Follow Us:

Collaboration, Manufacturing Excellence,
Innovation & Productivity

Charged2020: The Global Renewable Energy Forum

The Assignment

As part of our Energy Industry practice, we came to the realization that the renewable energy generation, storage and distribution value chains needed much more focus on dialogue and discussion. The renewable energy industry needs to move away from its dependance on subsidies. We wanted to create a platform that would facilitate such dialogue, a forum for open and constructive debate on multiple issues including the provocative ones, a setting where everyone’s voice would be heard. Our vision was for such a forum to foster innovative thinking and collaborative partnerships to help make our planet more sustainable.

Results:

In responsive to such a need, we created “Charged2020: The Global Renewable Energy Forum.” Teaming up with academia, laboratories of international repute and the renewable energy industry, Charged2020 seeks to promote sustainable innovation along all aspects of the renewable energy value chain. The second annual Charged2020 Forum was held at the University of San Diego in July 2011. Around 70 people attended the event. The participant group included several senior executives from industry, faculty members world-renowned in their respective fields and senior personnel from national laboratories. There was unanimous consent that the Charged2020 Forum was unique in its focus on debate and dialogue. We actively encourage different opinions. We want people to raise provocative issues. We want people to disagree with each other. Our firm belief is that we need to have such dialogue in a constructive manner in order to further the cause of renewable energy and sustainability. Based on two years of research, we have found the following to be the key needs of this industry and we are actively working to address them:

  • Need for enhanced collaboration that fosters collaborative thinking and projects
  • Eliminate the need for subsidies. Are profitability and sustainability mutually exclusive?
  • Criticality of building manufacturing excellence in the US
  • Branding and Leadership
  • Financing: Is good money chasing the appropriate technology or is too much money chasing bad technologies?