Monday, January 29
Energy Technology
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1:30 – 1:45 |
Welcoming Remarks Introduction by Tom Edgar, Director, UT Austin Energy Institute Opening Remarks by President of The University of Texas at Austin Gregory Fenves |
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1:45 – 2:15 |
Opening Keynote Address: Thriving in the Energy Transition – Innovating to a Low Carbon Future Ajay Mehta, GM of Long-range Research & New Energy Technologies, Shell • Click to view PDF slides |
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2:15 – 3:00 |
Quick Chat: Biofuels – Promising Alternative or a Broken Promise? The biotechnoloy industry is growing rapidly. Our panelists will discuss where the industry is heading, what are the challenges it faces, and how biotechnology and biofuels have the potential to change how we interact with energy. Todd Kuiken, Senior Researcher in Biotechnology, NC State University • Click to view PDF slides David Ramjohn, CEO, AlgEternal Technologies, LLC • Click to view PDF slides Schonna Manning, Director of R&D, UTEX Culture Collection of Algae (Moderator) |
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3:00 – 4:00 |
Panel 1: Current Applications of Energy Storage Systems and the Way Forward for At-Scale Integration A case study of three battery storage pilot projects underway in Central Austin Utilities: The Georgetown Westside Service Center Project, The Austin Energy SHINES project and the Pedernales Electric Co-op Johnson City project. The panel will discuss the unique technical aspects of each project including the different proposed battery functions, application of smart inverters and optimization software. The panelists will also discuss how each project aims to increase renewable penetration and enhance grid reliability, and how this will benefit utility customers. Finally, the panelists will discuss each utility’s outlook on the future of battery storage in their service areas. Chris Foster, Manager of Resource Planning & Integration, City of Georgetown Kurt Stogdill, Manager for Green Building and Sustainability, Austin Energy Eric O’Shaughnessy, Market Research Analyst, NREL • Click to view PDF slides James Spaulding, Director, Project Development, Pedernales Electric Cooperative • Click to view PDF slides Bert Haskell, Chief Techonology Officer, Pecan Street Inc. (Moderator) |
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4:00 – 5:00 |
Panel 2: Blockchain’s Impact to Transactive Services in the Energy Industry What is blockchain and how is it transforming transaction services? What is blockchain’s potential impact in the energy space and what are the immediate and long-term opportunities for this technology to change energy business structures? How will blockchain uproot the customer-utility relationship or disintermediate certain functions in natural resource supply chains? David Johnston, Chairman, Factom Karl Kreder, Co-Founder, Grid+ • Click to view PDF slides Melanie Bell, IT Strategist, Chevron Information Technology Company David Livingston, Deputy Director, Global Energy Center of the Atlantic Council (Moderator) |
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5:00 – 7:00 |
Reception & Announcement of Poster Competition Awards |