The CleanTech Summit brought together international experts in engineering, science and technology to discuss urgent sustainability challenges and accelerate clean-technology deployment. Sessions covered renewable energy integration, smart grid innovation, energy storage and decarbonisation pathways for industry. The event aimed to connect research, policy and commercial stakeholders and to promote scalable solutions. It also marked the start of a series that was scheduled to include three further major IEEE conferences at the SEC in 2026 and 2027, including the return of the IEEE International Conference on Communications.

Venue credentials and legacy of IEEE events

IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organisation, chose Glasgow in line with the city’s research and academic strengths. The SEC had recently delivered large-scale meetings such as COP26 in 2021, the Interpol General Assembly in 2024 and the EAACI Congress in 2025, demonstrating its capacity for complex international events. Alieen Crawford, Head of Tourism and Conventions at Glasgow Convention Bureau, highlighted a long partnership with IEEE and recalled that Glasgow had hosted more than 50 IEEE conferences over the past 35 years.