Skip Navigation
Search

AEC Focuses Global Attention On Next-Gen Generation


Alternative facts: Advanced Energy Conference 2018 dives deep into the future of alternative energy production, where wind and solar technologies are only the beginning.
March 23, 2018
By Gregory Zeller

The future is imminent for AEC 2018, the Advanced Energy Conference that will unite global energy leaders, researchers and entrepreneurs in New York City on a quest for cleaner and smarter energy solutions.

AEC 2018 bannerPresented by Stony Brook University’s Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center and a critical mass of major-league sponsors – leading corporations, regional utilities, top research institutions and more – the 10th annual AEC has adopted “The Future of Energy is Here” as its theme and slogan.

No less than “the future of energy on a global scale” blows in these winds, according to AERTC Operations Director David Hamilton, who suggests “the time to bring discoveries and new innovations in clean energy to market has never been better.”

“Decades of research and development in clean energy and alternative energy solutions … will help make this conference a dynamic platform,” Hamilton said Friday, listing solar-gen breakthroughs, electric-powered vehicles, wind-power systems, new battery technologies and sustainable natural-gas tech among the attractions gracing the exhibition floor.

The AERTC operations director has extra cause to be excited about AEC 2018: Hamilton also serves as executive director of SBU’s Clean Energy Business Incubator Program, and eight CEBIP client companies are taking part in the conference as either technical-session speakers or exhibitors or both.

Representatives of Bonded Energy Solutions, StorEn Technologies and Sulfcrete will speak during conference sessions, while those companies will be joined by fellow CEBIP clients Allied Microbiota, NeuralNet, Energystics, ThermoLift and Urban Freight Corp. on the exhibition floor.

“I’m thrilled by all of the CEBIP clients taking the initiative to be so heavily involved in the conference,” Hamilton told Innovate LI. “Having a large footprint of CEBIP clients on the conference floor signifies the progress CEBIP has made as a business-development program and the amazing progress our clients have made with their technology.”

Robert Catell: New York’s moment in the clean-gen spotlight.

And they’re just part of the fun as the conference stretches March 26-28 at NYC’s Marriott Marquis hotel, packed with showcases and workshops about the future of energy.

The conference will feature international exhibitors showcasing transformative energy technologies and ideas; technology-driven panel sessions focused on new research, particularly U.S. Department of Energy-supported clean-energy research; and a roster of global industry leaders sharing their perspectives on the business-formation moves entrepreneurs need to make to compete in the global energy market.

The complete three-day agenda is available here.

Robert Catell, the AERTC’s chairman of the board and the former chairman and CEO of Brooklyn Union Gas, KeySpan and National Grid, said the annual Advanced Energy Conference stands out for its focus “on the unique collaboration and innovation efforts between academia, private companies and government entities.”

“We will have speakers and exhibitors from around the state, nation and world,” Catell said. “This is truly an international conference that has far-reaching impact on the forward movement of energy technologies.”

And while the world is watching, AEC 2018 gives programs like CEBIP – also a conference sponsor, along with SBU’s Economic Development Office, Center for Integrated Electric Energy Systems and Center for Corporate Education – a chance to crow.

“This conference allows us to show the world how advanced and exciting New York is with regards to energy and innovation,” Catell noted.

Major sponsors of AEC 2018 include the New York Institute of Technology, the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority, the Empire State Development Corp.’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation, National Grid, PSEG-Long Island, Brookhaven National Laboratory, the Tesla Science Foundation, Uniondale law firm Ruskin Moscou Faltischek and more than three dozen other regional utilities, educational institutions, corporate leaders and business-development organizations.