San Francisco (CA)

San Francisco Climate Week | 2026

4 Days, 6 Events, One Climate Tech Community in San Francisco

During SF Climate Week 2026, the Scaleup Summit San Francisco returns with a multi-day program bringing together corporates, startups, investors, and ecosystem leaders working on the technologies powering the energy transition. The week will feature curated events at Mind the Bridge HQ alongside partner-led sessions across the city, all focused on how climate innovation is moving from pilots to large-scale deployment.

This year’s agenda (April 20-23) spans some of the most urgent industrial challenges shaping the climate tech landscape:

Agenda

APR 20

Where Japan’s Carbon Rules & Data Centers Meet Silicon Valley Innovation
12:45 PM – 1:00 PM \| Doors Open & Networking time
1:00 PM – 1:10 PM \| Welcoming Remarks Featuring: Kei Morita, VP of New Technology & CVC at ENEOS Americas Marco Marinucci, Founder & CEO at Mind the Bridge
1:10 PM – 1:40 PM \| Opening: Leveraging Opportunities Under Japan’s GX‑ETS Framework An overview of Japan’s GX‑ETS framework, including its objectives, structure, and timeline. The session will explore how Japanese corporates are adapting to the new regulatory environment and highlight emerging opportunities for overseas startups to engage with Japan’s GX ecosystem. Featuring: Ryo Tateishi, Director, Business Development at Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas)
1:40 PM – 2:20 PM \| Panel: Balancing Speed and Sustainability in the Data Center Industry A deep dive into power and energy challenges in the data center sector, with a focus on energy supply, grid integration, and energy management. The discussion will address key bottlenecks and showcase notable solutions and real‑world use cases, with perspectives from M‑Lab corporates and startups. Featuring: Masashi Hashiura, Consultant at Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc. Abhishek Sastri, CEO at Fluix Thomas Vadora, CEO at Splight Jamie Daudon, Principal at The Westly Group Kei Morita, VP of New Technology & CVC at ENEOS Americas [Moderator]
2:20 PM – 2:35 PM \| Quick Recharge
2:35 PM – 3:15 PM \| Panel: Emerging Opportunities in the Climate Innovation Landscape This session will explore climate technology opportunities beyond data centers, focusing on areas that VCs and CVCs are actively pursuing today: such as materials circularity, CDR or carbon credit, SAF, and geologic hydrogen. Featuring: Kaz Igarashi, Sr. Technologies Scouting Manager at Yazaki Innovations Hirotaka Mori, Principal Researcher of New Technology & CVC at ENEOS Americas Anouck Champsaur, Energy Transition Ventures Gemma Odena Bulto, Operating Partner at SE Ventures Ana Torres, Co-Founder at Xploration Partners \| Faculty & Director at UC Berkeley Haas Business School [Moderator]
3:15 PM – 4:00 PM \| Networking

APR 21

Why Korean Climate Tech is GOLDEN
12:45 PM – 1:00 PM \| Doors Open & Networking time
1:00 PM – 1:20 PM \| Unlocking Innovation Budget: The Korea Opportunity An overview of Korea’s innovation landscape, including public institutions, funding mechanisms, and corporate demand that make it a global leader in piloting and scaling industrial technologies. Featuring: Marco Marinucci, Founder & CEO at Mind the Bridge
1:20 PM – 1:50 PM \| Panel: Why K-Climate Tech Startups Are Golden A showcase of leading Korean climate tech startups sharing how they collaborate with global corporates, expand internationally, and differentiate from other innovation ecosystems. Featuring: Dr. Boris Brigljević, Chief Strategy Officer at Carbon Value Giancarlo Savini, Partner at Carbon Removal Ventures [Moderator]
1:50 PM – 2:05 PM \| Quick Recharge
2:05 PM – 2:35 PM \| Panel: Why Global Corporates Are Scaling with K-Climate Tech International corporates share real-world experiences exploring and running PoCs and deployments with Korean technology providers: what worked, what didn’t, and how to unlock faster industrial innovation. Featuring: Salvatore Bonaccorso, Head of Open Innovation Ecosystems and Hubs at Fincantieri Daniel Seo, Investment Manager at 3M Marco Marinucci, Founder & CEO at Mind the Bridge [Moderator]
3:05 PM – 3:45 PM \| Networking

APR 22

The Sustainable Data Center Power Stack
8:30 AM – 9:00 AM \| Doors Open & Networking
9:00 AM – 9:30 AM \| Opening: The Energy Bottleneck to AI Scale A leading hyperscaler energy outlines the key constraints shaping data center deployment today: from interconnection bottlenecks to reliability, cost, and permitting challenges. *Featuring:* Carolyn Campbell, Head of Clean Technology Innovation at Meta Aric Saunders, EVP Commercialization at Noon Energy
9:30 AM – 9:45 AM \| Anchor Moment: Noon Energy Announcement Noon Energy shares a major company milestone
9:45 AM – 10:00 AM \| Quick Recharge 10:00 AM – 10:40 AM \| Panel: The New Data Center Energy Stack A deep dive into how an integrated energy stack is taking shape across power generation, storage, and grid hardware, and what it will take to deploy it at scale. *Featuring:* Chris Graves, CEO at Noon Energy Daniel Padilla, Business Development & Strategy Lead at Emerald AI Madison Freeman, Senior Policy & Business Development Manager at Heron Power Candice Yu, Director of Business Development at Kairos Power Arnaud Paquet, Senior Director at Crusoe [Moderator]
10:40 AM – 11:15 AM \| Utilities Perspective: Learnings & Best Practices Utilities across the globe share real-world insights on enabling reliable, scalable power for data centers: from demand response to new partnership models with technology providers. *Featuring:* Dinesh Soundararajan, Innovation Manager at Enel Aaron Panzer, Head of Venture Acceleration at National Grid Chris Karwick, Assistant Director Utility Operations at Silicon Valley Power Ezio Marinato, Responsible Innovation Community at Terna Farnaz Amin, Head of Business Development, Grid Modernization (Americas) at AWS [Moderator]
11:15 AM – 12:00 PM \| Networking & Drinks

