Back to Top ↑2026 Sessions |
| Tuesday March 10 |
| 8:30 | 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 |
| Wednesday March 11 |
| 9:00 | Battery Energy Storage II |
| 9:30 | Energy Harvesting |
| 9:30 | LEAN Power and EMC2 Industry Day |
| 9:30 | DOE EPIC Prize Challenge Pitch Competition |
| 10:30 | Carbon Capture |
| 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 |
| 1:30 | LEAN Power and EMC2 Member Only Meeting |
| 3:30 | DOE EPIC Prize Challenge Winner Announcement |
| 4:00 | TechConnect World Expo, Technical Poster Session II, and Expo Social (4:00 - 6:00) |
| Thursday March 12 |
| 9:00 | Keys to Storage Commercialization and Deployment |
|
2026 Detailed Program |
| Tuesday March 10 |
|
| 8:30 | TechConnect World Innovation Conference - Plenary Keynotes | |
| Session chair: Jennifer Rocha, Dalia Yablon, Matthew Laudon, TechConnect Division, ATI, US |
| Architecting the Future with Silicon Carbide: A Platform for Power, Intelligence, and Immersion
E. Balkas, Wolfspeed, US |
| Quantum Computing 101: Foundations, Frontiers, and Future Impact
W. Oliver, MIT, US |
| Lightweighting with single crystal graphene, and new routes to growing diamonds
R. Ruoff, Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology, KR |
| SBIR/STTR Keynote
TBA, U.S. Small Business Administration, US |
|
| 10:30 | Supporting the Translation of Research-based Technologies to Products | |
| Session chair: Christine Galib, Princeton University & Alex Norman, Princeton University |
| NASA’s University Collaborations and Their Effects on Its Mission, Technical Excellence, and Workforce
J.S. McCabe, NASA Johnson Space Center, US |
| Research Triangle Innovation Sphere
J. Jur, NC Dept of Commerce, US |
| 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 |
|
| 10:30 | Applying Energy Storage | |
| 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 |
| How to Meet Data Center Demand with Long-Duration Energy Storage
C. Graves, Noon 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 | |
|
| 1:30 | TechConnect Innovation Spotlights: Energy and Sustainability I | |
| 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
TBA, NSWC Crane, US |
| Review Panelist
E. Armstrong, Naval Operational Energy Office, 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
D. Messenger, 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 |
| PFAS AI
J. Yu, EcoPulse, Inc., US |
|
| 1:30 | The Role of Universities in Creating Innovation Ecosystems | |
| 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 | |
| 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 |
| Terra Silicon-based Anode Batteries for High-performance Energy Storage System
I. Kim, HKG Energy, 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 | |
| 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
TBA, NSWC Crane, US |
| Review Panelist
E. Armstrong, Naval Operational Energy Office, 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) | |
|
| 4:00 | Energy Storage I - Posters | |
| 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 |
| *STUDENT BEST ABSTRACT WINNER* Electrophoretic Deposition of Composite Coatings for Stabilizing High-Voltage Li-Ion Batteries
I. Anconina, T. Leirikh, D. Golodnitsky, Tel Aviv University, IL |
| We see sustainable energy as a powerful way to boost the well-being of both our rural and urban communities, make our cities healthier for the climate, and effectively meet the military's energy needs.
A.S. Jadhav, Syraon GreenThurst Daynamics Pvt. Ltd, IN |
| Decentralized Energy Sovereignity: Integrating Edge AI and Active-Fab Architecture for Resilient Microgrids
A. Borders, IntellePulse Inc., US |
| Wednesday March 11 |
|
| 9:00 | Battery Energy Storage II | |
| 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 |
| Battery Innovations Unlocking Renewable Energy At Scale
A. Saunders, Noon Energy, US |
|
| 9:30 | Energy Harvesting | |
| Session chair: David Calabro, ExxonMobil (retired) |
| The Missing Energy Puzzle Piece to Producing 100% Clean Energy
S. Owens, CLEANWERKS, LLC, US |
| *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 |
| Grid-Responsive Lighting Through AI: Optimizing Illumination for Sustainability and Stability
A.R. Isaak, Photometrics AI, US |
|
| 9:30 | LEAN Power and EMC2 Industry Day | |
| Operational Energy, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Energy, US |
| Naval Surface Warfare Center - Crane Division, US |
| ATI, US |
|
| 9:30 | DOE EPIC Prize Challenge Pitch Competition | |
|
| 10:30 | Carbon Capture | |
| Session chair: David Calabro, ExxonMobil (retired) |
| Reducing cost and space barriers for small-to-mid-size emitters through fully columnless and modular carbon capture technology
P.M. Kumat, 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 |
| Nature to Grid: modular reactors to produce firm electricity from solid carbon at ultrahigh efficiency
X-D Zhou, N. Xu, SOFI TEC LLC/University of Connecticut, US |
|
| 10:30 | Collaboration to Advance Storage | |
| 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 | |
|
| 1:15 | AI for Grid Resilience and Security Challenge | |
| Session chair: Jonathan Jakischa, TechConnect Division, ATI |
|
| 1:30 | Storage Beyond Batteries | |
| 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 |
| TerraKline - A Breakthrough in Long Duration Sensible heat energy storage using thermocline
A. Mathur, Terrafore Technologies, 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 |
| Dedicated storage energy turbine
J. Yan, Talos Industry Corp, US |
| The Safety and Reliability Advantages of Underwater Megawatt Hydrogen Production and Storage
E. Greenbaum, GTA, Inc., US |
|
| 1:30 | Innvoations in Critical Materials | |
| 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 |
|
| 1:30 | LEAN Power and EMC2 Member Only Meeting | |
| Operational Energy, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Energy, US |
| Naval Surface Warfare Center - Crane Division, US |
| ATI, US |
|
| 3:30 | DOE EPIC Prize Challenge Winner Announcement | |
|
| 4:00 | TechConnect World Expo, Technical Poster Session II, and Expo Social (4:00 - 6:00) | |
| Thursday March 12 |
|
| 9:00 | Keys to Storage Commercialization and Deployment | |
| 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 |
|
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