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 | Innovative Approaches in Wastewater Treatment: Enhancing Sustainability and Efficiency |
| 10:30 | Applying Energy Storage |
| 10:30 | Opportunities for Innovation in Critical Materials Supply Chains |
| 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 | Innovative Approaches in Wastewater Treatment: Enhancing Sustainability and Efficiency |
| 1:30 | Biorefining and Petroleum & Gas Refining |
| 1:30 | Battery Energy Storage I |
| 1:30 | Innovations in Magnet Materials and Manufacturing Techniques |
| 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 | Wastewater Treatment - Posters |
| 4:00 | Energy Storage I - Posters |
| 4:00 | Critical Materials I - Posters |
| 4:00 | Sustainability & Efficiency - Posters |
| Wednesday March 11 |
| 8:30 | Advances in Critical Mineral Separation Technologies |
| 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 |
| 1:30 | Resource Recovery and Waste Reduction |
| 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) |
| 4:00 | Critical Materials II - Posters |
| 4:00 | PFAS and Emerging Contaminant Remediation - Posters |
| Thursday March 12 |
| 8:30 | Extraction of Critical Minerals from Diverse Sources |
| 9:00 | PFAS and Emerging Contaminant Remediation |
| 9:00 | Keys to Storage Commercialization and Deployment |
| 1:15 | Critical Materials - Workshop (open to all conference attendees) |
|
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 | Innovative Approaches in Wastewater Treatment: Enhancing Sustainability and Efficiency | |
| Session chair: Sehmus Ozden, Aramco Services |
| Specialty Ion Exchange Resins for PFAS Removal from Water
O. Coronell, F.A. Leibfarth, A.S. Gorzalski, UNC Chapel Hill, US |
| From Data to Decision: AI-Enabled Digitalization and Mechanistic Autonomy for Intelligent Biological Nutrient Removal
X. Wang, S. Lu, Z. Zhao, B. Li, University of Connecticut, US |
| Transforming PFAS contaminated biosolids into crude oil and water
A.H. Thomas, A.R. Maag, M.T. Timko, River Otter, US |
| TBD
A.M. Fasnacht, PureLi, 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 |
|
| 10:30 | Opportunities for Innovation in Critical Materials Supply Chains | |
| Session chair: Alison Fritz, National Energy Technology Laboratory |
| Evolution of Key Performance Indicators for Critical Materials Technology Development and Derisking at the U.S. Department of Energy
J. Mehta, P. Thallapally, U.S. Department of Energy, US |
| Transforming Industrial Wastes into Strategic Mineral Resources - Accelerating Innovation
C.C. Young, ElementUSA, US |
| Predicting Supply Chain Disruptions Across Critical Materials Value Segments
S. Kulkarni, L. Toba, Idaho National Laboratory; Critical Materials Innovation Hub, US |
| Industry Track Record in Ramping-up Critical Mineral Projects – An update
N. Verbaan, SGS Canada, CA |
| Unlocking Domestic Critical Mineral Supply: An AI-Powered Tool for Rapid Characterization of Unconventional Feedstocks
K. Rose, C.G. Creason, S. Montross, N. Cordero Rodriguez, Z. Jackson, S. O’Barr, R. Hess, C. Atkins, G. Hazle, S. Skipwith, A. Nawacki, F. Taglia, J. Hird, National Energy Technology Laboratory, 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 | Innovative Approaches in Wastewater Treatment: Enhancing Sustainability and Efficiency | |
| Session chair: Sehmus Ozden, Aramco Services |
| Transforming Urban Infrastructure: Integrating Decentralized Resource Recovery with Precision Agriculture Powered by AI
Y. Chen, Georgia Institute of Technology, US |
| What’s in the Water? A Review of Critical Mineral Content in Industrial Wastewater for Separation and Recovery
M. Wang, J. Park, S. Tay, R. Kingsbury, Princeton Univeristy, US |
| Electrochemical–Biological Coupling Systems for High-Performance and Energy-Efficient Biofilm-based Wastewater Treatment
X. Wang, S. Lu, B. Li, University of Connecticut, US |
| Biochar-Based Filtration Systems for Industrial Wastewater in the Energy Sector
A. Jha, S. Mandal, Texas State University, US |
| TBD
C.S. Tiwary, IIT Kharagpur, IN |
