big win

Clean tech co. with U.S. HQ selected for UAE carbon capture project

Carbon Clean develops carbon capture technology for customers such as cement producers, steelmakers, refineries, and waste-to-energy plants.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC), the state-owned oil company of the United Arab Emirates, has chosen technology from United Kingdom-based company Carbon Clean for a carbon capture project in Abu Dhabi. Carbon Clean’s U.S. headquarters is in Houston.

Carbon Clean’s modular CycloneCC technology will be used for a carbon capture project at a Fertiglobe nitrogen fertilizer plant. Fertiglobe is a joint venture between ADNOC and OCI Global, a Netherlands-based chemical company.

“This project is hugely significant given it’s the first industrial deployment of our award-winning CycloneCC technology anywhere in the world,” says Aniruddha Sharma, chairman and CEO of Carbon Clean. “We are moving a step closer to achieving full commercialization of this modular solution, which will play a vital role in decarbonizing heavy industries and achieving net-zero targets.”

Carbon Clean develops carbon capture technology for customers such as cement producers, steelmakers, refineries, and waste-to-energy plants. The company bills its offering as the “world’s smallest industrial carbon capture technology.”

CycloneCC can reduce the cost of carbon capture by as much as 50 percent with a footprint that’s 50 percent smaller than traditional carbon capture units, according to Carbon Clean. The startup’s unit arrives ready to install and can be up and running in eight weeks.

The company established its Houston outpost earlier this year.

In 2022, Houston-based Chevron New Energies led the company’s $150 million series C round. Other contributors to the round were CEMEX Ventures, Marubeni, WAVE Equity Partners, AXA IM Alts, Samsung Ventures, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, and TC Energy. To date, Carbon Clean has raised $195 million.

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A View From HETI

The CleanTech Breakthrough Awards honor “the visionaries and leaders accelerating the transition to a cleaner, more sustainable future.” Photo via quaise.com

Eight cleantech companies with Houston headquarters were recognized in this year’s CleanTech Breakthrough Awards program.

CleanTech Breakthrough, part of market intelligence platform Tech Breakthrough, honors innovative and influential energy, climate, and cleantech companies, products and services.

This year’s winners from Houston are:

  • CleanTech Analytics Company of the Year: Amperon, a provider of AI-powered energy forecasting software
  • Overall Hydrogen Solution of the Year: Eclipse Energy, which converts maxed-out oilfields into low-cost sources of hydrogen
  • Energy Production Company of the Year: Fervo Energy, a provider of geothermal power
  • Production Solution of the Year: Quaise Energy, a developer of a drilling system for converting traditional power stations into geothermal energy plants
  • Green Materials Solution of the Year: Solidec, which uses air, water, and electricity to produce chemicals
  • Hydrogen Production Solution of the Year: VEMA Hydrogen, a producer of renewable hydrogen
  • CleanTech Analytics Innovation Award: Finland-based Wärtsilä, a provider of advanced energy storage systems and services, which maintains its U.S. headquarters in Houston
  • Energy Production Platform of the Year: France-based energy giant TotalEnergies, which maintains its U.S. headquarters in Houston

Other Texas companies made the list, including Austin-headquartered Base Power, founded by Justin Lopas and Zach Dell. Zach Dell is the son of Austin billionaire and Houston native Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies. The company recently started servicing Houston and established an office in Katy.

CleanTech Breakthrough says its annual awards program honors “the visionaries and leaders accelerating the transition to a cleaner, more sustainable future.”

“In a world increasingly focused on sustainability and environmental responsibility, innovation in clean technology has never been more critical,” said Bryan Vaughn, managing director of CleanTech Breakthrough. “This year’s winners represent the very best in ingenuity and execution, delivering solutions that not only reduce environmental impact but also drive efficiency, scalability and real-world results.”

See the full list of the 2026 winners here.

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