San Diego Convention Center

2025 Technical Conference Sessions

Innovating at Scale: Lessons from Utility-Startup Collaborations

26 Mar 2025
Initiate Hub Booth #5600
Initiate Startup Program

Moving from a successful pilot to a full-scale implementation is one if the biggest challenges startups face when working with utilities. Long procurement cycles, regulatory hurdles, and organizational inertia often stall progress, even when pilots demonstrate clear value. At the same time, utilities need scalable solutions to modernize the grid, improve reliability, and integrate more clean energy. So, how can we bridge that gap? 

In this panel, we’ll hear from both utilities and startup who have navigated this journey – sharing key lessons, best practices, and strategies from moving from pilot to scale successfully.

Panel Moderator
Pradeep Tagare
Pradeep Tagare, VP & the Head of Corporate Venture Fund - National Grid Partners
Speakers
Robin Lanier
Robin Lanier, Managing Director, New Ventures - Southern Company
Brian Curtis
Brian Curtis, Principal - NextEra Energy Investment
Josh Wong
Josh Wong, CEO - ThinkLabs
Bill Dall
Bill Dall, CPTO - Urbint