| Applying Causal AI to Produced Water Desalination: From Process Understanding to Prescriptive, Profitable Action
S. Tamilarasan, Sotaog, US |
| From Waste to Wonder: Tailored Carbon Composites for Next-Level Effluent Purification
O. Karki, S. Mandal, Texas State University, US |
|
| 1:30 | Biorefining and Petroleum & Gas Refining | |
| Session chair: Carlos Quiroz-Arita, Sandia National Laboratories, &Anthe George, Sandia National Laboratories |
| Commercialization Opportunities for Renewable Fuels
M. Young, Chevron, US |
| Sustainable Chemicals and Fuels via Refinery Integration: Experimenting at Industrial Scale
A. Gupta, Phillips 66, US |
| Advances in FCC Co-processing: Tracking Biogenic Hydrocarbons
R. Baldwin, National Laboratory of the Rockies, US |
| Scaling Feedstock Development and Precursors Using Multi-Source Wet Wastes
R.M. Burton, W.T. Smith, ProcessWerx, 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 |
|
| 1:30 | Innovations in Magnet Materials and Manufacturing Techniques | |
| Session chair: Andriy Palasyuk, Ames National Laboratory |
| Anisotropic Field Orientation to Enhance Flux Density and Energy Product in Permanent Magnet Electric Machines
M. Hays, Orbis Electric, US |
| Towards the New Mass Market Magnet
A. Palasyuk, Ames National Laboratory, US |
| Crystallographic Alignment in a Castable Ce-Based Permanent Magnet Using Applied Magnetic Fields
M.S. Kesler, M.J. Thompson, A. Palasyuk, O. Palasyuk, M.A. McGuire, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US |
| Development of Rare-Earth-Free MnBi Magnets for Potential Motor Applications
W. Tang, J. Wang, Y. Varma, Jun Cui, Ames National Lab of USDOE, US |
| Alternative to Rare Earth Magnets for High Performance Motors
M. Lee, Island Park Labs, US |
| Comparative Analysis of Na-RE-F and K-RE-F Across the Rare Earth Series for Metallization
M. Segura Guererro, A. Karati, T. Parida, H. Parmar, D. Prodius, I.C. Nlebedim, Ames National Laboratory, US |
| Insights into Nd-Fe-B Magnets, Materials, and Markets
M. Zakotnik, Consultant, US |
| Enhancing Magnet Production Technologies with Economic and Environmental Assessments: An Application to NdFeB Manufacturing
X. Zhou, S. Kulkarni, V. Roy, C. Nath, F. Zhao, J.W. Sutherland, Purdue 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 | Wastewater Treatment - Posters | |
| IoT-Based Water Quality Monitoring Systems: A Systematic Review of Architectures, Performance and Challenges
N.M. Leyva-Munguia, R. Maciel, Universidad de Guadalajara, MX |
|
| 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 |
|
| 4:00 | Critical Materials I - Posters | |
| Room-temperature electrowinning of rare earth elements
A. Anand, J. Bass, J. Qiu, Texas A&M University, US |
| Role of Iron in REEs and Cobalt Extraction from Acid Mine Drainage Feedstock
A. Mishrra, B.C. Hedin, H. Hsu-Kim, Duke University, US |
| High Volume Production of Highly-Ordered Pyrolytic-Graphite (HOPG) at 1% Cost
S. Herrera, Cerebral Energy, US |
| Separation of cobalt and nickel using continuous membrane-assisted solvent extraction system
K. Kurniawan, T.L. Dzwiniel, Argonne National Laboratory, US |
| Scale up rare earth element extraction and separations by ionic liquids: a techno-economic analysis
T. Le, J. Gilfillan, S. Srinivas, G. Gurau, C. Hill, K.R. Bona, M. Severson, Idaho National Laboratory, US |
| Trapping Volatile RuO4 from Oxidized Simulated Used Nuclear Fuel Solutions
J.D. Einkauf, J.M. Pyles, M.E. Lamb, L.R. Sadergaski, H.M. Meyer, L.H. Delmau, B.A. Moyer, J.D. Burns, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US |
| Improved Adjacent Lanthanide Separation with Diglycolamide Resins and Neutral Aqueous Complexants
D.G. Racz, I.F. Chaple, S. Jansone-Popova, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, US |
| Engineering Genetically Programmable Spore Platforms for Rare Earth Element Recovery
B.C. Sanders, H. Andrews, A.Y. Borisevich, L. Hochanadel, B. Manard, J. Michener, J. Morrell-Falvey, J. Parks, A. Plechaty, S. Szakas, D. Vasileva, D. Walker, A. Webb, A. Williams, S. Yakubov, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US |
