Agenda

The Partner Forum agenda includes keynotes, panel sessions, and lightning talks from experts and relevant industry leaders as well as programming for startups and investors and specialized tours.

Check this page regularly for updates as the agenda is finalized.

Registration has closed for this event. For event inquiries, contact the NREL Partner Forum team.

Monday, May 12

Location: Denver Marriott West Hotel

4:30–6:30 p.m.
Welcome Reception and Check-In

Check in early for the Partner Forum and join us for refreshments and networking.

Tuesday, May 13

Location: Denver West Marriott, Golden Ballroom

Attendees can arrive beginning at 7 a.m. for a full day of speakers and panel sessions.

7–8 a.m.
Registration, Breakfast, and Networking

8–8:30 a.m.
Welcome, Opening Remarks

Remarks:

Andrea Watson, Associate Laboratory Director, Innovation, Partnering, and Outreach, NREL

Derek Passarelli, Director, Golden Field Office, U.S. Department of Energy

Martin Keller, Laboratory Director, NREL

8:30–9 a.m.
Keynote Address
Infrastructure Masons Chairman and Founder Dean Nelson will kick off NREL's Partner Forum by sharing the biggest issues facing the digital infrastructure industry today. Nelson will explore how to navigate five key areas—power, perception, people, planet, and protection—and what they mean for the future of the industry.

Keynote: Dean Nelson, Chairman and Founder, Infrastructure Masons

9–10:15 a.m.
Panel Discussion: Meeting Power Demand of Data Centers
This panel will discuss how to meet increasing power demand in the most cost-effective and reliable manner and an integrated approach to energy solutions. What are organizations' predicted load growth in the next 10–15 years? What are current operational constraints?

Moderator: Nidhi Thakar, Senior Vice President, Policy, CEBA

Speakers include:

Prasanna Joshi, Vice President, Low Carbon Solutions Technology, ExxonMobil

Mason Emnett, Senior Vice President of Public Policy, Constellation Energy

Matt Koukl, Principal, Affiliated Engineers Inc.

10:15–10:30 a.m.
Break

10:30–10:45 a.m.
Lightning Talk: NREL's Geospatial Analysis Capabilities
NREL's advanced data analysis, artificial intelligence-powered modeling, and large-scale visualization capabilities enable faster, more cost-effective siting of energy infrastructure to meet growing demand. By generating unique spatial and temporal datasets, NREL delivers insights that inform critical challenges and provide a deeper geospatial perspective on contemporary energy solutions.

Speaker: Dan Bilello, Director, Strategic Energy and Analysis Center, NREL

10:45–11:45 a.m.
Panel Discussion: Data Center Site Selection and Analysis
This panel will discuss the key considerations for optimal placement of new data centers. What are the main criteria used to site new data center installations? What are key characteristics of data center-dense geographical areas?

Moderator: Clayton Barrows, Senior Researcher and Manager, Grid Operations Planning Group, NREL

Speakers include:

Gordon Dolven, Director of Americas Data Center Research, CBRE

Marc Aveni, Assistant Director General Services, Loudoun County, Virginia, Department of General Services

Richard Hartman, Chief Innovation Officer, Air Force Office of Energy Assurance

11:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m.
Lunch Service

12:45–2 p.m.
Panel Discussion: How Can Data Centers Be Good Neighbors?
The panel will explore considerations for local economies and permitting timelines. What are the current challenges when proposing new installations? What are common disputes from communities, and how are permitting timelines affected?

Moderator: Patrick Lamers, Group Manager, Strategic Energy and Analysis Center NREL

Speakers include:

Lynne Kiesling, Director, Institute for Regulatory Law and Economics, Northwestern University

Sherry Stout, Laboratory Program Manager, State, Local, and Tribal program, NREL

Steven Marshall, President and Chairman, Port Colorado

Keith Ropchock, Director, Power Solutions and Resources – Americas, Equinix

2–2:15 p.m.
Lightning Talk: Chip to Grid, Co-Optimization of Integrated Energy Systems
Learn how NREL is gathering key industry players—including leading hyperscalers, utilities, chip manufacturers, system integrators, and high-performance computing developers—to address the full spectrum of challenges and energy capacity needs, from chip-level innovation to comprehensive grid integration powering AI data centers.

