Save the Date: February 24, 2027
The next “From Billions to Trillions” summit is slated for February 24, 2027 at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Join the Nicholas Institute email list for updates on this and other events.
The world is not short of capital. Yet countries struggle to build the infrastructure needed to modernize energy systems: power plants, transmission lines, industrial facilities, processing capacity, and resilient supply chains. The challenge is not simply finding money; it is deploying infrastructure at scale.
Infrastructure projects succeed or fail through decisions about risk, regulation, governance, financing, politics, and public trust—often fragmented across sectors.
The “From Billions to Trillions” initiative at Duke University helps bridge these gaps, bringing decision-makers and researchers together through research, convenings, working groups, and direct engagement with practitioners.
The initiative focuses on practical topics that span ambition and implementation:
- Building the electric grid we need by improving governance across institutions
- Financing the “missing middle,” between demonstration and deployment of solutions
- Powering electricity demand growth without driving up costs or eroding public trust
- Strengthening supply chains for economic development and energy security
- Allocating investment risks transparently, efficiently, and in politically feasible ways
At Duke, faculty, students, alumni, and practitioners are pursuing these topics with actionable analysis, testing ideas in real-world settings, and cultivating future leaders.
“From Billions to Trillions” Summits
Duke University has hosted three “From Billions to Trillions” summits to date, convening decisionmakers across tech, energy, finance, policy, government, and philanthropy to exchange ideas about scaling up energy investment. The next summit will take place on February 24, 2027.
