10th UNC Cleantech Summit expected to be largest yet
The two-day event will promote cleantech as an economic driver and a career choice for Carolina students.
Since its inception 10 years ago, the UNC Cleantech Summit has grown into the largest university-hosted cleantech conference in the United States, bringing together more than 1,000 attendees each year. On this milestone anniversary, set for March 21-22 at the Friday Center, event organizers expect record participation.
“Throughout the summit’s history, our goals included building a workforce, encouraging students from around the state to think about careers in cleantech and marketing the area to companies from around the world as a place to locate,” said event founder Greg Gangi, associate director for clean technology and innovation at the UNC Institute for the Environment. “The event was designed to foster growth and leadership in the Southeast’s cleantech industry and highlight the role of innovation in creating a clean economy. We’re excited to see and celebrate these goals coming to fruition.”
UNC’s Institute for the Environment and the Ackerman Center for Excellence in Sustainability in the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School are hosting the summit, which brings together students, educators and professionals from across the cleantech industry. The two-day event features keynote lectures, panel discussions, workshops, a career fair, networking receptions and the popular mentor match program, where professionals pair with students to promote networking in the field.
This year’s keynote speakers come from an array of government, private sector and academic backgrounds. They include U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis; Michael Regan, U.S. EPA administrator; Chris Womack, chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company; David Turk, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy; and Frank Holding Jr., chairman and CEO of First Citizens Bank, a major player in the field of green finance with its acquisitions of CIT and Silicon Valley Banks. See the summit website for a list of speakers and panelists. New speakers are added weekly, so check back frequently for the most up-to-date listing.
The conference will feature 54 panels on many topics, including:
Circularity and sustainable disruption.
- Regenerative agriculture.
- Buildings and infrastructure.
- Energy security.
- Mobility.
- Emerging energy technologies.
- Energy storage.
- Industrial decarbonization.
The summit has always primarily focused on energy, but this year, sustainable biotech will be another focal point. Biotechnology integrates the natural sciences into applied engineering to address complex issues. Biotech has a major role to play in solving many environmental problems like the elimination of petroleum-based products, reducing chemical pesticides, replacing chemical additives in food with biological ones and more.
A strikingly high number of biotech startups exist, many in the Research Triangle Park. For students with a natural sciences degree like biology or chemistry, sustainable biotech offers many opportunities. The summit is incorporating this theme into panels to connect students and biotech startups.
Organizers encourage registration by March 15. The different types of registration include $30 tickets for university, community college and trade school students and $150 tickets for university faculty and staff.
To register and purchase tickets for the 10th annual UNC Cleantech Summit, visit the UNC Cleantech Summit website. To explore more cleantech content, visit the Cleantech Corner Initiative blog.
For more information on the summit, contact organizers Greg Gangi or Kiersten Williams, public communications specialist.
