Oxfordshire’s world-leading solutions to reaching net zero

Arrival

Registration and refreshments

Welcome

Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Louise Richardson, University of Oxford

Opening Keynote – Simon Mundy

The Financial Times’ Moral Money editor Simon Mundy shares some of the extraordinary human stories he encountered during the research journey through six continents for his book Race for Tomorrow. Mundy describes some of the most exciting areas of innovation and competition in the clean technology sector, with vivid first-hand accounts that underscore the urgency and complexity of the challenge facing a new generation of entrepreneurs.

Fusion

Oxfordshire is leading the way in fusion, and we’re working on doing it 3 different ways.
We explore and compare approaches.

Keynote speaker: Melanie Windridge – Founder, Fusion Energy Insights

Followed by a panel discussion, chaired by Valerie Jamieson – Fusion Cluster Lead, UKAEA, with panellists:
Matthew Betney – Target Design Lead Scientist, First Light Fusion
David Kingham – Executive Vice Chairman, Tokamak Energy
Leah Morgan – Diagnostic Project Engineer, UKAEA
Michael Cappello – Senior Vice President, Technology Delivery, General Fusion

Transport

In this section we’re talking about net zero transport. From batteries and fuel cells through powertrains and complete vehicles, to fleets and transport systems.

Keynote speaker: Avinash Rugoobur – President & Chief Strategy Officer, ARRIVAL
Followed by a panel discussion, chaired by Sebastian Johnson – Head of Innovation and Inward Investment, OXLEP, with panellists:
Llewelyn Morgan – Head of Innovation, Oxfordshire County Council
Jacqui Murray, Deputy Director – Faraday Battery Challenge, UKRI
Ben Neville – Marketing Director, YASA

Storage

Before we use energy, we’ve got to generate it and store it.
From solar and wind to ammonia vectors, onto the grid and beyond.

Keynote speaker: Maurits van Tol – CTO, Johnson Matthey

Followed by a panel discussion, chaired by Andy Gilchrist – Innovation and Business Partnerships – Energy University of Oxford, with panellists:
Peter Bruce – Chief Scientist, Faraday
Tom Cleaver – CEO, Cognition Energy
Carolyn Hicks – Co-founder, CFO, Brillpower
Stafford Lloyd – Net Zero Innovation Lead at Innovate UK

Lunch

Is this our shift moment? – Emily Penn

Whilst hitchhiking around the world by boat, Emily found herself in the middle of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and spent the next 10 years at sea, discovering the true problem of ocean plastic pollution. She founded eXXpedition to help individuals, businesses and governments navigate the issue so they can use their power to solve it from sea to source. Emily will share her adventures that connect her scientific insights from sea with upstream solutions on land, and what it’s going to take to shift to zero.

Systems

Decarbonisation comes by producing green energy more efficiently to make it more abundant. This hour we explore how the supply chain comes together and how we manage it.

Keynote Speaker Eric Brown, Energy Systems, Independent Consultant

Followed by panel discussion, chaired by Barbara Hammond – CEO, Low Carbon Hub, with panellists:
Melanie Bryce – Oxfordshire Programme Director, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks
Llewelyn Morgan – Head of Innovation, Oxfordshire County Council
Chris Manson-Whitton – Director, Progressive Energy
Tim Rose – Programme Manager, Energy Superhub Oxford, Pivot Power

CO2 Removal

Going beyond sustainability and becoming regenerative involves not just switching to carbon free energy, but also removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In this track we examine various ways of doing that being developed in Oxfordshire.

Keynote speaker: Steve Smith – Executive Director, Oxford Net Zero and CO2RE

Followed by a panel discussion, chaired by Jane Jin – ClimateTech Lead, OUI, with panellists:
Myles Allen, Environmental Change Institute
Mike Kendall – Head of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford
Mel Murphy, Lead Researcher, UNDO
Andrew Symes – CEO & Director, OXCCU

Innovation

There’s a big reason why Oxfordshire is able to make its global impact – and that’s the innovation ecosystem. What does it take to create the environment to generate world-leading ideas, and how can we share that nationwide and beyond?

Panel discussion, chaired by Sebastian Johnson – Head of Innovation and Inward Investment, OXLEP, with panellists:
Chas Bountra – Pro Vice-Chancellor for Innovation, University of Oxford
Kathryn Evans, Aerospace Sector Lead, Reaction Engines
Emma Southwell-Sander – Harwell Energy Tech Cluster, STFC
Robert Trezona – Head of Cleantech, IP Group plc