The Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator has named 12 early-stage startups to its latest cohort.

The hybrid program, which operates in a hybrid capacity based out of the Ion, runs for 10 weeks and provides energy transition startups with training focused on fundraising, pilots, partnerships and sale. It begins July 8 and will be led by executive director Kerri Smith and program director Matthew Peña with support from executives-in-residence Lynn Frostman, John Jeffers, David Horsup and Dev Motiram.

The accelerator will culminate with a demo day on Sept. 18 at the Rice Alliance Energy Tech Venture Forum during the Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week.

Members of this year's cohort come from the Houston area as well as across the U.S. and Canada.

Class 5 for the Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator includes:

• Aqua-Cell Energy, which builds industrial-scale overnight batteries to provide affordable solar power
• Arculus, a company that provides multilayer internal coating for pipelines that lowers friction, extends pipeline life and enables carbon dioxide transport and hydrogen blending
• AtmoSpark, a Houston-based sustainable cooling and freshwater company that provides an electric field-driven air separation system that reduces dehumidification energy costs for data centers and industrial facilities
• AtoMe, which delivers durable metallic composites to energy and aerospace companies using an eco-friendly dry blade method that eliminates harmful chemicals
• ConceptLoop, a company that converts plastic waste into eco-friendly, low-carbon aggregate
• Fathom Storage, which provides a more solidly embedded and steel-efficient anchoring solution for offshore service providers, wind energy developers and research institutes
• GeoKiln, a Houston-based company that addresses issues of subsurface hydrogen extraction by applying proven oil and gas techniques to accelerate natural hydrogen reactions, enabling hydrogen production
• Innowind Energy Solutions, a company that provides nonintrusive, active flow control devices to boost energy production and extend turbine lifespan
• Lukera Energy, which transforms waste methane into high-value methanol using a breakthrough nanobubble technology
• Metal Light Inc., which has developed a scalable, cost-effective Metal-Air generator to replace diesel generators
• Moonshot Hydrogen, a company that converts food and agricultural waste into clean hydrogen and bioethanol
• Resollant, a Woodlands-based company that delivers compact, zero-emission hydrogen and carbon reactors to refineries, petrochemical plants, steel and cement manufacturers and fuel producers

The Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator has supported 55 ventures since it was founded in 2021, collectively raising over $250 million in funding, according to the university. See last year's cohort here.