Editor's note: From Gastech's new startup competition to Meta teaming up with Sage Geosystems, these are the top headlines that resonated with EnergyCapital readers on social media and daily newsletter this week.
Houston startup selected for inaugural climatetech global entrepreneur competition
Syzygy Plasmonics is going to be competing in Gastech's new startup competition. Photo via Getty Images
A global natural gas, LNG, hydrogen, low-carbon solutions, and climate technology convention is coming to Houston next month — but only one Houston startup is geared up for the event's new startup competition.
Gastech invited 20 promising companies for its inaugural Gastech Start-Up Competition, and 11 companies have signed on to participate so far. Houston-based Syzygy Plasmonics, which created and is scaling a sustainable photocatalytic reactor, is currently the only local company among the participants.
“Gastech's focus on creating a low-carbon, affordable energy future aligns perfectly with Syzygy's drive to produce low-carbon, low-cost hydrogen, liquid fuels, and syngas," Syzygy Plasmonics CEO Trevor Best says. "We can't wait to represent Houston as the only startup from the area to be included among the 11 finalists in the Gastech Climatetech Global Entrepreneur Competition.”
Houston solar modules manufacturer opens new $60M facility
In addition to the ribbon cutting for the new facility, SEG Solar rolled out its first 585-watt YUKON N series module during the opening on August 9. Photo courtesy of SEG Solar
A Houston-based photovoltaic manufacturer has celebrated the opening of its new manufacturing base in Houston.
SEG Solar's new facility spans 250,000 square feet and will house production workshops, raw material warehouses, administrative offices, finished goods warehouses, and supporting infrastructure. It features two intelligent manufacturing lines that will produce the latest N-type high-efficiency PV modules, which is expected to have production capacity exceeding 2 gigawatts annually. The project cost $60 million.
“The Houston plant is a key part of SEG’s strategy to serve the U.S. market,” Jim Wood, CEO of SEG, says in a news release. “With new workshops, production lines, and equipment, SEG will offer a refreshed experience to the U.S. market.”
Japanese company collaborates with city of Houston on energy efficiency partnership
Daikin committed to installing energy efficient technology in low-to-moderate-income households in Houston. Photo courtesy of Daikin
A Japanese air conditioner manufacturer has teamed up with the city of Houston on an energy efficiency initiative.
Daikin Comfort Technologies, which has its 4.2 million-square-foot Daikin Texas Technology Park in Waller, Texas, has partnered with the city of Houston to provide advanced air conditioning and heating solutions to help homeowners with energy efficiency and general comfort.
The company will install up to 30 horizontal discharge inverter FIT heat pump units over the next three years. The units will be provided to low-to-moderate-income households, which will include seniors over the age of 62, and homes renovated through the Housing and Community Development Department’s Home Repair Program. The new units will offer internet connectivity for remote monitoring and control. The installations align with Houston's Home Repair Program reconstruction plans.
Meta taps Houston geothermal co. to power data center growth with clean energy
The Meta and Sage Geosystems project is reportedly the first next-generation geothermal project located to the east of the Rocky Mountains. Rendering by Sage Geosystems and Meta
A Houston company has signed a new agreement with Meta Platforms Inc. — Facebook's parent company — to power the tech giant's data center growth.
Houston-based Sage Geosystems agreed to deliver up to 150 megawatts of new geothermal baseload power to Meta. The companies made the announcement this week at the United States Department Energy’s Catalyzing Next Generation Geothermal Development Workshop.
“This announcement is the perfect example of how the public and private sector can work together to make the clean energy transition a reality,” Cindy Taff, CEO of Sage Geosystems, says in the release. “We are thrilled to be at the forefront of the next generation of geothermal technology and applaud the DOE for supporting the commercialization of innovation solutions.
Houston puts it in park at No. 8 on new list of U.S. cities with worst traffic
Shocker: Houston made another list of cities with the worst traffic. Courtesy photo
Few things are more frustrating for Houston drivers than sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic. You're late, you're stuck, and you're wasting time and gas — every single day. It's no surprise that the Bayou City has ranked inside the top 10 in a new list of cities with the worst traffic.
The average Houston driver lost 62 hours to traffic delays in 2023, according to Inrix's latest Global Traffic Scorecard. That's 16 hours more than the time tallied in 2022, and 20 hours more than the national average of 42 hours lost. Ouch!
Trends across the country after the pandemic continue to contribute to congestion. Remote work has led to a longer stretch of high-traffic hours instead of the usual pre-9 am and post-5 pm rush hour surges — and less predictable peaks at that.
"On any given day, everybody might be going into the office and no one is expecting it," David Schrank, a senior research scientist at Texas A&M Transportation Institute, told The Hill in June 2024. "What if next Monday everybody gets called in? Then boom — it's gridlock."
On top of that, truck-related congestion (as anyone driving across Texas knows) has increased with the continued rise of e-commerce and home delivery, with one truck equaling two to three cars on the road.
To see where congestion is the biggest problem nationwide, Stacker ranked the 25 cities in the U.S. with the most time lost per driver due to congestion, according to data from Inrix. Houston lands at No. 8, the worst in Texas. Of course, Houstonians don't need a new survey to tell them just how miserable our traffic is - as our late, beloved columnist Ken Hoffman expressed earlier this year.
Three other cities in Texas have made the top 25-worst list: Dallas is No. 17, Austin is No. 21, and San Antonio rounds out the whole list at No. 25.
Stacker's analysis includes how much delays cost drivers based on median hourly wages in each metro area, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and comparisons to pre-COVID-19 pandemic hours lost, measured in 2019. Inrix calculated commute times by looking exclusively at the time it takes to get to and from major employment centers based on anonymized GPS data.
Downtown speed is the speed at which a commuter should expect to travel 1 mile into the city's downtown or central business area during peak morning hours, and the first quarter of 2024 versus the first quarter of 2023 metric is the change in travel times during those two periods.
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This article originally ran on CultureMap.
Pieremanuele Canepa, Robert Welch assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at UH, is leading a research project that can change the effectiveness of sodium-ion batteries. Photo courtesy of UH