Editor's note: From a new tech partnership for CenterPoint to electric jets planning takeoff in Houston, these are the top headlines that resonated with EnergyCapital readers on social media and daily newsletter this week.
CenterPoint partners with AI company to help reduce outages, help restoration
Neara’s AI-enabled simulation and analytics platform can help CenterPoint reduce customer outages and accelerate restoration efforts. Photo via Getty Images
CenterPoint Energy announced an agreement with Artificial Intelligence-powered infrastructure modeling platform Neara for engineering-grade simulations and analytics, and to deploy Neara’s AI capabilities across CenterPoint’s Greater Houston service area.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with CenterPoint as they lead the charge in addressing today’s most existential energy challenges,” Robert Brook, senior vice president and managing director of Neara Americas, says in a news release.
Neara’s AI-enabled simulation and analytics platform can help CenterPoint reduce customer outages and accelerate restoration efforts. Continue reading.
World's first fully electric jet to take off in Houston, connect greater metro area
Lilium aims for the first piloted flight of the Lilium Jet to occur early in 2025. Photo via lilium.com
An aircraft that's being touted as the first fully electric jet is taking off from Hobby Airport to serve the greater Houston area.
Lilium Jet, which takes off and lands vertically, is making its United States market debut at Houston-area facilities – Houston Hobby Airport, Conroe North Houston Regional Airport, and The Woodlands Heliport Lilium. Houston-based aircraft brokerage EMCJET will house the Lilium Jet at its Galaxy FBO Houston-area facilities at the airports.
“We are excited to transform Galaxy FBO into a cutting-edge hub for the eVTOL innovation,” Jeremy Gee, CEO of Galaxy FBO, says in a news release. "As the future of electric aviation takes flight, this marks a significant step in making Houston a leader in sustainable and efficient transportation solutions." Continue reading.
Texas billionaire Elon Musk, Houston energy execs named richest in America by Forbes
Elon Musk is the richest person in Austin and in America. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
SpaceX and Tesla co-founder Elon Musk has topped Forbes' list as the wealthiest person in America for the third time. Musk is one of seven Austin billionaires who have made the new Forbes 400, a list of the 400 richest people in the United States for 2024.
Forbes estimates Musk's net worth in 2024 as $244 billion, which is $7 billion less than his estimated net worth last year. Musk, 53, is the cofounder of seven companies, including SpaceX, xAI, The Boring Company, among others. He serves as the CEO of Tesla, which is headquartered in Austin.
In 2022, Musk famously acquired Twitter in a $44 billion deal. Continue reading.
DOE doles out $36M to Oxy for carbon capture hubs
Occidental subsidiary 1PointFive received federal funding — and more trending Houston energy transition news. Photo via 1pointfive.comTwo carbon dioxide sequestration hubs being built by a subsidiary of Houston-based Occidental Petroleum have received a total of $36 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The two 1PointFive projects that gained federal funding are the Bluebonnet Sequestration Hub, located in the Houston area’s Chambers County, and the Magnolia Sequestration Hub, located in Allen Parish, Louisiana. Continue reading.
California co. announces fully sustainable, hydrogen-powered data center in Houston
The 1-gigawatt site will be constructed at a cost of approximately $8 billion. Photo courtesy ECL
The Houston area will soon be home to what's being lauded as the first fully sustainable 1-gigawatt data center on a 600-acres site east of Houston.
Data center-as-a-service company ECL, headquartered in Mountain View, California, announced its plans to build the ECL TerraSite-TX1. Hardware and cloud service company Lambda will serve as its first tenant. Lambda and other AI leaders will get access to necessary space and power for the next wave zero emission innovations. Continue reading.