| Rapid Photothermal Graphitization of Calcined Coke Using High-Intensity IR Irradiation
A.K.M. Abirul Haque, A.H. Ridoy, D. Oloruntobo, M.S. Rafique, C. Sriviroch, A. Ashraf, University of South Florida, US |
| Enhanced domestic extraction of platinum group metals, nickel, copper and cobalt from primary sources
M. Mettler, Colorado School of Mines, US |
| Securing Critical Minerals for Advanced Manufacturing: Innovative Approaches to TiO₂ Extraction and Sustainable Supply Chains
K. Mutombo, CSIR, ZA |
| Techno-economic analysis of recycling strategies for catalyst and acid during catalytic graphitization of biocoke
J. A. Gonzalez-Aguirre, N. Islam, A. Dutta, W. J. Sagues, S. Rowland, S. Park, North Carolina State University, US |
| Electricity-driven technology for cost-effective and sustainable critical minerals separation
S. Mohammed, P. Ochonma, Earthium, US |
| Battery-grade lithium from lithium-ion battery recycling: A techno-economic analysis
N.A. Chowdhury, S.M. Gallagher, Q. Dai, J.S. Spangenberger, Argonne National Laboratory, US |
| Mechanistic Insights into Iron-Catalyzed Biographite Formation for Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes
M.N. Islam, S.C. Dey, M. Liu, J.S. Forrester, R.K. Bhardwaj, B. Tremolet de Villers, W.J. Sagues, S. Park, North Carolina State University, US |
| From Pyrolysis Oil to Hard Carbon Anode for Sodium-ion Batteries
S.C. Dey, S.-M. Cho, S. Appikatla, Z.A. Combs, W.J. Sagues, S. Park, North Carolina State University, US |
| Recovery of Rare Earth Elements from PhosphogypsumT
T.G. Levitskaia, E.M. Garcia, W. Hasley-Velez, N.P. Bessen, V. Drozd, Y. Katsenovich, A. Medley, P. Zhang, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, US |
| Closing the Loop: AI-Driven Circular Chemistry Approach to Direct Cathode Powder Production from Spent LIBs
L.P.R Moraes, H. Rathnayake, University of North Carolina Greensboro, US |
| Aqueous Critical Mineral Capture and Recovery
K.Y. Amen and J. Brockgreitens, Claros Technologies, US |
| Tracking Critical Materials in Battery and Solar Supply Chains: Enabling FEOC Compliance
V. Roy, F. Zhao, Purdue University, US |
|
| 4:00 | Sustainability & Efficiency - Posters | |
| Valorization of Municipal Paper Waste for Low-Carbon Ethanol: An Integrated Technoeconomic and Environmental Perspective
L. Pena, R. Kumar, V. Srinivasan, L. Pal, North Carolina State University, US |
| Lunar Landing infrastructure
C. Kosmas, Lunar Cargo P.C., GR |
| Wednesday March 11 |
|
| 8:30 | Advances in Critical Mineral Separation Technologies | |
| Session chair: Santa Jansone Popova, Oak Ridge National Laboratory |
| The L3 Approach for the Development of Technology Metals Extraction Processes: A Case Study on Rare Earth Element Separation
K. Strickland, L3 Process Development, AU |
| Direct Injection of a pH Control Agent in Metal Extraction Columns
L. Budeus, A. Jupke, RWTH Aachen University, DE |
| Non-Equilibrium Transport-Driven Separation of Critical Minerals
G.E. Johnson, M. Sushko, E. Nakouzi, C. Subban, P. Valdez, A. Lines, V. Prabhakaran, P. Simonnin, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, US |
| Translating Fundamental Science to Applications: Field-Driven Strategies for Selective Separation of Critical Materials
G. Ricchiuti, I. Jayalath, Y. Huang, M. Dinpajooh, Z. Fox, A.G. Joly, K. Crampton, A. Ritchhart, E. Nakouzi, G.E. Johnson, V. Prabhakaran, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), US |
| Advancing Rare Earth Element Separations with HEHEHP and DGA Extractants: New Insights from Established Chemistry
T.G. Levitskaia, D.H. Altavilla, N.P. Bessen, S. Jansone-Popova, B. O'Kelly, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, US |
| Engineering Selectivity: Advanced Ligand Design for Rare Earth Recovery
S. Pramanik, I. Popovs, A. Ivanov, J. Einkauf, M. Lamb, D-E Jiang, S. Jansone-Popova, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US |
| Lanthanide Sulfate Recovery by Enhanced Pressure Dimethyl Ether (DME) Fractional Crystallization
L. Ward, C. Tolbert, C. Orme, D. Prodius, I. Nlebedim, A.D. Wilson, Idaho National Laboratory, US |
