UNC Cleantech Summit celebrates 10th anniversary with banner line-up of speakers, panelists
May 3, 2024
(Michael Regan, Administrator of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Dan Shugar, CEO and Founder of Nextracker. Photo by Eleazar Yisrael | See more photos from the Summit)
The 10th annual UNC Cleantech Summit brought together educators, students and professionals in the cleantech industry for a two-day event at UNC’s Friday Conference Center from March 21 to March 22. The summit, co-hosted by the UNC Institute for the Environment (IE) and the Ackerman Center for Excellence in Sustainability at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, is the United States’ largest university-hosted cleantech conference.
Greg Gangi, IE’s associate director of clean technology and innovation and teaching professor, hopes the event will bring attention to the Research Triangle Park’s (RTP) place in the emerging cleantech corridor on the East Coast.
“We want to build this area by encouraging students to follow careers with the idea that the students who attend today may become the entrepreneurs of tomorrow,” Gangi said.
Attendees heard from 13 keynote speakers and over 40 panels discussing a range of topics, including the global energy transition, the role of biologicals in agriculture, buildings and infrastructure, aquaculture, green chemistry, alternative fuels and shipping innovation, packaging and single-use utensils, offshore wind, industrial decarbonization and many others.
The summit also included a variety of networking opportunities for students and recent grads, including a networking reception, career fair and small group or 1:1 meetings with industry professionals through the Mentor Match program.
“The summit left me feeling even more inspired to pursue my passions at the intersection of business and sustainability,” said freshman environmental science major Jackson Lefler.
According to Gangi, the event is also a message about economic development.
“We are hoping to attract cleantech companies to the state,” Gangi said. “RTP is great for businesses to place their R&D and innovation efforts, but we think the primary beneficiaries will be communities outside of RTP where companies open manufacturing facilities. One of the many things we try to do at the Summit is highlight the high quality of the workforce in North Carolina and all the other attributes that make North Carolina a great place for businesses in this space.”
The summit has already gained national and international attention since the inaugural summit in 2014. Around 1,200 attendees registered for this year’s event, many of whom traveled to North Carolina.
In addition to exposing students to the cleantech industry, the summit relies on student involvement to operate smoothly.
“This year’s Cleantech Summit was far and away the best I have been to while at UNC,” junior environmental science major Anthony Buckley said. “The quality and diversity of speakers was incredible. As someone who helped put the conference together, I was proud to see how my and my fellow interns’ hard work paid off.”
Twelve students helped organize speakers, marketed the event on social media and even moderated panels, such as this year’s panel with U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secretary David Turk.
“I think the opportunity I had to engage with a leader at the forefront of the national energy transition defines my entire experience so far at Carolina,” said sophomore environmental science major Victoria Farella.
“Meeting the Deputy Secretary and hearing his honest words of advice toward students gave me confidence that not only is the transition to clean energy technologies strong and in good hands but also that these leaders have faith in us students and believe that we can move the path forward,” Farella added.
See more media coverage from the 2024 Summit.
- Energy Matters Podcast at the UNC Cleantech Summit (WGAU | May 11, 2024)
In this episode (273), Tim Echols interviews guests from the UNC Cleantech Summit in Chapel Hill. Emilie O’Leary, Commissioner Jeff Hughes, Bill Linton, and Thad Culley. Read More - POV: We just went to the 10th Annual Cleantech Summit (TikTok | Mar. 27, 2024)
Since its start 10 years ago, the #UNC Cleantech Summit has grown into the largest university-hosted cleantech conference in the United States. Check out these views from the epic event! Read More - Clean energy is stuck with backlogs. A Charlotte factory hopes to be part of the solution (WSOC-TV, Mar. 27, 2024)
While speaking at UNC’s recent Cleantech Summit, he said his department is working to streamline the application process for interconnection projects and incentivize transmission upgrades, without sacrificing the environmental and community protections that come with new power projects. Read More - Steve Rao: Forge Battery leading charge in job creation (WRAL TechWire, Mar. 27, 2024)
Forge Battery can provide these types of batteries to power up and run clean energy data centers, a topic which was addressed at the UNC Clean Tech Summit this week. Read More - UNC Cleantech Summit highlights need for clean economy, green technology (The Daily Tar Heel | Mar. 26, 2024)
The 10th annual UNC Cleantech Summit was held on Thursday and Friday at the Friday Conference Center, which included a variety of keynote speakers and discussions about topics contributing to a clean economy. Read More - EPA chief speaks at UNC Cleantech Summit (WRAL | Mar. 25, 2024)
Michael Regan says the EPA has been working with labor, industry, and environmental stakeholders to make sure emissions rules are achievable and durable. Read More - New emission rules for cars will start slow but grow rapidly, EPA administrator says (News and Observer | Mar. 22, 2024)
A new emissions rule for cars, trucks and vans sold in the United States from 2027 to 2032 will phase reductions in more slowly to allow charging infrastructure and low-carbon emissions vehicles to keep pace with demand, EPA Administrator Michael Read More - New emission rules for cars will start slow but grow rapidly, EPA administrator says (Aol. | Mar. 22, 2024)
Regan said that by giving auto manufacturers and customers more time to move away from engines powered solely on gasoline, air pollution and greenhouse reductions in the 2030s could be deeper than anticipated. Read More - New emission rules for cars will start slow but grow rapidly, EPA administrator says (Charlotte Observer | Mar. 22, 2024)
EPA Administrator Michael Regan spoke at the UNC Cleantech Summit on Thursday, a day after announcing the final rule for vehicle emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. Read More - EPA relaxes emissions standards to ensure longevity of rules (WRAL | Mar. 22, 2024)
EPA Administrator Michael Regan spoke about new emissions standards at the UNC Cleantech Summit. Read More - IRA clean energy projects to create 30,000 North Carolina jobs, $10 billion to GDP (PV Magazine | Mar. 22, 2024)
Over $7.6 billion in wages are expected to be generated from already-announced Inflation Reduction Act supported projects, said a report from E2. Read More - Cleantech program students help plan summit (UNC.edu | Mar. 21, 2024)
Three of the 15 Institute for the Environment interns share what excites them about cleantech. Read More - Electric vehicles: ‘Economic revolution’ or ‘net job losers’ (The Mountaineer | Mar. 21, 2024)
North Carolina leads the nation in clean energy private-sector investments since passage of the $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act, according to a new report by a national nonpartisan, nonprofit group. Read More
Story by Natalie Peoples
Natalie Peoples is a student at UNC-Chapel Hill. Peoples is currently a junior from Kensington, Maryland, pursuing a double major in journalism and environmental science. In addition to her work as a communications intern for the Institute for the Environment, she has experience in photojournalism and environmental research. Peoples plans to pursue a career in environmental journalism with a special interest in marine science.