 |
MARCH 10-12, 2026 | RALEIGH, NC |
|
MARCH 10-12, 2026 | RALEIGH, NC |
Join industry partners and applied research leadership accelerating the development and deployment of
new energy solutions into products and society.
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity
Back to Top ↑Sessions | ||
Tuesday March 10 | ||
| 8:20 | TechConnect World Innovation Conference - Plenary Keynotes | |
| 10:30 | Supporting the Translation of Research-based Technologies to Products | |
| 10:30 | Applying Energy Storage | |
| 1:00 | TechConnect World Expo and SBIR/STTR Pavilion Open | |
| 1:30 | TechConnect Innovation Spotlights: Energy and Sustainability I | |
| 1:30 | The Role of Universities in Creating Innovation Ecosystems | |
| 1:30 | Battery Energy Storage I | |
| 2:30 | TechConnect Innovation Spotlights: Energy and Sustainability II | |
| 4:00 | TechConnect World Expo, Technical Poster Session I, and Expo Social (4:00 - 6:00) | |
| 4:00 | Energy Storage I - Posters | |
| 4:00 | University Innovations - Posters | |
Wednesday March 11 | ||
| 9:00 | Energy Harvesting & Carbon Capture | |
| 9:00 | Battery Energy Storage II | |
| 9:30 | DOE EPIC Prize Challenge Pitch Competition | |
| 9:30 | LEAN Power and EMC2 Industry Day (open to all conference attendees) | |
| 10:30 | Collaboration to Advance Storage | |
| 1:00 | TechConnect World Expo and SBIR/STTR Pavilion Open | |
| 1:15 | AI for Grid Resilience and Security Challenge | |
| 1:30 | Storage Beyond Batteries | |
| 1:30 | Innvoations in Critical Materials | |
| 3:30 | DOE EPIC Prize Challenge Winner Announcement | |
| 4:00 | TechConnect World Expo, Technical Poster Session II, and Expo Social (4:00 - 6:00) | |
| 4:00 | Energy Storage II - Posters | |
Thursday March 12 | ||
| 9:00 | Keys to Storage Commercialization and Deployment | |
2026 Detailed Program | ||
Tuesday March 10 | ||
| 8:20 | TechConnect World Innovation Conference - Plenary Keynotes | RCC Ballroom B |
| Session chair: Jennifer Rocha, Dalia Yablon, Matthew Laudon, TechConnect Division, ATI, US | ||
| Lightweighting with single crystal graphene, and new routes to growing diamonds R. Ruoff, Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology, KR | ||
| Quantum Computing 101: Foundations, Frontiers, and Future Impact W. Oliver, MIT, US | ||
| Architecting the Future with Silicon Carbide: A Platform for Power, Intelligence, and Immersion E. Balkas, Wolfspeed, US | ||
| SBIR/STTR Keynote TBA, U.S. Small Business Administration, US | ||
| 10:30 | Supporting the Translation of Research-based Technologies to Products | Marriott State A |
| Session chair: Christine Galib, Princeton University & Alex Norman, Princeton University | ||
| It Takes a Village: Innovation Ecosystem Building Panel E. Dinu (Moderator), J.E. Odegard, J. Jones, B. Solomon, P. Datta, Numinous Capital, 62x Ventures, North Carolina State University, FedTech, Evonik, US | ||
| Research Triangle Innovation Sphere J. Jur, NC Dept of Commerce, US | ||
| I-Corps as the First Stop: A Proven University Innovation Model A.T. Trotsenko, J. Blaho, CUNY Incubator Network, US | ||
| 10:30 | Applying Energy Storage | RCC 306B |
| Session chair: Erik Spoerke, Department of Energy, Will McNamara, Sandia National Laboratories, & Xiaolin Li, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | ||
| Introductory Remarks - Energy Storage | ||
| National Leading Energy Storage Demonstrations K. Johnston, NextGen Energy, US | ||