Exploring Energy Solutions for Maritime Innovation
11:15 AM – 12:00 PM \| Networking & Drinks
1:10 PM – 1:30 PM \| Introduction to Fincantieri Open Innovation An overview on Fincantieri, their role in the maritime sector, and how energy transition fits into their strategy. *Featuring:* Salvatore Bonaccorso, Head of Open Innovation Ecosystems and Hubs at Fincantieri Sara Braida, Open Innovation Manager at Fincantieri
1:30 PM – 2:00 PM \| Corporate Spotlight: Fincantieri Fincantieri’s Vision for Nuclear Propulsion at Sea, the Potential of Nuclear Propulsion for Maritime Application, and Fincantieri’s Long-Term Commitment and Strategic Roadmap. *Featuring:* Francesco Giacobone, Head of Innovation Strategy & Portfolio at Fincantieri
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM \| Panel Conversation: Is the Infrastructure Ready to Adopt New Energy Sources? A candid discussion on the “land-side” barriers: port electrification (cold ironing), liquid hydrogen storage, and grid-to-ship integration. *Featuring:* Ryan Calkins, Commissioner President at Port of Seattle Shannon Alford, Environmental Lead for the Maritime Division at Port of San Francisco Alicia Hernandez, Ocean Investments Manager at Sustainable Ocean Alliance Jorden Kemper, Founding Partner at Zero Emissions Advisors Andrea Sguazzi, Head of Venture Builder & Startup Programs from Mind the Bridge (Moderator)
2:45 PM – 3:45 PM \| Networking & Aperitivo Enjoy a traditional Italian aperitivo while connecting with experts from the maritime, energy, and deep-tech sectors.

APR 23

Rebuilding Infrastructure: Circular Construction
8:30 AM – 9:00 AM \| Doors Open & Networking time
9:00 AM – 9:20 AM \| Opening: Circular Infrastructure Landscape Presentation of Mind the Bridge’s latest report on circular infrastructure, covering key technologies, market trends, and regional dynamics shaping the transition. Featuring: Bruno Campi Laib, Strategy Consultant at Mind the Bridge
9:20 AM – 9:50 AM \| Corporate Spotlight: Acciona A candid executive conversation on how Acciona is advancing circular construction in civil infrastructure. Expect real-world use cases, lessons learned, and remaining challenges. Featuring: Telmo Pérez Luaces, Chief Innovation & Digital at Acciona Marco Marinucci, Founder & CEO at Mind the Bridge
9:50 AM – 10:05 AM \| Quick Recharge
10:05 AM – 10:35 AM \| Panel: Startups Enabling Circular Construction A curated group of startups showcase technologies enabling circularity across the construction value chain, with a focus on real-world adoption, investment signals, and scalability. Featuring: Keith Krugh, Chief Manufacturing Officer at Fortera Brent Constantz, Founder & CEO at Blue Planet Systems Apoorv Sinha, Cofounder & President at Carbon Upcycling Technologies Kathleen Egan, CEO & Co-Founder at Ecomedes Alice Leung, Principal at Brick & Mortar [Moderator]
10:35 AM – 11:15 AM \| Panel: Circular Construction — A Global Perspective A discussion with leading global corporates on the key ingredients to accelerate adoption: materials, policies, and technologies; with insights from different geographies. Featuring: Aki Manda, Technology Development Manager at Kajima Corey J Zollinger, Director Sustainable Infrastructure Solutions at Cemex Anton Ricafort, Innovation Director Americas at Acciona Aaron Anderson, Director of Innovation at ex-Swinerton [Moderator]
11:15 AM – 12:00 PM \| Networking

Minerals on the Rocks: Sustainability in Mining + Happy Hour
3:15 PM – 4:15 PM \| Doors Open & Networking time
4:15 PM – 4:50 PM \| The AI Pioneers Panel: Redefining mineral exploration and investment Topic: A candid conversation on the minerals and metals supply gap for the energy transition, AI and innovation in the mining-tech ecosystem, and the Bay Area’s role in making impact in the mining industry Featuring: John Mern, PhD, Co-Founder & CEO at Terra AI Rajesh Swaminathan, Partner at Khosla Ventures Wyatt Dudgeon, Investor at BHP Ventures Alex Aguilar, Associate – Team Lead Mining at Mind the Bridge [Moderator]
4:50 PM – 6:30 PM \| Minerals on the Rocks: Happy Hour Networking and happy hour. Connect with the Terra AI team, industry players, and fellow innovators over drinks.

Minerals on the Rocks: Sustainability in Mining + Happy Hour

3:15 PM – 4:15 PM | Doors Open & Networking time

4:15 PM – 4:50 PM | The AI Pioneers Panel: Redefining mineral exploration and investment
Topic: A candid conversation on the minerals and metals supply gap for the energy transition, AI and innovation in the mining-tech ecosystem, and the Bay Area’s role in making impact in the mining industry
Featuring:

John Mern, PhD, Co-Founder & CEO at Terra AI
Rajesh Swaminathan, Partner at Khosla Ventures
Wyatt Dudgeon, Investor at BHP Ventures
Alex Aguilar, Associate – Team Lead Mining at Mind the Bridge [Moderator]

4:50 PM – 6:30 PM | Minerals on the Rocks: Happy Hour
Networking and happy hour. Connect with the Terra AI team, industry players, and fellow innovators over drinks.

With the support of