CERAWeek by S&P Global is the world’s premier week-long energy conference gathering together executives, government officials, and leaders from the energy, technology, and financial sectors in Houston, Texas. The University of Chicago Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth has a growing presence at CERAWeek and sponsored its second delegation of students.
Below are insights from three Sustainability Dialogue members who attended.
Tatjana Washington, PhD ’27
Tatjana WashingtonWhat was your favorite part of CERAWeek?
My favorite part of CERAWeek was talking to startups and early stage companies in the clean energy field. As a previous VC fellow, I found it really exciting to see how many innovative clean tech solutions are actually being built. It made the energy transition feel much more tangible. The demand for clean energy is real and it’s growing quickly and extremely smart and ambitious people are actively building to meet it.
What is something you learned or saw that surprised you?
I came into the conference expecting a heavier focus on traditional energy priorities, so I was honestly surprised by how much time and attention was being given to sustainability and reducing environmental impact. It felt genuine. I was also surprised by how few scientists were present. Most speakers were in leadership roles and were very strong communicators, which made me realize how important it is to translate complex science for broader audiences.
Alexandra Costo, College ’28
Alexandra CostoWhat is something you learned or saw that surprised you?
Attending CERAWeek clarified the scale of challenges in the energy sector and the role I want to play in addressing them. Presenting my research on virtual power plants (VPPs), I engaged in discussions that pushed me to rethink assumptions about the role distributed energy resources can play in expanding grid capacity and increasing flexibility. Discussions and talks I attended with industry leaders, researchers, and regulators filled key gaps. A consistent takeaway was that energy is not necessarily scarce; transmission, storage, and coordination are the largest constraints. This shifted my focus from generation to system design, emphasizing faster interconnection, automation, and demand flexibility.
How do you plan to take the lessons you learned back to UChicago and into your academic and professional life?
Data centers emerged as a solution. While they are increasing electricity demand, they also have the capacity to invest in on-site generation and storage, making them potential contributors to grid reliability. AI also has potential to play an important role. AI can address uncertainty in forecasting distributed capacity. By improving demand and generation forecasting and optimizing dispatch, AI can make distributed resources more reliable. However, these advancements introduce risks, especially around cybersecurity and the cost-benefit balance. Moving forward, I will bring these insights back to UChicago to refine my research on grid flexibility and VPPs, focusing on policy and market design.
Takuto Nomura, Booth ’27
Takuto NomuraWhat is something you learned or saw that surprised you?
I recognized that economic security and supply chain resilience are now top priorities for the energy industry and governments. Renewable energy and nuclear power used to attract attention mainly for decarbonization, but now they may be promoted to ensure energy security. At the same time, European and Asian countries which rely on energy imports from other nations are facing an urgent need to restructure their supply chains to prevent disruptions in oil and gas supply. This situation also suggests that investment in fossil fuels will remain necessary for the short term.
Other decarbonization technologies such as fusion energy, SAF, hydrogen, and CCS are also gaining strong momentum. I learned that many business leaders and scientists are working seriously to scale these solutions. However, challenges still remain. High cost and lack of offtakers are major issues. The key question is how to make these solutions viable as businesses rather than ideals. It is imperative for companies to collaborate with governments, research institutions, and investors.
I reaffirmed that finance plays a critical role in strengthening economic security and expanding the supply of clean energy. Several panelists noted that investors need a deeper understanding of technology. They also emphasized the need for patient capital.
How do you plan to take the lessons you learned back to UChicago and into your academic and professional life?
I am going to return to the bank after graduation and my participation in CERAWeek strengthened my desire to engage with the energy industry as a finance provider. I realized that I need to develop a deeper understanding of decarbonization technologies so that I can evaluate them as investment opportunities. In addition, by leveraging Booth’s extensive finance courses, I want to take a deep dive into how to provide patient capital for clean tech in a sustainable way as well as balance risk and return in practice.
From research to finance to innovation, UChicago students are preparing to lead the future of energy transition!