| Integrating SMR's with Thermal Energy Storage J. Koontz, Rock Energy Storage, US | ||
| Dispatching the Future: Long-Duration Storage for Alaska’s Grid Evolution L. Vesely, K. Sedlacko, D. Jones, Echogen, US | ||
| 1:00 | TechConnect World Expo and SBIR/STTR Pavilion Open | Expo Hall AB |
| 1:30 | TechConnect Innovation Spotlights: Energy and Sustainability I | RCC 305B |
| Session chair: Emma Mooney, TechConnect Division, ATI | ||
| Review Panelist J. Caley, U.S. Navy Operational Energy, US | ||
| Review Panelist L. Wilhelm, U.S. Navy Operational Energy, US | ||
| Review Panelist Q. Holyfield (invited), ATI, US | ||
| Review Panelist E. Armstrong, Naval Operational Energy Office, US | ||
| Review Panelist M. Worley, Alexander County Economic Development Corporation, US | ||
| Review Panelist K. Mish, Abbott On Call, US | ||
| "Plug-N-Forget" AI-powered Intelligent Miniature Sensor (AIMS) for Continuous in situ Wastewater Monitoring B. Li, We-Sensing LLC, US | ||
| Transformative Energy Materials: Tunable Architectures for Scalable Storage and Hydrogen Futures J. Liu, Nanoinnovation North American, LLC, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, US | ||
| Gateway System for Non-Penetrating Data & Power Transfer through Solid Barriers K. Swinden, SDI Engineering Inc./Rho-C Limited, US | ||
| Carbon Dioxide Reduction Through Electrolysis for Green Chemistry M. Rizkallah, Cincy Carbon, US | ||
| AquaSplash-Fast-Acting Nanotech Water Purification S. Mandal, Texas State University, US | ||
| AI-Driven PFAS Discovery for Manufacturing Materials and Suppliers J. Yu, EcoPulse, Inc., US | ||
| 1:30 | The Role of Universities in Creating Innovation Ecosystems | Marriott State A |
| Session chair: Christine Galib, Princeton University, & Alex Norman, Princeton University | ||
| Fireside Chat - Policy & Process: How Economic Policy Impacts Deep Tech Innovation K. Stout, B. Soloman, International Center for Law and Economics, FedTech, US | ||
| From Princeton Lab to Global Lithium Operations: Commercializing Water-Smart Technologies for Critical Minerals A. Fasnacht, PureLi, US | ||
| Adaptilens: Materials Innovations driving the Development of Biomimetic Accommodating Intraocular Lenses M.L. Becker, Duke University, US | ||
| TBD F. Heide, Princeton, US | ||
| VectorScribe: Spinning out from university lab to startup via NSF and APT D.J. McGee, VectorScribe LLC, US | ||
| From Microliters to Market: QATCH's Journey Z. Parlak, Qatch Technologies, LLC, US | ||
| Balancing Deep Tech and Market Agility: From MEMS Flow Sensing to Non-Intrusive Fill-Level Monitoring Y. Fan, Tendo Technologies, Inc., US | ||
| From Ag Waste to Membraneless Separation: How Princeton PMI Catalyzed ZOLX’s Pivot H. Parhizkar, ZOLX Inc., US | ||
| NSF I‑Corps Spin‑Out: HYDROGENISE - Hydrogen Generation through Integrated Sustainable Electrolysis for Scalable Clean Energy S. Bashir, P. Robinson, J.L. Liu, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, US | ||
| 1:30 | Battery Energy Storage I | RCC 306B |
| Session chair: Erik Spoerke, Department of Energy, Will McNamara, Sandia National Laboratories, & Xiaolin Li, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | ||
| Recent Insights into Aqueous Zinc Battery Behavior E.S. Takeuchi, A.C. Marschilok, K.J. Takeuchi, Stony Brook University, US | ||
| Revitalizing Alkaline Zn-MnO₂ Battery for Scalable, Safe and Sustainable Energy Storage J. Huang, G.G. Yadav, M. Weiner, G. Cowles, Urban Electric Power Inc., US | ||
