Emerging Technology Program

Mission Statement: To advance electrical engineering technology, applications, technical papers and industry standards for emerging technologies within the petrochemical industry. The Emerging Technologies Technical Subcommittee provides an international forum to publish technical papers related to these topics at the annual PCIC conference.
Topics Include:

1. Electrochemical
2. Synthetic crude and fuels
3. Biomass
4. Oils sands
5. Oil shale
6. Methanol, ethanol and hydrogen
7. LNG (Liquified Natural Gas)
8. Other emerging technologies such as renewable energy

The Emerging Technology Technical Subcommittee officers are:​

• Richard Anderson - Chair
• Masoud Hajiaghajani - Vice Chair
• Pratik Shah - Secretary

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EMERGING TECHNOLOGY TECHNICAL SESSION I

Tuesday, September 22, 2026 - 8:15am to 11:15am - Salon E
Presiding: Richard Anderson, Chair

PCIC-2026-22   BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS AS A RELIABLE ALTERNATIVE TO DIESEL GENERATORS FOR STANDBY POWER APPLICATION
Mohit Kumar, P.E.                                 Bechtel Energy Inc.
Terry Tadlock, P.E.                                 Bechtel Energy Inc.
Shankar Nambi, P.E.                             Bechtel Energy Inc.
Manish Verma                                        TMEIC Corp. Americas

PCIC-2026-23   EMPOWERING MODERN PROTECTION: HOW RELAYS WITH LOW-ENERGY INPUTS UNLOCK THE FULL POTENTIAL OF ROGOWSKI COIL SENSING
Anushka Dissanayake                          Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.
Vinod Yedidi                                            Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.
Anurag Upadhyay                                 Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.
Jamison Ehlers                                       Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.
Marcos Donolo                                       Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.

PCIC-2026-24   RESILIENT BLACK-START SYSTEM DESIGN AND INTEGRATION WITH A POWER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR AN ISLANDED LNG FACILITY
Mohammad Asif                                   Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.
Soham Datta                                          KBR
Jeff Duran                                               KBR
Maaz Kazmi                                            Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.
Talha Zamir                                            Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.

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EMERGING TECHNOLOGY TECHNICAL SESSION II

Wednesday, September 23, 2026 - 8:15am to 11:15am - Salon E
Presiding: Masoud Hajiaghajani, Vice Chair

PCIC-2026-37   INNOVATIVE ARCHITECTURES OF DC-FED VARIABLE SPEED SYSTEM WITH ACTIVE-STATOR PERMANENT MAGNET MOTOR FOR MARINE AND MINING APPLICATIONS
Dr. Lionel Durantay                              GEV Power Conversion
Arun Prasad                                           GEV Power Conversion
Nicholas Smith                                      GEV Power Conversion
Duro Basic                                              GEV Power Conversion

PCIC-2026-38   NEW BUILDING CODE REQUIREMENTS FOR DC BATTERY SYSTEMS IN ELECTRICAL BUILDINGS – RAISING AWARENESS
Luca Magenes, P.E., P.Eng                  Powell Electrical Systems, Inc.
Gautami Bhatt, P.E.                              Bechtel Energy
Matt Armand, P.E.                                 Bechtel Energy
Binoy Kurien                                           Powell Electrical Systems, Inc.

PCIC-2026-39   MODERNIZING SLURRY PUMP DRIVE SYSTEM USING PERMANENT MAGNET MOTORS, A CAPEX AND OPEX ANALYSIS
Jose Simpson                                        ABB, Inc.
Guillermo Castillo                                 Soltex