VX2024 Welcome Letter

We meet at VerdeXchange 2024 at a time of great optimism tempered by caution.  

We all are aware that the transition to clean energy is gaining significant financial muscle from federal and state investments. That funding is already leveraging billions more in private funding and the full tsunami of money from the Inflation Reduction Act has yet to arrive. But we also face a host of persistent challenges to getting those investments into the ground to deliver the carbon reductions we need, at the rapid pace our climate plans call for.

We still face the need to streamline permitting processes and grid modernization to expand charging infrastructure and redouble our efforts at building decarbonization.  The federal Justice 40 initiative requires time and resources at a new level to ensure meaningful engagement with communities to deliver equitable distribution of benefits. EV sales are slowing even as the targets call for increased market uptake.  And the specter of a Trump victory this fall looms with the multiple U-turns in clean energy policy that could follow. 

We have the wind in our sails but face a difficult passageway through the waters of the “Great Implementation” that will require careful navigation.

That’s why you’re here:  The array of 40+ panels and charrettes at VX2024 is designed to provide the perspectives, context and data you need to develop a realistic understanding of the forces and opportunities at play. You will hear directly from the clean tech entrepreneurs, energy & water companies, advanced vehicle manufacturers, software & hardware developers, and public policymakers. You will also find representatives from California, other states, and around the world including Japan, Canada and India. 

Together, we will examine subjects from renewable energy and zero-emission transportation solutions to the energy grid and storage, decarbonizing the built environment, and water sustainability.  You will be discussing the importance of ensuring the role of equity in investments, the role of green and blue hydrogen in the future transition, next-gen heavy-duty trucks and fleets, the role of carbon capture, sustainable supply chains and more.

It’s a rare opportunity over two days to gather the needed ideas, insight, and information to help chart our way to a shared goal of clean, equitable and sustainable energy and growth.

Enjoy the Conference!

David Abel, Chairman, VerdeXchange