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Here's what energy tech innovators need to know this week — from events to attend to a podcast to stream

Natalie Harms
Feb 26, 2024, 8:38 am
Houston energy transition folks — here's what to know to start your week. Photo via Getty Images

Editor's note: Dive headfirst into the new week with three quick things to catch up on in Houston's energy transition: a roundup of events not to miss, a podcast to stream, and more.

Podcast to stream: David Pruner of TEX-E

Collaboration is the name of the game for David Pruner, executive director of the Texas Entrepreneurship Exchange for Energy, known as TEX-E, a nonprofit housed out of Greentown Labs that was established to support energy transition innovation at Texas universities.

TEX-E launched in 2022 in collaboration with Greentown Labs, MIT’s Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship, and five university partners — Rice University, Texas A&M University, Prairie View A&M University, University of Houston, and The University of Texas at Austin.

Pruner was officially named to his role earlier this year, but he's been working behind the scenes for months now getting to know the organization and already expanding its opportunities from students across the state at the five institutions.

"In the end, we have five different family members who need to be coordinated differently," Pruner says on the Houston Innovators Podcast. "There's plenty of bright students at each of these schools, and there's plenty of innovation going on, it's whether it can grow, prosper, and be sustainable."

Know before you go: 2024 H-Town Roundup (Energy Innovator's Version)

The 2024 H-Town Roundup is this week, and you can learn more about the event here. The top day to attend for energy innovators would be Thursday, February 29, at Greentown Labs. Here's an overview of the agenda.

  • 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM: Workshop: Navigating the Valley of Death for Industrial Bio Startups
  • 1:30 PM – 2:00 PM: 30 Minute Tour
  • 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM: Panel: Capturing Tomorrow: Innovations in Carbon Capture Technologies
  • 3:30 PM – 4:00 PM Fireside Chat
  • 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM Panel: How Industrial Biology is Providing Humanity with a Sustainable Future
  • 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM Greentown Transition on Tap
To learn more about each event, head to Greentown's website.

Events not to miss

Put these Houston-area energy-related events on your calendar.

  • The Future of Energy Across the Americas: Helping Lawyers Predict and Adapt — the 2024 Houston Energy Conference — is February 27 to March 1. Register.
  • CERAWeek 2024 is Monday, March 18, to Friday, March 22, in the George R. Brown Convention Center. Register.

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Battery breakthrough

Houston scientists unveil faster, low-energy method to recycle lithium-ion batteries

Simon M. King, a Rice University sophomore, served as the first author on a recent study of a new process for recycling lithium-ion batteries. Photo courtesy Rice

Rice University researchers have uncovered a more energy-efficient and faster way to recycle critical minerals from used lithium-ion batteries.

Traditional methods rely on high heat, long processing times and harsh chemicals to recover a small fraction of critical materials from batteries used in everything from smartphones to electric vehicles. However, the team from Rice's Department of Materials Science and Nanoengineering developed a process that uses a water-based solution containing amino chlorides to extract more metals in less time

The team published the findings in a recent edition of the scientific journal Small.

Simon King, a sophomore studying chemical and biomolecular engineering who completed this work as a summer research fellow at the Rice Advanced Materials Institute, served as first author of the study. He worked with corresponding authors Pulickel Ajayan, the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor of Engineering, and Sohini Bhattacharyya, a research scientist in Ajayan’s lab.

By using a hydroxylammonium chloride (HACI) solution, the team achieved roughly 65 percent extraction of key battery metals in just one minute at room temperature, according to the study. The efficiencies grew to roughly 75 percent for several metals under longer processing times.

“We were surprised by just how fast the reaction occurs, especially without the involvement of high temperatures,” King said in a news release. “Within the first minute, we’re already seeing the majority of the metal extraction take place.”

By not requiring high temperatures or long reaction times, Rice predicts the process could have a major impact on cost and the environmental impact of lithium battery recycling. Additionally, the water-based HACI solution makes waste handling easier and lowers certain environmental risks.

In addition to extracting the materials, the team went on to demonstrate that the recovered metals could be recycled and reprocessed into new battery materials.

“A big advantage of this system is that it works under relatively mild conditions,” Ajayan added in the release. “That opens the door to more sustainable and scalable recycling technologies.”

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lithiumion batterieslithium-ion battery recyclingsimon kingrice advanced materials institutepulickel ajayansohini bhattacharyyahydroxylammonium chloriderice university

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