Explore the Agenda

7:30 am Registration & Networking

8:00 am Chair’s Opening Remarks

Unlocking Power Availability With Onsite Solutions

8:10 am Fireside Chat: Assessing Site Selection Trade-Offs to Unlock Viable Development in Saturated Power Markets & Prevent Costly Rework

Director of Data Center Engineering, Hanwha Data Centers
  • Quantifying land viability by stress-testing assumptions around delayed permanent power, interim self-generation, water sourcing, and enabling infrastructure costs
  • Applying real due-diligence learnings from high-demand markets to understand what actually tips a site from “possible” to “not worth pursuing”
  • Balancing fibre access, utility timelines, and community receptiveness to determine long-term feasibility rather than short-term availability

9:20 am Operationalizing SMRs for Onsite Power Resilience in Data Center Campuses

Chief Technology Officer, Nuclear Science & Technology, Idaho National Laboratory
  • Examining where SMRs realistically sit today versus near-term alternatives by comparing technical readiness, achievable capacity, lead times, and constructability against options like on-site gas turbines
  • Integrating SMRs into live or planned campuses by addressing redundancy, resiliency, constructability, site constraints, and interfaces with existing facility infrastructure
  • Navigating permitting pathways, environmental codes, vendor maturity, and supplychain lead times to understand who can deliver, how power is sustained long-term, and where risks remain

9:50 am Evaluating Self-Generation Topologies to Accelerate Power Availability & Reduce Grid Dependence

Principal & Mission Critical Sector Leader, RSP Architects
  • Comparing self-generation options by understanding trade-offs in footprint, load responsiveness, redundancy, maintenance, and the role of batteries or supercapacitors
  • Determining when behind-the-meter generation makes sense as a response to long utility timelines, including ownership models, operational responsibility, permitting risk, supplier depth, delivery time, and breakeven economics
  • Leveraging bridging power solutions to enable phased energization and bring facilities online ahead of permanent infrastructure availability

10:20 am Reinforce Connections: Networking Break

Maximizing Project Partner Collaboration

11:20 am Fireside Chat: Structuring In House & External Consultant Models to Improve Trust, Efficiency, & Outcomes

Principal - Data Center Delivery Strategy, Microsoft
  • Comparing how owners balance trusted external consultants with internal teams to understand where in house capability adds the most value versus where outside expertise is relied upon
  • Clarifying the benefits and trade offs of different engagement models by examining how others decide what stays inside their “trusted bubble” and what is outsourced
  • Optimizing collaboration with contractors and consultants by learning how peer organizations structure responsibilities to reduce friction and improve delivery confidence

12:20 pm Improving Owner–Designer Collaboration to Accelerate Design Decisions & Reduce Rework

Executive Vice President, Gresham Smith & Partners
  • Aligning owner priorities, risk tolerance, and delivery constraints earlier in the design process to minimise late stage changes and redesign
  • Clarifying decision ownership and escalation paths to keep designs moving as requirements evolve and timelines compress
  • Streamlining feedback loops between owners and designers to improve efficiency while maintaining technical rigour and design intent

1:00 pm Cement Connections: Industry Lunch

Understanding Industry Trajectories

2:00 pm Exploring 800V Integration to Future-Proof Data Center Power Architecture Amid Rising Rack Densities

Technology Business Leader, ARUP
Lead Data Center Electrical Engineer and PM, ARUP
Senior Electrical Engineer, ARUP
  • Comparing how owners balance trusted external consultants with internal teams to understand where in house capability adds the most value versus where outside expertise is relied upon
  • Clarifying the benefits and trade offs of different engagement models by examining how others decide what stays inside their “trusted bubble” and what is outsourced
  • Optimizing collaboration with contractors and consultants by learning how peer organizations structure responsibilities to reduce friction and improve delivery confidence

2:45 pm Chair’s Closing Remarks

3:00 pm End of Advancing Data Center Design & Engineering East 2026