|
| 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 | |
|
| 1:30 | Resource Recovery and Waste Reduction | |
| Session chair: David Calabro, ExxonMobil (retired) |
| Guar to the Future: Biodegradable Hydrogels for Clean Water and Sustainable Living
S. Mandal, D. Morales, Texas State University, US |
| Rare Earth Magnet Recovery and Re-manufacture
J.F. Bell, N. Mann, W. Dawes, HyProMag USA, US |
| Engineering Biopolymer Hydrogels for Water Management and Soil Health in Agriculture
T. Wright, University of California, Los Angeles, US |
| Landfill Diversion through Spectral Intelligence: Food Waste Characterization by Hyperspectral Imaging for Sustainable Conversions
R. Rao, M. Salas, S. Singh, A. Mittal, J. Yarbrough, A. Singh, L. Pal, North Carolina State University, US |
| Integrating Hyperspectral Imaging and Machine Learning for Real-Time Characterization of Colored Plastics
A. Sarker, S. Singh, M. Salas, R. Rao, L. Pal, North Carolina State University, US |
| Waste and Environmental Impact Minimization with Nuclear Energy
R.B. Hayes, North Carolina State University, US |
| Point-of-Use Carbon Nitride-Based Photocatalyst for Water Disinfection in a Continuous Flow System
A.E. Rubin, Y. Shah, L.M. Gilbertson, Duke University, US |
| Direct Atomic Layer Processing of Platinum Catalysts for Waste-Minimized Fabrication and Sustainable Hydrogen Evolution
R. Sharma, M. Carnoy, M. Ceccato, B. Borie, M. Plakhotnyuk, Atlant 3D, DK |
|
| 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) | |
|
| 4:00 | Critical Materials II - Posters | |
| Rare Earth Magnet Market 2026-2036: Material and Manufacturing Innovations, Demand Trends, and 10-Year Outlook
J. Howley, Y. Wang, IDTechEx, UK |
| Application of Phosphonic-Acid Ligands for Monazite Flotation
E. Konadu-Yiadom, C.G. Anderson, Colorado School of Mines, US |
| *STUDENT BEST ABSTRACT WINNER* Engineering membrane-based ion-ion separation and concentration for sustainable lithium recovery
K. Abels, A. Barbosa Botelho Junior, W. Kau, V. Yang, W. Tarpeh, Stanford University, US |
| Developments in rare earth production in the US – A concise review of commercial processes
V. Kashyap, K. Rippy, National Laboratory of the Rockies, US |
| Solids Characterization of Phosphogypsum Waste for Rare Earth Element Recovery
V. Drozd, Y. Katsenovich, A. Medley, T. Levitskaia, P. Zhang, Florida International University, US |
| Lanthanide “Tug of War”: Smarter ways to Separate Rare Earth Elements
M. Lamb, S.J. Popova, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US |
| Production of Battery-Grade Graphite from Fast- and Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis Oils
S.M. Rowland, S.C. Dey, L. Lower, W.J. Sagues, J.A. Gonzalez-Aguirre, B.J. Tremolet de Villers, R.K. Bhardwaj, B. Freel, G. Hopkins, T. Vries, T. Vries, Z.A. Combs, S. Park, National Laboratory of the Rockies, US |
| Scalable Shear-Exfoliated Graphene–PSU Membranes for Temperature-Assisted Lithium Recovery via Electrodialysis
A.H. Ridoy, A.K.M. Abirul Haque, M.S. Rafique, D. Oloruntobo, C. Sriviroch, A. Ashraf, University Of South Florida, US |
| Integrated Recovery of Critical and Valuable Elements from Primary and Secondary Resources: From Mine Waste to E-Waste
M. Rezaee, The Pennsylvania State University, US |
| Extraction of Rare Earth Elements using Molecular Sequestrants via Chemically-Enhanced Electrodialysis (CEED)
A. Bolon, University of California - Merced, US |
| Surface Modification of Carbon Materials for Enhanced Electrosorption of Lanthanide Ions
J.M. Bradley, L. Osmieri, Los Alamos National Laboratory, US |
|
| 4:00 | PFAS and Emerging Contaminant Remediation - Posters | |
| Integrated Foam Fractionation and Supercritical Water Oxidation for High-Efficiency PFAS Separation and Destruction
C. Theriault, Revive Environmental, US |
| Design of Energy Efficient PFAS Remediation via Electron Catalysis
K.M. Christopher, I.V. Alabugin, B.R. Locke, R. Bulusu, Florida State University, US |
| 4:00 | Energy Storage II - Posters
|
| 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 |
