Energizing the Modern Age

Bringing Energy to Life

Sustainability: The Word is the Deed

Energizing Infrastructure Investment

Leading in the Era of Decarbonization

Where Do We Go from Here?

December 2019

The global population is growing at an incredible rate. In the next 30 years, it is expected to grow from 7.7 billion to 9.7 billion. This growing population will need efficient, reliable and sustainable energy to meet ambitious emissions-reductions goals while bringing electricity to the nearly 850 million people who currently lack access.

This is the backdrop against which Idaho National Laboratory (INL) hosted “Energizing the Modern Age” as part of the lab’s 70th anniversary celebration.

The symposium brought together highly qualified experts from science, technology, business and policy backgrounds. They explored the contradictions and the tension points regarding sustainability and highlighted proven approaches to providing energy, goods and services while protecting the planet.

The symposium presented the start of a discussion designed to continue online and among new partners. That discussion focused on three main topics:

[ultimate_icon_list icon_margin=”15″][ultimate_icon_list_item icon=”Defaults-globe” icon_color=”#076d77″]Sustainability: various definitions of sustainability and differing perspectives on how to enable energy-intensive industries with carbon-free generation. [/ultimate_icon_list_item][ultimate_icon_list_item icon=”Defaults-line-chart” icon_color=”#076d77″]Finance and Investment: how various organizations invest in energy technologies and how technology providers can push carbon–free solutions out at scale. [/ultimate_icon_list_item][ultimate_icon_list_item icon=”Defaults-cloud-download” icon_color=”#076d77″]Leadership on Decarbonization: how industrialized nations can participate in markets that may leapfrog outdated energy systems and opportunities for U.S. leadership in areas that include workforce development, innovative applications and operating experience.[/ultimate_icon_list_item][/ultimate_icon_list]

For seven decades, Idaho has played host to teams of diverse experts, sparking new relationships and ushering in ideas to transform the modern age.

Energizing our world today presents a range of practical challenges to set the policy, technology and financing goals needed to achieve ambitious visions for the future. INL is sharing the outputs from the symposium to continue to refine and articulate what diverse stakeholders can achieve together in energizing the modern world.