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New CEO officially takes helm of growing Houston batteries co.

Announced earlier this summer as incoming CEO of International Battery Metals, Iris Jancik has officially started her new job. Photo courtesy of IBAT

A Houston batteries company officially has a new CEO.

Originally announced as incoming CEO earlier this summer, Iris Jancik has taken the helm of International Battery Metals Ltd., a Houston and Vancouver-based developer of patented modular direct lithium extraction (DLE) plants.

She takes on the new role following IBAT's July announcement that it achieved the "first lithium from the only modular DLE operation in the world and the first commercial DLE operation in North America," according to the company. The milestone was achieved at IBAT's facility outside Salt Lake City, Utah, a plant co-located at the operations of US Magnesium.

With IBAT achieving its first commercial operations, Jancik will focus on its continued conversations with large industrial companies — automakers, oil and gas companies, and more — to expand prospects and stakeholders.

"The timing of IBAT's breakthrough technology is ideal given soaring demand for lithium batteries to power EVs and energy storage. I look forward to accelerating our growth as we expand commercially to meeting this demand with an unmatched lithium extraction technology that can be cost-effectively and quickly deployed, sustainably operated to respect water resources, and easily scalable in a variety of brine resources," Jancik says in a news release. "I can think of no one better to partner with on this journey than our chief technology officer, founder and DLE pioneer, John Burba."

Garry Flowers, who joined IBAT as president in July 2022 before being named CEO in December of the same year, preceded Jancik as CEO. Prior to joining IBAT, Jancik served as CEO of IDE Americas. She holds an MBA in international business from Texas A&M University.

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A View From HETI

Houston U.S. representatives and others from Texas are pushing the Trump administration to reinstate a portion of the $7 billion Biden-era Solar for All program, which aimed to help low-income families reduce their energy costs.. Photo via Pixabay

Eight Democratic members of the U.S. House from Texas, including two from Houston, are calling on the Trump administration to restore a nearly $250 million solar energy grant for Texas that’s being slashed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In a letter to Lee Zeldin, head of the EPA, and Russell Vought, director of the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the House members urged the two officials to reinstate the nearly $250 million grant, which was awarded to Texas under the $7 billion Biden-era Solar for All program. The Texas grant was designed to assist 28,000 low-income households in installing solar panels, aiming to reduce their energy bills.

“This administration has improperly withheld billions in congressionally appropriated funding that was intended to benefit everyday Americans,” the letter stated.

The letter claimed that numerous court rulings have determined the EPA cannot repeal already allocated funding.

“Congress made a commitment to families, small businesses, and communities across this country to lower their utility bills and reduce harmful pollution through investments in clean energy. The Solar for All program was part of that commitment, and the EPA’s actions to rescind this funding effectively undermine that congressional intent,” the House members wrote.

The six House members who signed the letter are:

  • U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia of Houston
  • U.S. Rep. Al Green of Houston
  • U.S. Rep. Greg Casar of Austin
  • U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas
  • U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin
  • U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson of Dallas
  • U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey of Fort Worth

The nearly $250 million grant was awarded last year to the Harris County-led Texas Solar for All Coalition.

In a post on the X social media platform, Zeldin said the recently passed “One Big Beautiful Bill” killed the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which would have financed the $7 billion Solar for All program.

“The bottom line is this: EPA no longer has the statutory authority to administer the program or the appropriated funds to keep this boondoggle alive,” Zeldin said.

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