taking the stage
Houston orgs name student, industry teams for CERAWeek pitch competition
The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, the Houston Energy Transition Initiative and the Texas Entrepreneurship Exchange for Energy announced the 39 energy ventures that will pitch at 2024 Energy Venture Day and Pitch Competition during this month's CERAWeek.
The ventures are focused on driving efficiency and advancements toward the energy transition and will each present a 3.5-minute pitch before venture capitalists, corporate innovation groups, industry leaders, academics, and service providers during CERAWeek's Agora program.
The pitch competition is divided up into the TEX-E university track, in which Texas student-led energy startups compete for $50,000 in cash prizes, and the industry ventures track.
Teams competing in the TEX-E Prize track, many of which come from Houston universities, include:
- AirMax, University of Texas at Austin
- BeadBlocker, University of Houston
- Carvis Energy Solutions, Texas A&M University
- Coflux Purification, Rice University
- Solidec, Rice University
Thirty-four companies will present within the industry ventures track, which is further subdivided into three industry tracks, spanning materials to clean energy. The top three companies from each industry track will be named. Click here to see the full list of companies and which investor groups will participate.
The pitch competition will be held Wednesday, March 20, at CERAWeek from 1-5 pm. An Agora pass is required to attend.
For those without passes, a pitch preview will be introduced to the programming for the first time this year. The preview will be held Tuesday, March 19, from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm at the Ion. It's free to attend, but registration is required. Click here to register.
Last year, Houston-based Helix Earth Technologies took home the top TEX-E price and $25,000 cash awards. The venture, founded by Rawand Rasheed and Brad Husick from Rice University, developed high-speed, high-efficiency filter systems derived from technology originating at NASA.
David Pruner, the executive director of TEX-E joined the Houston Innovators Podcast last month. He discussed how the nonprofit is expanding opportunities for students at its five university partners—Rice University, Texas A&M University, Prairie View A&M University, University of Houston, and The University of Texas at Austin. Listen to the episode below.
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