The exchange of ideas and networking to pioneer new energy technologies and partnerships will continue in spite of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic as NETL and the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) host the 2020 DOE InnovationXLab CarbonX Summit virtually.

Originally scheduled for Sept. 22-23 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh, the DOE InnovationXLab CarbonX Summit is now tentatively scheduled for Oct. 21-22. The event will showcase, primarily for members of industry, DOE technologies and the national laboratories’ capabilities at the heart of the domestic energy economy from production to utilization to reuse.

NETL staff are working internally and in coordination with the Lab Steering Committee and OTT to secure the dates, times and agenda for the virtual event. With the change to a virtual setting, the event’s planners are considering several options for format and content. More information will be provided through email once the details are finalized.

NETL organizers have been holding webinar events to provide content and are continuing to engage participants and maintain interest in the summit. The first webinar, held June 23, focused on “The Future of Carbon: Conversion Engineering” and featured speakers addressing direct air capture, along with high-value products from natural gas and coal. The second webinar, titled “Downstream Opportunities & Advancements,” took place Aug. 4 and featured two industry-lab success story highlights.

“With hundreds of people attending, our pre-summit webinars proved to be a great success and featured some of the best in the nation’s energy industries and national laboratories,” NETL Director Brian Anderson said. “While we would have loved to see everyone in person in downtown Pittsburgh, NETL continues to respond to the changing circumstances with resilience. I hope the strong turnout for our webinars continues, and I look forward to addressing the attendees of the main event in October.”

The CarbonX Summit is the seventh in the InnovationXLab Series designed to showcase the remarkable assets of DOE’s national laboratories. InnovationXLab summits facilitate a two-way exchange of information and ideas between industry, universities, manufacturers, investors and end-use customers with innovators and experts from across the national laboratories and broader DOE research and development complex.

NETL is a DOE national laboratory that produces technological solutions for America’s energy challenges. From developing creative innovations and efficient energy systems that make coal more competitive, to advancing technologies that enhance oil and natural gas extraction and transmission processes, NETL research is providing breakthroughs and discoveries that support domestic energy initiatives, stimulate a growing economy, and improve the health, safety, and security of all Americans. Highly skilled men and women at NETL’s sites in Albany, Oregon; Anchorage, Alaska; Houston, Texas; Morgantown, West Virginia; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania conduct a broad range of research activities that support DOE’s mission to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States.