go coogs

University plugs into Houston renewables co. as official athletics energy provider

The University of Houston's football season is starting off in a new conference — and with a new renewable energy partner. Photo via uh.edu

This college football season brings a lot of newness for the University of Houston: A new conference, following the athletic program's July transition to the Big 12. And a new official energy provider that is 100 percent renewable.

UH Athletics announced last week that Houston-based Rhythm Energy has signed on to be the official energy company of the program. The company will have a presence on signage at all sports venues, a strong digital presence across UH Athletics platforms; and Cougars’ basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, and track and field home events.

Rhythm Energy will also roll out The Go Coogs 12 Plan in time for football season, which will be an exclusive electricity plan to help UH faculty, alumni, students and fans go green.

“As a proud UH alumni, I am so pleased Rhythm Energy has become the Official Energy Company for my alma mater,” PJ Popovic, CEO of Rhythm Energy, said in a statement. “UH is hands down one of the top educational and athletic institutions in the nation, and I’m forever grateful for the knowledge I gained there, which allowed me to start my own renewable energy company. With UH joining the Big 12 Conference, we’re inspired by their success, achievements, and growth—something we strive for at Rhythm Energy every day.”

UH Athletics oversees 17 sport programs — seven on the men's side, including baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, and track and field, and 10 on the women's side, including basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, and volleyball.

Popovic founded Rhythm Energy in 2021. The company offers 100 percent renewable energy plans for Texas residents, using solar power, wind power and other renewable power sources.

The founder spoke with EnergyCapital last month about where he thinks renewables fit into Texas’ energy consumption and grid reliability issues and the shifting public opinion towards renewables.

"There is still a lot (speech) that is not necessarily painting renewables correctly," he tells EnergyCapital.

Trending News

A View From HETI

Halliburton Labs has named its latest members. Photo courtesy of Halliburton

Four new companies have joined Halliburton Labs, the incubator for early-stage energy and climate startups run by Houston energy giant Halliburton.

Halliburton Labs provides the emerging companies with mentorship, industry connections, laboratory access and other resources as they work toward commercialization, according to a news release.

The four new members include:

  • Nandina REM, a Singapore-based company that delivers carbon fiber thermoplastics. It turns end-of-life assets into new, reliable, high-performance materials for the aviation, aerospace and defense industries in a fraction of the time of standard supply chains.
  • Noon Energy, a California-based company that delivers clean, reliable electricity with ultra-long duration energy storage. Its system uses solid oxide electrochemical cells and stores energy as abundant, flexible industrial gases.
  • Proof Energy, a Silicon Valley-based company developed by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that is commercializing next-generation metallic solid oxide fuel cell (M-SOFC) technology. Its system uses widely available fuels such as ethanol, methanol, ammonia, and natural gas as hydrogen carriers to enable lower-cost, low-emission commercial transportation, and also offers a zero-emission heating solution to preserve battery range in electric vehicles.
  • Tidal Metals, a New Jersey-based company that has developed technology to economically make decarbonized magnesium metal from seawater and electricity.

"Halliburton Labs exemplifies our commitment to advance a secure and pragmatic energy future," Jeff Miller, chairman, president and CEO of Halliburton, said in the news release. "We welcome these companies into our ecosystem, where they will gain access to the tools, expertise, and connections needed to scale their technologies."

Auckland-based Aquafortus Technologies and California-based Sunchem joined Halliburton Labs in September. With the addition of the four new members, the incubator currently supports six early-stage companies.

Read more about the incubator's 2025 cohort here.

Trending News