Mobilizing Our Energy Ecosystem to Accelerate Climate-Tech Innovation
Austin and Texas more broadly are blessed with all the elements required to be the leading centers for climate-tech and clean energy nationally, if not globally: leading universities and sources of innovation; the scale and dynamism of the ERCOT grid; a unique concentration of renewables developers, energy companies and original equipment manufacturers; a bourgeoning venture and start-up ecosystem; seemingly infinite renewables potential and the highest penetration of clean energy capacity of any US state by any conceivable measure.
Yet cities like San Francisco, New York or London, blessed with none of these advantages, lead Texas in clean energy innovation by a factor of two to five times, by any metric. How can Austin and Texas reach their full potential as leading centers for climate-tech and clean energy?
Accelerating climate-tech innovation fundamentally requires an ecosystems-based approach. From family offices to grid operators, from equipment manufacturers to early stage investors, policy makers to founders, or from big tech and non-profit, all these stakeholders play a role – and potential to benefit from – a more vibrant, productive ecosystem for climate-tech innovation.
In this panel, we will explore the potential for climate-tech and clean energy innovation in Austin and Texas more broadly. We will discuss the role of various stakeholders in realizing this potential and outline win-win opportunities to increase collaboration across our industry, for instance, longer-term coordination across the capital stack and funding rounds; earlier engagement with industry and commercial partners for more efficient innovation; and models for closer collaboration between industry, investors and innovators.
Following the panel, we’ll open up the discussion over dinner and cocktails to hear more from the broader set of industry leaders in attendance for their individual perspectives on needs, opportunities and potential unlocks in this space.