Defence Energy Conference 2026
The Defence Energy Conference 2026 will take place on 20-21 April at Rolls‑Royce, Bristol
This is a closed, in‑person conference with strictly limited attendance. Only senior MOD leaders and decision‑makers responsible for Defence’s future energy and resilience requirements will be present, ensuring focused, high‑value discussion throughout.
The Defence Energy Conference 2026 brings partners together to build shared clarity joining defence, energy resilience and industrial capability. In a complex and uncertain environment, no single organisation holds the full picture. Progress depends on collaboration, openness and a common understanding of how energy-related activity connects across the system.
The conference provides a structured forum for defence, allies, partners, industry, finance and academia to align perspectives, share insight and explore credible pathways forward. Grounded in the operational realities of our developing operating context, it supports clearer connections between innovation, infrastructure, supply chains and future capability needs.
The intent is to strengthen coherence: helping partners understand where their efforts intersect, where dependencies exist, and how collective action can improve resilience over time. By improving shared understanding and coordination, the conference supports more confident decision-making and a stronger foundation for future energy-related activity across defence and its partners.
Strategic Coherence in UK Defence, Energy and Industrial Policy (2025–26)
Purpose and importance – Since early 2025, UK strategy has shifted toward a more integrated view of national security, resilience and industrial capacity. Defence, energy and economic policy are no longer treated as parallel tracks but as interdependent parts of a single system operating under sustained uncertainty. This creates both pressure and opportunity for defence. The importance lies not in confirmed programmes or funding lines, but in the growing expectation that defence will articulate its needs in ways that shape wider national priorities, investment logic and industrial behaviour.
Key defence implications – For defence, the implication is a stronger role in setting direction rather than reacting to supply. Energy security and resilience, infrastructure dependence and industrial capacity are increasingly recognised as national security concerns, giving defence greater influence over cross-government thinking. The opportunity is to translate operational energy realities into clear capability signals that inform industrial strategy, innovation focus and long-term resilience planning. Anchored by UK Ministry of Defence, defence can act as a convenor and system integrator, shaping shared understanding of risk, dependency and priority rather than relying on fragmented, short-term solutions.
TD-Info Contacts: sue.russell@teamdefence.info, kelly.gough@teamdefence.info, demi.bowler@teamdefence.info
