Vice President of Manufacturing
Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina (TBMNC)
Lucia Strader Associate Professor
Climate Plant Innovation Network, Duke University
John Szoka Former State Representative
N.C. General Assembly
Allison Thomson AgMission Scientific Program Director
Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR)
Kyle Thumar Investment Analyst
InfraRed Capital Partners, Ltd.
McKean Tompkins Vice President, Infrastructure Opportunities
Ares Management Corporation
Joel Vyduna SVP, Project Execution & Asset Management
Strata Clean Energy
Sheryl Waddell Director of Economic Development and Innovation Hubs
Office of Innovate Carolina
Jeff Warren Research Director
North Carolina Policy Collaboratory
Deb Wojcik Executive Director
Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster
David Wood Director of Engineering
SkyNano Technologies
Shaopeng Zhong Associate Professor, School of Transportation and Logistics
Dalian University of Technology
2023 Sponsors Summit
Diamond
Platinum
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Why participate in the 2023 UNC Cleantech Summit?
[VIDEO] Learn more about this two-day event and how you can be involved! The UNC Cleantech Summit is the largest event of its kind by a university in the United States. Contact Gregory Gangi, Ph.D. , or Kiersten Wolf Williams about sponsorship opportunities.
VIDEO
Fall Virtual Cleantech Career Fair, A Success!
Thank you to all of the companies and students who participated in the Cleantech Career Fair on 10/11/22. More than 100 students registered and met in groups and 1:1 with hiring managers at the following companies: Dominion Energy, Strata Clean Energy, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), Cypress Creek Renewables, FlexGen, White Pine Renewables, BIOMILQ, and Pine Gate Renewables.
We are planning an in-person career fair on day two of the 2023 UNC Cleantech Summit (March 28).
This event is co-hosted by the UNC Institute for the Environment and the Ackerman Center for Excellence in Sustainability (ACES) at the Kenan-Flagler School of Business.