Speaker: Bill Livingood, Partnership Development Manager, NREL

2:15–3:15 p.m.
Panel Discussion: Data Center Energy Efficiency and Optimization
This panel will discuss innovations and optimization practices that enable efficient maximization of computational throughput. What is the current average energy demand for representative workloads, and how will it change in the next 5–10 years? What are key strategies and emerging technological areas that could free up available capacity, reducing the need for grid expansion?

Moderator: Sean James, Senior Director of Energy and Datacenter Research, Microsoft

Speakers include:

Bill Mannel, Director, Chief Technology Office and Higher Education Sales, High Performance Computing and Artificial Intelligence, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Carsten Baumann, Director and Strategic Initiatives and Solution Architect, Schneider Electric

Enrique Bosch, Director of Innovation, Avangrid

3:15–3:30 p.m.
Break

3:30–4:30 p.m.
Panel Discussion: Supporting Grid Reliability
This panel will discuss how data centers can be designed to provide grid services and ensure grid resilience. What are current strategies for data centers to participate in dynamic energy systems rather than solely being a grid consumer? What do utilities need to maintain power quality for all user types in markets where data centers operate?

Moderator: Jessica Lau, Founder, Artful Pathways

Speakers include:

Anand Ramesh, Chief Technology Officer, Verrus Data Centers

Larry Bekkedahl, Senior Vice President, Advanced Energy Delivery, Portland General Electric

Martha Symko-Davies, Laboratory Program Manager, NREL

4:30 p.m.
Closing Remarks and Adjournment

Speaker: Stephany McClements, Partnership Development Manager, NREL

5:30–9 p.m.
Reception and Partner Dinner
The Rose Event Center
1119 Washington Ave.
Golden, CO 80401

Wednesday, May 14

Location: Check-in and badging at the NREL Café, with shuttles provided from the Denver West Marriott (Learn more about visiting NREL's campus.)

The second day of the Partner Forum allows for more personal connection and project ideation. Interactive demonstrations, tours, and targeted meetings will allow for further exploration of potential project ideas and reinvigoration to tackle the most pressing energy challenges.

8–8:30 a.m.
Breakfast and Networking

8:30–9:30 a.m.
Data Center Innovation: Startups Showcase
Emerging startup technologies show promise for addressing expanding demands on the grid. For the first time, the Partner Forum will showcase four startups with technologies to help manage load growth while ensuring grid reliability, energy source-mix integration, and optimized efficiency. The objective of the session is to deepen understanding, foster collaboration across the ecosystem, and drive investment into innovative solutions for data center power management.

Speakers include:

Hector Andrade, CEO, Lucidean

Trish Cozart, Director, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, NREL

Bob Mazer, Co-Founder and President, Flexnode

Michael Solomentsev, CEO, Palanquin Power

Patrick Sullivan, CEO, FluxXII

9:30–10 a.m.
Lightning Talks

Pruning AI for Cost Savings and Grid Stability
NREL researchers are optimizing neural networks through hierarchical pruning, cutting unnecessary parameters and reducing energy consumption. This lowers energy costs and boosts scalability. It also enables adaptive power consumption that responds to grid control to enhance grid stability. As a result, businesses can experience improved efficiency and more reliable AI performance with lower electricity costs.
Speaker: Jamil Gafur, Artificial Intelligence and Energy Efficiency Researcher, NREL
Verrus LLC: Operating Facilities at the Leading Edge of Power Flexibility
Members of the Verrus team will provide an overview of their unique architecture and capabilities, as well as an overview of the NREL test platform and its role in accelerating dependable, megawatt-scale data center load flexibility. They will discuss the demonstration that attendees will see on the ESIF tour, focused on results from the real-time digital simulator's power modeling and its integration with Verrus' power flow management system, which reflects load-transparent system responses during real-word energy management scenarios:
- Utility outage: System transition from grid-following to off-grid, Battery Energy Storage Systems generator mode and back
- Load flexibility: System behavior during a utility-requested 4-hour demand response event
Speakers:
Ben Wheeler, Head of Product Development, Verrus
Jeff Bladen, Head of Energy, Verrus

10:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
NREL Capabilities Tour
Attendees will engage with experts during two tours—one starting at 10:30 a.m. and the other at 12:30 p.m.—to learn about NREL's numerous tools and capabilities used to support data centers and communities, solve energy challenges, and meet market needs. Groups signed up for this specialized tour experience in the Energy Systems Integration Facility will leave from the NREL Café. Email the Partner Forum organizers if you're unable to attend.