money moves

Houston companies land DOE vouchers for clean tech

Ten energy tech companies in Houston are among 111 organizations to receive up to $250,000 in vouchers from the DOE's Office of Technology Transitions, totaling $9.8 million in funding. Photo via Getty Images

Ten Houston-area companies will receive vouchers from the Department of Energy's latest round of funding to support the adoption of clean energy tech.

The companies are among 111 organizations to receive up to $250,000 in vouchers from the DOE's Office of Technology Transitions, totaling $9.8 million in funding, according to a release from the department.

The voucher program is in collaboration with the Offices of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM), and Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). It is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

“It takes a breadth of tools and expertise to bring an innovative technology from research and development to deployment,” Vanessa Z. Chan, DOE Chief Commercialization Officer and Director of the Office of Technology Transitions, says in a statement. “The Voucher Program will pair 111 clean energy solutions with the support they need from expert voucher providers to help usher new technologies to market.”

In addition to the funding, the program seeks to help small businesses and non-traditional organizations gain access to testing facilities and third-party expertise.

The vouchers come in five different opportunities that focus on different areas of business growth and support:

  • Voucher Opportunity 1 (VO1) - Pre-Demonstration Commercialization Support
  • Voucher Opportunity 2 (VO2) - Performance Validation, Modeling, and Certification Support
  • Voucher Opportunity 3 (VO3) - Clean Energy Demonstration Project Siting/Permitting Support
  • Voucher Opportunity 4 (VO4) - Commercialization Support (for companies with a functional technology prototype)
  • Voucher Opportunity 5 (VO5) - Commercialization Support (for developers, including for-profit firms, that are working to commercialize a prototype that fits a specific technology vertical of interest for DOE)

The 10 Houston-area companies to receive funding, their voucher type and projects include:

  • Terradote Inc. with Big Blue Technologies Inc. (VO2): Full ISO-Compliant Life Cycle Assessment for Clean Energy Technologies
  • Solugen Inc. and Encina with ACTion Battery Technologies L.L.C. and Frontline Waste Holding LLC (Vo2): Barracuda Virtual Reactor Simulation, Validation and Testing
  • Flow Safe with Concept Group LLC and Precision Fluid Control (VO2): Durability Testing of Hydrogen Components, Materials, and Storage Systems
  • Percheron Power LLC (VO4): Fundraising Support
  • Capwell Services Inc. with Banyu Carbon Inc. (VO5): Field Testing Support for Validation of Novel Resource Sustainability Technologies
  • Syzygy Plasmonics with Ample Carbon PBC, Terraform Industries, Lydian Labs Inc. and Vycarb Inc. (VO5): Rapid Life Cycle Assessment for Carbon Management or Resource Sustainability Technologies
  • Solidec Inc. with GreenFire Energy (VO5): LCA Calculator Tool for Carbon Management or Resource Sustainability Technologies
  • Encino Environmental Services LLC with Wood Cache, Completion Corp and Carbon Lockdown (VO5): Realtime Above/Underground Gas Monitoring Reporting and Verification, Including Cloud Connectivity for Remote Sites
  • Mati Carbon PBC with Ebb Carbon Inc. (VO5): Community Benefits Assessment and Environmental Justice

Other Texas-based companies to receive funding included Molecular Rebar Design LLC and Talus Renewables from Austin, Deep Anchor Solutions from College Station, and ACTion Battery Technologies LLC from Wichita Falls.

Last October, the DOE also awarded the Houston area more than $2 million for projects that improve energy efficiency and infrastructure in the region.

In December, its Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations also selected a Houston power company for a commercial-scale carbon capture and storage project cost-sharing agreement.

Trending News

A View From HETI

Houston-based Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator, as well as Activate Global Greentown Labs, which each have Houston locations, will provide clean tech workshops at the DOE-backed event. Photo via Getty Images

A clean technology program backed by the Wells Fargo Foundation and co-administered by the United States Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has named three Houston organizations as recipients to an annual awards program.

The Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator, a $50 million program, announced its eighth cycle of IN2 Channel Partner Strategic Awards. The program is distributing $767,000 across 15 organizations within the Channel Partner network to create impactful workshops at the upcoming Camp Cleantech event in August at CSU Spur in Denver, Colorado.

Houston-based Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator, as well as Activate Global Greentown Labs, which each have Houston locations, have been named among the awards recipients. The organizations will present workshops aimed at providing critical tools and insights for clean tech startups.

"We are celebrating this year's Strategic Award winners and looking forward to Camp Cleantech," says Robyn Luhning, chief sustainability officer at Wells Fargo, in a news release. "As the real economy demands more lower-carbon solutions, Wells Fargo continues to support the scaling of new solutions for a successful shift to a low-carbon economy."

Registration for the event opens May 1. A full itinerary is available online.

The selected participants represent IN²'s broader goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion, per the release.

"The significance of this year's awards goes beyond the recognition of innovation; it embodies a concerted effort to elevate collaboration and engagement across the board," adds Sarah Derdowski, IN² program director at NREL. "Through Camp Cleantech, we're setting a new standard in how we gather, inspire, and propel our community forward."

Around $435,000 of the funding will go toward select recipients who will receive additional follow-on funding to enhance and expand their workshop content and insights towards entrepreneurs in their local networks.

Trending News