Oppenheimer Leadership Network

Imagining the Future: The Role of Our National Labs in Realizing a Sustainable, Resilient, and Equitable Energy Future

On July 31, 2024, the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the OLN convened visionaries and thought leaders for a one-day, invitation only workshop at Stanford University to explore, define, and advance the role the of National Labs in supporting the transition to a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable global energy future. 

• Welcoming Reception and Keynote, July 30, 5 – 7 pm
• Imagining the Future Workshop, July 31, 8 am – 4:45 pm
• Post-Workshop Networking Reception, July 31, 4:45 – 6:30 pm

Workshop Themes 

Through panels, keynote presentations, and “unconference” sessions, invited participants  explored key themes relevant to enhancing the ability of the National Labs to support the global energy transition. Key conference themes included: 

• Tackling the Hardest Problems: The role of the National Labs in tackling the “hardest” problems of realizing a sustainable, resilient, and equitable energy future, from achieving technological and scientific breakthroughs to supporting the equitable distribution of energy innovations.
• Increasing the Pace of Innovation: Mechanisms to increase the agility and efficacy of National Lab and private sector collaborations, including challenges related to doing business with the National Labs, novel mechanisms for addressing these challenges, and “box-breaking” innovate models to support more effective public-private partnerships.
• Leveraging National Lab Public-Private Partnerships. Opportunities to leverage public-private partnerships between the National Labs and partners to increase the pace of innovation, support rapid technology transfer, and advance energy equity and justice. 
• Realizing Our Energy Future. Defining actionable strategies to support the National Labs in helping a resilient, sustainable, and equitable energy future.  
• Accelerating Lab-to-Market Transitions: Innovative ideas on transformative approaches and models to accelerate the clean energy transition and facilitate market uptake of National Lab technologies.