| A Highly Densified, Aqueous Zinc Polyiodide (ZnI₂) Flow Battery Platform for Safe, U.S.-Manufacturable Long-Duration Energy Storage K.P. Meagher, The BESSt Company, US | ||
| Low-cost, high-performance, Lithium-free battery with an in-built energy harvester as sustainable sources B. Jain, A.J. Bandodkar, North Carolina State University, US | ||
| The Electrochemistry of Two-Electron Conversion Reactions for Rechargeable Aqueous Batteries J.W. Gallaway, Northeastern University, US | ||
| Hybrid Metallic Cation−Anionic Surfactant Additive Regulating Interfacial Chemistry for High−Stability Zn Metal Anodes N.A. Thieu, P. Gao, W. Li, S. Zhang, S. Chen, X. Li, X. Liu, West Virginia University, US | ||
| Textural Tuning of Municipal Solid Waste Biochar toward High-Performance Functional Materials S. Bera, R. Rao, L. Pal, North Carolina State University, US | ||
| 2:30 | TechConnect Innovation Spotlights: Energy and Sustainability II | RCC 305B |
| Session chair: Emma Mooney, TechConnect Division, ATI | ||
| Review Panelist J. Caley, U.S. Navy Operational Energy, US | ||
| Review Panelist L. Wilhelm, U.S. Navy Operational Energy, US | ||
| Review Panelist Q. Holyfield (invited), ATI, US | ||
| Review Panelist E. Armstrong, Naval Operational Energy Office, US | ||
| Review Panelist B. Burton, North Carolina Military Business Center, US | ||
| Review Panelist K. Mish, Abbott On Call, US | ||
| Engineered amorphous aerogel catalysts for supercharged electrochemical processes A. Kent, M1 Catalysts, Inc., US | ||
| Direct Salt-to-Anode Manufacturing for Fully Domestic High-Energy Lithium Metal Batteries S. Esarey, Alpha-En Corporation, US | ||
| A next-generation solid-state hydrogen cell that protects itself from steam corrosion L. Xingbo, West Virginia University, US | ||
| Chargeable Hybrid Flexible Ballistic Protection Battery Systems for Individual Warrior Power Consolidation A. Kuntz, Salubrium Aegis, US | ||
| Organic SolidFlow battery G. Damato, CMBlu Energy, Inc., US | ||
| A High Performance membrane electrolyte for Solid State Lithium-ion Batteries H. Rathnayake, BRIGHT Institute, US | ||
| 4:00 | TechConnect World Expo, Technical Poster Session I, and Expo Social (4:00 - 6:00) | Expo Hall AB |
| 4:00 | Energy Storage I - Posters | Expo Hall AB |
| Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquids in Graphene-Capped Liquid Cells Probed by Synchrotron Infrared Nanospectroscopy: Insights into Electric Double Layers for Advanced Energy Storage Z. Li, K.C. Ng, S. Anderson, M. Jaugstetter, M. Salmeron, M.C. Martin, H.A. Bechtel, S.N. Gilbert Corder, Hunter College of the City University of New York, US | ||
| Enhancing Military Resilience: A Suite of Mature Energy Generation, Storage, and Efficiency Technologies M. Hartle, Nabors Energy Transition Solutions, US | ||
| Hybrid Energy Storage Systems for Renewable Integration: Combining Batteries, Supercapacitors, and Flywheels T.M. Iwayemi, O.S. Tomomewo, S. Choudhary, D.K. Boakye, University of North Dakota, US | ||
| Characterization of particulate and gaseous emissions from thermal runaway of sodium-ion cells V. Premnath, D. Kannan, I. Khalek, J. Jeevarajan, UL Research Institutes, US | ||
| Thermal Runaway of Portable Lithium-ion Batteries and Fire Suppression in an Aircraft Cargo Compartment B. Kwon, C. Lopez, D. Overall, B. Connolly, V. Premnath and J. Jeevarajan, UL Research Institutes, US | ||
