Terna Innovation Zone Forum 2026 | Innovating the Grid: Next-Gen Power for AI and Data Centers

Terna Innovation Zone Forum San Francisco 2026

Innovating the Grid: Next-Gen Power for AI and Data Centers

Join us on November 10 at the Mind the Bridge Innovation Center in San Francisco for the 2026 edition of the Terna Innovation Zone Forum.

Terna, Italy's electricity Transmission System Operator, in collaboration with Mind the Bridge, brings together leading players from the European and US energy, technology and innovation ecosystems to discuss how AI, digitalization and the rapid growth of data centers are reshaping the electricity system.

The Forum will bring together grid operators and utilities, technology companies, research organizations, startups, scaleups and innovation leaders to explore how electricity grids can evolve to meet these emerging challenges.

The conversation will move from the investment and infrastructure race behind the AI economy to the challenges of connecting new large loads, unlocking more capacity from existing grids and bringing innovative GridTech solutions into real-world applications.

A focused transatlantic dialogue on the future of energy, infrastructure and innovation, connecting European experience with the Silicon Valley ecosystem and exploring new opportunities for collaboration.

Agenda

4:00PM - Doors Opening & Networking

4:30PM - Welcome & Intro

Marco Marinucci, CEO & Founder at Mind the Bridge

4:35PM - Opening Remarks

Ezio Marinato, Head of Innovation Ecosystems Management at Terna

Massimo Carnelos, Consulate General of Italy in San Francisco

4:45PM - Keynote: AI, Investment & Energy InfrastructureA Silicon Valley perspective on the acceleration of AI, computing capacity and data center investment, and the implications for energy and infrastructure.

Steve Westly, Founder & Managing Partner at The Westly Group

5:00PM - Panel: The Connection RaceKey players across the energy and digital value chain discuss how to connect new large electricity loads to the grid, faster.

Carlo Brancucci, Co-Founder and CEO at encoord

Lénaïg Le Gall, Smart Grid Program Manager at EDF US Innovation Lab

Xing Wang, CTO, AWS Energy and Utilities at AWS

Alex Collins, Manager, DERMS Execution & Operations at PG&E

Moderator: Neema Zadeh, Senior Technical Program Manager, AI Infrastructure & Energy Strategy at Google

5:30PM - The Grid Meets Silicon Valley: Why Today More Than Ever​A data-driven snapshot by Terna and Mind the Bridge of the Silicon Valley energy and GridTech innovation ecosystem.

Alberto Onetti, Chairman at Mind the Bridge

5:40PM - Panel: Grid Technologies, from Breakthrough to DeploymentA discussion with GridTech startups and scaleups on turning technological innovation into real-world applications.

Emily Goldfield, Director of Strategy & Business Development at GridCare

Puneeth Kalavase, Head of Grid Services at Emerald AI

Abhishek Sastri, CEO & Co-Founder at FLUIX AI

Moderator: Sandra Chavez, Head of Incubatenergy Labs at EPRI

6:10PM - Closing Remarks

Marco Marinucci, CEO & Founder at Mind the Bridge

Ezio Marinato, Head of Innovation Ecosystems Management at Terna

6:15PM - Networking & Startup Showcase with Italian Aperitivo

Speakers and panelists will be announced shortly.

By attending this event, participants acknowledge and consent to being photographed and/or recorded, with the resulting material potentially used for publication and social media purposes.