Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship

ETVF Schedule

The 23rd Annual Forum features:

Keynotes and Panels: The forum focuses on the technologies, infrastructure, and commercialization strategies needed to deploy breakthrough innovations at scale. Through startup pitches, investor meetings, keynote conversations, and technical panels, ETVF connects bold ideas with the capital, partnerships, and industry expertise that turn innovation into impact.

Energy Venture Pitches: Across 50 dynamic venture pitches, industry leaders will showcase cutting-edge technologies redefining energy infrastructure—from grid modernization and industrial efficiency to autonomous solutions, advanced manufacturing, and next-generation fossil energy solutions. Together, these breakthroughs represent the front line of operational performance, automating critical assets and building a more reliable, resilient energy future.

Announcement of Most Promising Company: Chosen by energy tech industry experts and participating investors.

Invite-Only Investor Office Hours: A critical element of the event is the opportunity for more in-depth discussions with key investors, corporations and partners. Selected energy tech ventures connect with investors for individual, invite-only office hours on Sept. 16.

Investor & Industry Office Hours - Private Event for Invited Companies & Investors
Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026
Where: The Ion, 4201 Main Street, Houston
Agenda:
2:30 pm to 3:00 pm CT – Registration
3:00 pm to 5:30 pm CT – Office Hour meetings

Energy Tech Venture Forum - Public Event
Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026
Where: Jones Graduate School of Business, McNair Hall, Rice University, Houston
Agenda:
7:30 am CT – Registration & Light Breakfast
8:30 am CT - Program & Company Presentations
Noon CT - Networking Lunch
1:00 pm CT - Program & Company Presentations
5:00 pm CT – Awards & Closing Remarks

2026 Agenda | September 17, 2026

  • John (JR) Reale, Interim Associate Vice President for Industry and New Ventures, Rice University; Executive Director, Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship

  • THE NEW ENERGY REALITY: FUNDAMENTALS, SECURITY, AND SCALE
    Establish the macroeconomic, infrastructure, and energy-demand context for the day.

    Sean Maher, Vice President, Investor Relations & Chief Economist, Phillips 66

  • WATER AS ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE:
    Is water becoming the next critical infrastructure bottleneck for energy deployment?

    Panelists:
       •  Andres Cabada, Managing Director, Halliburton Labs
       •  Menachem Elimelech, PhD, Director, Rice Center for Membrane Excellence (RiCeME), Rice University
       •  Brian Iversen, Founder & Managing Partner, Cimbria Capital
       •  Dustin Kinder, CEO, Maverick Water Group

  • AI INFRASTRUCTURE: THE BOTTLENECKS BEHIND THE BOOM: 
    What breaks first as AI infrastructure scales? Where’s the market going?

    Moderator: Travis Wofford, JD, Partner, Baker Botts

    Panelists:
       •  Sameer Bandhu, Managing Director, Ventures and Licensing, GE Vernova
       •  Chad Seely, JD, SVP, Regulatory Policy, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary, ERCOT
       •  Pamit Surana, Co-Founder & CCO, Akash Systems

  • CVC PANEL: WHAT ENERGY CORPORATES ACTUALLY WANT FROM STARTUPS

    Moderator: Chris Spears, Managing Director - EIC Heritage, Energy Innovation Capital

    Panelists:
       •  Kemal Anbarci, PhD, Managing Executive and General Manager of Venture Capital, Chevron Technology Ventures
       •  Quennie Co, Managing Partner, Shell Ventures
       •  Rob Crane, PhD, Technology Scouting & Venturing Manager, ExxonMobil
       •  Megan Lund, Lead, Venturing Strategy & Strategic Partnerships, Woodside Energy
       •  Jim Sledzik, Managing Director, North America, Strategic Venturing Program, Aramco Ventures

  • GRID TECHNOLOGIES FOR AI, ELECTRIFICATION, AND INDUSTRIAL GROWTH:
    How do we unlock dramatically more electricity from the existing grid before new transmission can be built?

    Moderator: Nancy Zakhour, Board Member, PERMA-PIPE 

    Panelists:
       •  Shigeki Uchihashi, VP of Strategy & Corporate Venturing, JERA Ventures
       •  Suresh Vasan, Partner, Galvanize
       •  Mina Wassef, Business Development Director, The Weitz Company
       •  Ben York, PhD, Applications Manager, Integrated Grid and Energy Systems, EPRI

  • FROM R&D TO DEPLOYMENT: THE ARPA-E SUPERHOT VISION
    How the SUPERHOT program is advancing the field and tackling high-temperature challenges, the key technical barriers, and the greatest opportunities for industry, startups, and investors to accelerate commercialization.

    Robert Mellors, PhD, SUPERHOT Program Director, ARPA-E

  • AUTONOMOUS OPERATIONS, ROBOTICS, & DRONES:
    What must be true before critical infrastructure can detect, decide, and act without waiting for human intervention?

    Moderator: Sean Ebert, Senior Partner, Altira

    Panelists:
       •  Krishna Kasturi, Vice President of Innovation & Technology, Schneider Electric
       •  Sha-Chelle Devlin Manning, Chief, Commercial Strategy, DARPA
       •  Charles Vaslet, Senior Partner, Chief Revenue Officer, Emerald Technology Ventures

  • THE HARD TECH EXECUTION GAP: FROM INNOVATION TO INDUSTRIAL REALITY
    What does it take to build and scale world-changing hard-tech companies in industries where failure is expensive, infrastructure is complex, and commercialization takes years?

    Moderator: Cory Steffek, PhD, Partner, Private Equity, Ara Partners

    Panelists:
       •  Greg Carr, Co-Founder, CEO, and Chairman of the Board, HYCO1
       •  Chip Leigh, Head of Hardware, Critical Loop
       •  David Touhey, Managing Director, Head of Project Executions and Operations, Ara Partners
       •  Geoff Trukenbrod, CEO, Sedron Technologies

  • AHEAD OF CONSENSUS—THE NEXT FRONTIER IN ENERGY TECH
    Lessons on early conviction, market timing, and scaling global energy assets.

    Moderator: Brad Burke, Former Associate Vice President, Industry and New Ventures, Rice Innovation;  Former Executive Director, Rice Alliance

    Ira Ehrenpreis, JD, Founder and Managing Partner, DBL Partners