| Characterizing the safety of commercial sodium-ion batteries D. Rajagopalan Kannan, J. Yap, V. Premnath, J.A. Jeevarajan, UL Research Institutes, US | ||
| Bolstering Energy Independence Within Asphalt Production via Thermal Energy Storage L.P. McLaughlin, Sandia National Laboratories, US | ||
| CarbonCrete: A Multifunctional Cementitious Platform for Non-Battery Energy Storage, Electromagnetic Attenuation, and Infrastructure Resilience R. Kristof, Amidon, US | ||
| 4:00 | University Innovations - Posters | Expo Hall AB |
| Growing Entrepreneurial Ecosystems for Resilient Innovation – Regional Distribution of Participants in New York State FAST Y-H. Kim, City University of New York, US | ||
| The NYC Innovation Hot Spot as a model for university-led incubators to support deep technology commercialization within a state-wide ecosystem C. Cardaci, J. Blaho, NYC Innovation Hot Spot, City University of New York, US | ||
Wednesday March 11 | ||
| 9:00 | Energy Harvesting & Carbon Capture | Marriott Congressional B |
| Session chair: David Calabro, ExxonMobil (retired) | ||
| *STUDENT BEST ABSTRACT WINNER* TiZnCeO-Enhanced PVDF Coatings for High-Performance Piezoelectric Yarn Nanogenerators in Wearable Textiles. A. Talukder, S. Mesihovic, S. Sharma, University of Georgia, US | ||
| Reducing cost and space barriers for small-to-mid-size emitters through fully columnless and modular carbon capture technology P.M. Kamat, Carbon Clean, US | ||
| Emerging Breakthroughs in Membraneless Electrochemical Carbon Capture Technologies M. Rahimi, A. Hassan, University of Houston, US | ||
| Self Sufficient Net Zero CO2 Factories D.E. Santo, Sisterm Thermal Systems, BR | ||
| Innovation in Decarbonizing Ammonia Production Using Rare-Earth-Based Catalysts M. Maddah, G. Richardson, P. Calloch, P. Geraghty, F. Natali, Liquium, NZ | ||
| 9:00 | Battery Energy Storage II | RCC 306B |
| Session chair: Erik Spoerke, Department of Energy, Will McNamara, Sandia National Laboratories, & Xiaolin Li, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | ||
| Innovations in Battery Technology for Grid-Scale Energy Storage G. Damato, CMBlu Energy, Inc., US | ||
| Low-Cost Organic Electrolytes for Next-Generation Flow Batteries M. Bahari, A.S Hamedi, V. Vallem, E. Beh, Quino Energy, Inc., US | ||
| 9:30 | DOE EPIC Prize Challenge Pitch Competition | RCC 305B |
| CurrentEdge Power Semiconductor LLC , US | ||
| Eden GeoPower Inc., US | ||
| Found Energy , US | ||
| Lukera Energy Corporation , US | ||
| Modal Motors, Inc. , US | ||
| Sensible Photonics, Inc. , US | ||
| 9:30 | LEAN Power and EMC2 Industry Day (open to all conference attendees) | RCC 201 |
| Operational Energy, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Energy, US | ||
| Naval Surface Warfare Center - Crane Division, US | ||
| ATI, US | ||
| 10:30 | Collaboration to Advance Storage | RCC 306B |
| Session chair: Erik Spoerke, Department of Energy, Will McNamara, Sandia National Laboratories, & Xiaolin Li, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | ||
| Grid Storage Launchpad: Advancing U.S. Energy Storage Technologies V. Sprenkle, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, US | ||
| Use Case Development for Advancing Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) Technologies in the LDES National Consortium Z. Ma, National Laboratory of the Rockies, US | ||
