Energy Summit to feature Bill Gates, FedEx, Wal-Mart leaders

Microsoft’s Bill Gates, FedEx’s Fred Smith and Lee Scott, former CEO of Wal-Mart, are set to be among the top speakers at the US Department of Energy’s next ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit.

The ARPA-E — which stands for Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy — plans to hold its third annual summit from Feb. 27 through 29 at the Gaylord Convention Center outside of Washington, DC.

“I’m excited to once again bring some of our nation’s top thought leaders to Washington to discuss the importance of research, development and deployment of game-changing energy technologies,” said Arun Majumdar, director of ARPA-E. “Engagement by business executives such as Bill Gates, Fred Smith and Lee Scott in the Summit emphasizes the critical link between the private sector and government-funded R&D for innovation in energy technologies and highlights the important role innovation plays in enabling business, economic growth, and national security.”

The summit is held annually to bring together key players from all sectors of the US energy innovation community to share ideas for developing and deploying the next generation of clean-energy technologies. The event is co-hosted by ARPA-E and the Clean Technology and Sustainable Industries Organization (CTSI).

Last year’s annual ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit attracted more than 90 speakers and 2,000 attendees from 49 states and 20 countries. Attendees included members of research and development institutions, global corporations, technology entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and government officials.

The 2012 summit is set to feature an expanded technology showcase with more than 150 exhibits from ARPA-E-funded projects and applicants in areas such as grid-scale storage, power electronics, batteries for electric vehicles, building efficiency, advanced carbon capture and electrofuels. The showcase will also feature new ARPA-E programs such as rare earth alternatives, plant engineering for fuel applications, advanced thermal storage, network integration architecture for the electrical grid, and power electronics for PV applications. A wide range of other energy technologies and new topic areas will also be discussed.