| Bolstering Energy Independence Within Asphalt Production via Thermal Energy Storage
L.P. McLaughlin, Sandia National Laboratories, 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 |
| Thursday March 12 |
|
| 8:30 | Extraction of Critical Minerals from Diverse Sources | |
| Session chair: Alison Fritz, National Energy Technology Laboratory |
| TBD
K. Stoll, Critical Materials Recycling, US |
| Electrochemical Separation For Chemical-Free Lithium Extraction From Geothermal Brines: Prospects and Challenges
L. Kong, Y. Yu, K. Hu, X. Liu, George Washington University, US |
| Solvent extraction of lithium from complex battery recycling wastewaters
K. Kurniawan, T.L. Dzwiniel, J.D. Macholz, Argonne National Laboratory, US |
| Direct lithium extraction from brines, minerals, and batter leachates
M.P. Paranthaman, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US |
| Characterization-Informed Beneficiation and Recovery of Automotive-Catalyst Smelter Slag for Recovery of Rare Earth Elements and Zirconium
J. Mackey, L. Yilekal, V. Spencer, S. Medin, A. Schmitz, Y. Sang, REEGen Inc., US |
| Membrane Solvent Extraction for the Recovery of Rare Earths from Phosphate Mining Process Streams
G.G. Jang, H. Liang, A. Medley, P. Zhang, P. Paranthaman, C. Tsouris, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US |
| Rare Earth Element (REE) Recovery from Coal Waste and Byproducts Using a Simple Weak Acid Dissolution Process
T.I. Pfeiffer, D.A. Bagdonas, M.S. Behrens, University of Wyoming, US |
| *STUDENT BEST ABSTRACT HONORABLE MENTION* Scrub n’ Sort: Producing A Dry Rare-Earth Mineral Concentrate Through Preferential Breakage, Ore Scrubbing, And Rock Sortation At The Bear Lodge Rare Earth Deposit
C. Gorski, Colorado School of Mines, US |
| A Novel Energy-Efficient Scalable Membrane Process for Separation and Recovery of High Purity Rare Earth and Battery Materials from Concentrated and Dilute Domestic Resources
S.Z. Islam, D.A. Kang, B. Trusty, S. Dangwal, R. Bhave, P. Paranthaman, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US |
|
| 9:00 | PFAS and Emerging Contaminant Remediation | |
| Session chair: Meng Wang, University of Houston, & Zhe Qiang, University of Southern Mississippi |
| AI-Aided Inverse Membrane Design for Minimizing PFAS and Emerging Contaminants
Y. Chen, Georgia Institute of Technology, US |
| Supercritical water oxidation for the destruction of PFAS-impacted waste streams
R. Schmitz, 374Water, US |
| Electrochemical degradation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl acids using titanium suboxide anodes
Q. Huang, University of Georgia, US |
| UV-Based PFAS Destruction from Bench-Scale to Pilot-Scale at an Industrial Manufacturing Site
Z. Liu, Claros Technologies Inc., US |
| Catalytic Destruction of Persistent Gas-phase PFAS
P.M. Kester, Guild Associates, Inc., US |
| Novel Surface Modified Clay for PFAS Remediation in Groundwater
M.S. Donovan, R. Dickman, Minerals Technologies, Inc, US |
| Decoding PFOS Fate and System Design for Fe-Electrocoagulation
G. Kadarkarai, B.K. Mayer, P.J. McNamara, Marquette University, US |
| PFAS Treatment Market: Incumbent And Emerging Technologies, Key Players, And Trends
S. Selim, C. O'Brien, IDTechEx, UK |
|
| 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 |
|
| 1:15 | Critical Materials - Workshop (open to all conference attendees) | |
| Session chair: Santa Jansone Popova, Oak Ridge National Laboratory |
| Rare Earths and Permanent Magnets: TEA, Life Cycle, and Supply Chain
B.J. Smith, Argonne National Laboratory, US |
| From Mine to Concentrate: Extraction, Processing, and Separation
C. Anderson, Colorado School of Mines, US |
| Rare Earth Separation Technologies: History, Progress, and Current Practice
S. Jansone Popova, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US |
| Turning Waste into Resource: Secondary and Unconventional Feedstocks
A. Fritz, National Energy Technology Laboratory, US |
| Permanent Magnets: From Fundamentals to Recycling
A. Palasyuk, Ames National Laboratory, US |
|
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