| Innovation at the Cross-Section of Industry and Academia: Consortium for Lead Battery Leadership T. Ellis, C. Greco, A. McQuilling, R. Miksad, M. Raiford, E. Thomsen, T. Fister, K. Knehr, A. Stack, D. Wu, X. Ma, Consortium for Battery Innovation, US | ||
| Sodium-ion Alliance for Grid Energy Storage X. Li, D.M. Reed, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, US | ||
| 1:00 | TechConnect World Expo and SBIR/STTR Pavilion Open | Expo Hall AB |
| 1:15 | AI for Grid Resilience and Security Challenge | RCC 303 |
| Session chair: Jonathan Jakischa, TechConnect Division, ATI | ||
| Review Panelist P. Chilukuri, ABB, US | ||
| Review Panelist G. Dorr, Advanced Technology International (ATI), US | ||
| Review Panelist B. Kronenwetter, Duke Energy, US | ||
| Review Panelist C. McCollough, Digi.City, US | ||
| Review Panelist P. Pandey, Fidelity Investments, US | ||
| 1:30 | Storage Beyond Batteries | RCC 306B |
| Session chair: Erik Spoerke, Department of Energy, Will McNamara, Sandia National Laboratories, & Xiaolin Li, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | ||
| Formulation and Case Studies for Optimization of Thermal Energy Storage Dispatch for Industrial Process Heating J. Rushkoff, Electric Power Research Institute, US | ||
| Subsurface Cold Thermal Energy Storage for Low-Carbon Cooling: Modeling Performance under Geological Uncertainty H. Soroush, E. Gentry, R. Wichuk, Teverra LLC, US | ||
| Electrospun Nanofibrous Mat with Encapsulated Fatty Acid Phase Change Material for Enhanced Thermal Energy Storage A.A. Bankole, A. Mali, S. Obare, L. Zhang, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, US | ||
| Testing of the first Commercial Energy Dome System S. Hume, H. Hack, Electric Power Research Institute, US | ||
| Solving the "Small Door to the Mechanical Room" Problem - Modular, High Performance Thermal Storage Tank G. Schultz, O. Buechse, Thermal Energy HQ, US | ||
| The Safety and Reliability Advantages of Underwater Megawatt Hydrogen Production and Storage E. Greenbaum, GTA, Inc., US | ||
| 1:30 | Innvoations in Critical Materials | Marriott State D |
| Session chair: Andriy Palasyuk, Ames National Laboratory | ||
| TBD R. Dilmore, National Energy Technology Laboratory, US | ||
| Life Cycle Environmental Impacts of U.S. Synthetic Graphite Anode Production for Lithium-Ion Batteries R. Pandey, U.R. Gracida-Alvarez, R.K. Iyer, J.C. Kelly, Argonne National Laboratory, US | ||
| *STUDENT BEST ABSTRACT WINNER* Graphite Supply Chain Modeling using the Global Change Analysis Model M.E. Liu, Y. Qiu, G.C. Iyer, A.A. Fawcett, B. Yarlagadda, S. Durga, Pacific Northwest National Lab, US | ||
| Toward a Renewable Supply of Graphite: Catalytic Biographite Production and Techno-Economic Evaluation for Energy Storage Applications S. Park, North Carolina State University, US | ||
| Lithium from virgin and recycled pathways: a techno-economic overview S.M. Gallagher, N.A. Chowdhury, Y. Khalid, Q. Da, J.S. Spangenberger, Argonne National Laboratory, US | ||
| From Stack to Supply Chain: Addressing the Economic and Regulatory Challenges for REE Recovery from Florida Phosphogypsum P. Zhang, H. Liang, A. Medley, T. Levitskaia, R. Riman, C. Tsouris, Y. Katsenovich, FIPR Institute, Florida Poly, US | ||
| *STUDENT BEST ABSTRACT HONORABLE MENTION* Design and Optimization of Processing Pathways for Rare Earth Element Recovery from End-of-Life Products C. Laliwala, O.O. Amusat, A.I. Torres, Carnegie Mellon University, US | ||
