The PNW Climate Stack
The innovators building the next layer of clean energy, from the reactor to the grid.
The Pacific Northwest is building a full stack of clean energy innovation, from the physics of how power gets made to the software that determines who gets to use it.
In our region right now, a fusion startup is advancing toward scientific breakeven using an approach that strips out the complexity that has kept fusion expensive and slow for decades. A battery materials company is working on what comes next, how you store and move clean power at the speed and scale a modern grid demands. And a utility customer data exchange is quietly becoming the Plaid of the energy transition, the permissioned data layer that connects utilities to the 2,500 companies deploying solar, batteries, VPPs, and AI-enabled energy services across the country. Without it, what used to take weeks of friction takes seconds.
These are the same story, told from three different places in the stack.
Canary Media Executive Director Eric Wesoff kicks off the evening with a fireside chat with Zabrina Johal, CEO of Zap Energy, on fusion, fission, and the practical path to clean reliable power at scale. Alder & Co. CEO Melanie Adamson then sits down with UtilityAPI CEO Devin Hampton on the data infrastructure powering the energy transition. The evening closes with a live recording of the Volts podcast with David Roberts and Group 14 Technologies CTO Rick Costantino.
Run of show
4:00–5:00 p.m. Check-in, light refreshments & networking
5:00–5:25 p.m. Fireside chat with Canary Media Executive Director, Eric Wesoff, with CEO of Zap Energy, Zabrina Johal.
About:
Zabrina Johal is CEO of Zap Energy, where she is focused on advancing both fusion and fission as complementary pathways to deliver clean, reliable energy at scale. Her career spans more than 20 years in nuclear engineering, strategy, and leadership. She most recently served as a senior executive at AtkinsRéalis, guiding strategy across a multi-billion-dollar nuclear portfolio across North America, Europe, and the Middle East. Zabrina is passionate about advancing practical energy solutions that strengthen energy security, enable economic growth, and improve quality of life worldwide.
5:30–5:55 p.m. Fireside chat with CEO Melanie Adamson of Alder & Co., with CEO of Utility API, Devin Hampton
About:
Devin Hampton leads the software company dedicated to unleashing energy potential through the unlocking of customer data. He is also the co-founder of Empowering Diverse Climate Talent (EDICT). Mr. Hampton currently holds a seat on the board of directors for Tacoma Public Utilities and is a member of the Trilateral Commission. His previous leadership experience includes board service for the Clean Energy Leadership Institute and GridFWD, as well as various roles within the Obama Administration. During his tenure in the federal government, he served in leadership positions at the United States Trade and Development Agency and the US Department of Energy
6:00–6:50 p.m. Live recording of the Volts podcast with David Roberts, with Cofounder & CTO of Group 14, Rick Costantino.
About:
Rick Costantino is co-founder and CTO of Group14 Technologies. He has more than 30 years of experience developing stable, high-performance products at the molecular level, spanning chemical and biopharmaceutical industries for companies including Genentech, Alkermes, and Nastech. Rick’s efforts have culminated in numerous commercial products, from marketed therapeutics to electrode materials for advanced ultracapacitors and lead-acid batteries. Prior to founding Group14, he served as the VP of research and development at EnerG2, CSO of delivery at MDRNA Inc., and CSO at G2B Pharma.
6:50–8:00 p.m. Networking
More about the featured climate tech companies:
Zap Energy, in Seattle, takes a radically different approach: sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch fusion, which requires no superconducting magnets and no high-powered lasers, making it far smaller and simpler than prevailing approaches. With total funding now surpassing $330 million and a demo power plant system now in operation, Zap is advancing toward scientific breakeven on a timeline that could make it the second fusion company to deliver electrons to the grid.
Utility API, offices in Tacoma and Portland, is building the exchange that most of the clean energy industry depends on but rarely talks about. Utility API company is the only platform trusted by both utilities and the thousands of third parties, solar installers, VPP operators, battery deployers, EV charging networks, and AI-enabled energy services, that need permissioned access to utility customer data to do their jobs. Without it, what used to take weeks of friction takes seconds. With 14 million meters under direct contract and 2,500 companies on the platform, UtilityAPI is quietly becoming the Plaid of the energy transition, category-defining infrastructure that the whole stack runs on.
Group14 Technologies in Woodinville, WA is the world’s leading commercial manufacturer of silicon battery technology delivering unparalleled performance to millions of devices, from EVs to AI-enabled technologies. Group14 is rapidly scaling its global manufacturing capabilities to help accelerate the transition to electrification and address the growing demand for energy.
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