The Defense TechConnect Innovation Summit, held Sept. 27-29 in National Harbor, MD, featured innovation pitches and awards, keynote presentations, networking, and expo opportunities.
National Infrastructure Innovation Challenge (NIIC):
The National Infrastructure Innovation Challenge (NIIC) featured 17 finalists — 10 of which are members of the RISE Consortium — who were down-selected from about 200 submissions. The 17 finalists pitched their technologies to a panel of judges made up of industry and government experts, who ultimately awarded five winners with $50,000 in total prize money. The following winners were members of the RISE Consortium: Heat Inverse, Minerva Lithium, and Sesame Solar. Learn more about our members.
View the event photo gallery here.
Front row, pictured from left to right: Sheeba Dawood (Minerva Lithium), Bradley Lusk (Precient Technologies LLC), Romy Fain (Heat Inverse), Chris Murray (RISE Consortium). Back row, pictured from left to right: Katie Bornfleth (TechConnect), Michael Wu (RISE Consortium Executive Director), and Marty Ryan (ATI).
RISE Consortium Executive Director Keynotes Resilience Week:
On Tuesday, Michael Wu, Executive Director of the Resilient Infrastructure and Secure Energy (RISE) Consortium hosted a keynote featuring addresses by government and industry leaders, including Caitlin Durkovich (Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director, Resilience and Response – National Security Council, The White House).
On Wednesday, Michael Wu, Executive Director of the Resilient Infrastructure and Secure Energy (RISE) Consortium hosted a keynote featuring Maria Robinson (Director, Grid Deployment Office, U.S. Department of Energy, Grid Deployment Office), Sharon Burke (Founder, President, Ecospherics, LLC), and Liz Ramsay Dalton (Senior Vice President, Boundary Stone Partners).
Resilience Week Panel – Catalyzing Resilience: A Conversation with Department of Defense Climate Advisors
On Tuesday, Michael Wu, Executive Director of the Resilient Infrastructure and Secure Energy (RISE) Consortium, hosted a moderated conversation with senior climate officials from DoD – “Resilience Week: Catalyzing Resilience: A Conversation with Department of Defense Climate Advisors“.
The moderated conversation included Will Rogers (Senior Climate Advisor, U.S. Army), Rachel Ross (Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer, U.S. Department of Defense), Annalise Blum (Senior Advisor for Climate, ASD Homeland Defense & Hemispheric Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense), and Jennifer DeCesaro (Director for Climate Security and Resilience, National Security Council). The conversation centered around the evolving global strategic environment, threats to U.S. military missions and strategic interests related to climate, and innovations and investments to strengthen DoD’s resilience posture.
Pictured from left to right: Rachel Ross (U.S. DoD), Annalise Blum (U.S. DoD), Michael Wu (RISE Consortium Executive Director), Jennifer Decesaro (National Security Council), and Will Rogers (U.S. Army).
RISE Panel – Catalyzing Resilience with the DoD R&D Community and RISE Member Meeting
On Wednesday, Executive Director of the Resilient Infrastructure and Secure Energy (RISE) Consortium hosted a moderated panel discussion with leaders from the Department of Defense’s energy R&D programs – “Catalyzing Resilience with the DoD R&D Community and RISE Member Meeting“. The conversation centered around the latest energy, climate, and cyber resilience initiatives and opportunities for collaboration with the RISE Consortium.
Panelists included RuthAnne Darling (Director of Operational Energy Innovation, Office of the Secretary of Defense), Tim Tetreault (Program Manager for Energy and Water, Environmental Security Technology Certification Program), Lee Robinson (Defense Engagement Lead – Energy, Defense Innovation Unit), Eric Griesenbrock (Lead Principal Engineer, Air Force Research Laboratory), and Elise Joseph (Portfolio Director – Power, Energy, and Propulsion, Army Futures Command).
The panel was followed by a RISE member meeting where members were able to connect in person to discuss the future of energy resilience.
ABOUT THE RISE CONSORTIUM:
The mission of the Resilient Infrastructure + Secure Energy (RISE) Consortium™ is to address the energy security and climate crises by reimagining how we use, generate, transport, and store energy and how we build efficient, modern, resilient infrastructure. The RISE Consortium will work with innovators and experts to rapidly deploy technologies for installation and operational energy, integrate energy and climate resilience into performance contracting, and develop new business models to ensure those solutions are scalable. The consortium also serves as an industry forum to engage with new federal energy and resilience policies, standards, and programs. Advanced Technology International, the pioneer in R&D collaboration management, partnered with industry leader Converge Strategies, LLC to launch the RISE Consortium.
Since being officially announced, the RISE Consortium has quickly become a powerful industry forum, as members of all sizes and backgrounds have joined the collaboration and shared ideas through monthly webinars with industry and government experts. In addition to the Innovation Challenge, and keynote presentation, ATI hosted an engaging RISE Consortium booth in the expo hall. A total of 1,800 individuals attended the Defense TechConnect Innovation Summit, which annually connects U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) offices and industry leaders with the world’s best innovations. The RISE Consortium also welcomed its 476th member this week and received numerous applications during the Summit.
The RISE Consortium is dedicated to energy and climate action for the U.S. federal government. Its focus areas include: installation energy resilience, climate resilience, and operational energy resilience. Currently, there is no cost to join this transformational platform to connect to the energy and climate innovation ecosystems. To learn more, please visit the links below.