| Optimizing Domestic Supply Chain Strategies for Rare Earth Element Recovery from Coal Ash B. McNeil, K. Menon, O. Khwaja, A. Santos Xavier, C. Iloeje, Argonne National Laboratory, US | ||
| Trends in Critical Metals Enrichment in Acid Mine Drainage Fluids and Treatment Residuals H. Hsu-Kim, A. Mishrra, A. Altmann, B.C. Hedin, Duke University, US | ||
| Pilot-Scale Recovery and Refining of Rare Earth and Critical Minerals from Acid Mine Drainage and Coal-Based Feedstocks for Domestic Supply Chain Development S.V. Pisupati, The Pennsylvania State University, US | ||
| 3:30 | DOE EPIC Prize Challenge Winner Announcement | RCC 305B |
| 4:00 | TechConnect World Expo, Technical Poster Session II, and Expo Social (4:00 - 6:00) | Expo Hall AB |
| 4:00 | Energy Storage II - Posters | Expo Hall AB |
| NEMA C. Granata, NEMA (National Electrical Manufactures Association), US | ||
| Detecting and Predicting the Performance of Lithium-ion Batteries after Abusive Mechanical Damage J. Sherman, A. Bombik, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, US | ||
| An Equivalent Power Model for Simulating Thermal Performance of Lithium-ion Batteries M. Tyrrell, F.A. Mier, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, US | ||
| Transformerless Paralleled Pulse-Width Modulated Current-Source Rectifier for Large-Scale Hydrogen Production via Water Electrolysis H. Gao, Washington State University Vancouver, US | ||
| Sodium-Ion based BESS for AFB & Starter Battery for Navy T. Vosburgh, Coulomb Technology, US | ||
| Large Scale Fire Testing – Navigating Codes and Standards in 2026 S.J. Jordan, Jensen Hughes, US | ||
| Breakthrough Technology for Compressed Hydrogen Energy Storage and Pipeline Technologies J. Liberkowski, VSens Inc., US | ||
Thursday March 12 | ||
| 9:00 | Keys to Storage Commercialization and Deployment | RCC 306B |
| Session chair: Erik Spoerke, Department of Energy, Will McNamara, Sandia National Laboratories, & Xiaolin Li, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | ||
| Can New York state realize its long-duration energy storage (LDES) goal of 600MW by 2030? N. Trivedi, B. Xavier, Vrinda Inc., US | ||
| Mobilizing Investment to Spur LDES Technologies K. Johnston, NextGen Energy, US | ||
| Design for Manufacturing as the Bridge to Scalable Long-Duration Energy Storage K.P. Meagher, The BESSt Company, US | ||
| Leveling Up: Advancing how Future Storage will Turbocharge Economic Value E. Hsieh, Department of Energy, US | ||
| Storage Innovations 2030: A Path to Storage Abundance by Bridging Gaps V. Durvasulu, W.H. Balliet, P. Balducci, B. Shrager, Idaho National Laboratory, US | ||
| EverBESS: a tool for assessing the end-of-life management costs of sodium-ion battery energy storage systems A. Baby, J.R. Elias, Q. Dai, J.S. Spangenberger, Argonne National Laboratory, US | ||
| Community-Scale Battery Storage Demonstrations for Grid Resilience in Puerto Rico D.L. Troche, Boriken Futuro, US | ||
| Back to Top | ||
Presented by  |
Powered by  |
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS
2026 FEDERAL PARTNERS
About
Committees
Media
Venue and Lodging
Co-Located Events
Terms and Conditions
Visas and Invitational Letters
Instructions For Technical Presenters
Contact
Full Program
Business Program
Innovation Challenges
& Critical Technology Spotlights
Sectors
Speakers
Technical Symposia
Student Programs
SBIR/STTR Innovator Training Workshop
© Copyright 2026 TechConnect. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
