At Houston event, the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy announced $100 million in cleantech funding. Photos by Jeff Fitlow/Rice University

Rice University played host to the first-of-its-kind event from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E, earlier this month in which the governmental agency announced $100 million in funding for its SCALEUP program.

Dubbed “ARPA-E on the Road: Houston,” the event welcomed more than 100 energy innovators to the Hudspeth Auditorium in Rice’s Anderson-Clarke Center on June 8. Evelyn Wang, director of ARPA-E, announced the funding, which represents the third installment from the agency for its program SCALEUP, or Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy technologies with Untapped Potential, which supports the commercialization of clean energy technology.

The funding is awarded to previous ARPA-E awardees with a "viable road to market" and "ability to attract private sector investments," according to a statement from the Department of Energy. Previous funding was granted in 2019 and 2021.

"ARPA-E’s SCALEUP program has successfully demonstrated what can happen when technical experts are empowered with the commercialization support to develop a strong pathway to market” Wang said. “I’m excited that we are building on the success of this effort with the third installment of SCALEUP, and I look forward to what the third cohort of teams accomplish.”

Rice Vice President for Research Ramamoorthy Ramesh also spoke at the event on how Rice is working to make Houston a leader in energy innovation. Joe Zhou, CEO of Houston-based Quidnet Energy, also spoke on a panel about how ARPA-E funding benefited his company along with Oregon-based Onboard Dynamics’s CEO Rita Hansen and Massachusetts-based Quaise Energy’s CEO Carlos Araque.

Attendees were able to ask questions to Wang and ARPA-E program directors about the agency’s funding approach and other topics at the event.

Houston energy innovators have benefited from programs like SCALEUP.

Quidnet Energy received $10 million in funding from ARPA-E as part of its SCALEUP program in 2022. The company's technology can store renewable energy for long periods of time in large quantities.

In January, Houston-based Zeta Energy also announced that it has secured funding from ARPA-E. The $4 million in funding came from the agency's Electric Vehicles for American Low-Carbon Living, or EVs4ALL, program. Zeta Energy is known for its lithium sulfur batteries

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Houston energy tech platform Molecule closes series B funding

energy software

Houston-based energy trading risk management (ETRM) software company Molecule has completed a successful series B round for an undisclosed amount, according to a July 16 release from the company.

The raise was led by Sundance Growth, a California-based software growth equity firm.

Sameer Soleja, founder and CEO of Molecule, said in the release that the funding will allow the company to "double down on product innovation, grow our team, and reach even more markets."

Molecule closed a $12 million Series A round in 2021, led by Houston-based Mercury Fund, and has since seen significant growth. The company, which was founded in 2012, has expanded its customer base across the U.S., U.K., Europe, Canada and South America, according to the release.

Additionally, it has launched two new modules of its software platform. Its Hive module, which debuted in 2022, enables clients to manage their energy portfolio and renewable credits together in one scalable platform. It also introduced Elektra, an add-on for the power market to its platform, which allows for complex power market trading.

"Four years ago, we committed to becoming the leading platform for energy trading," Soleja said in the release. "Today, our customers are managing complex power and renewable portfolios across multiple jurisdictions, all within Molecule.”

Molecule is also known for its data-as-a-lake platform, Bigbang, which enables energy ETRM and commodities trading and risk management (CTRM) customers to automatically import trade data from Molecule and then merge it with various sources to conduct queries and analysis.

“Molecule is doing something very few companies in energy tech have done: combining mission-critical depth with cloud-native, scalable technology,” Christian Stewart, Sundance Growth managing director, added in the statement. “Sameer and his team have built a platform that’s not only powerful, but user-friendly—a rare combination in enterprise software. We’re thrilled to partner with Molecule as they continue to grow and transform the energy trading and risk management market.”

D.C. energy company secures $233M for ERCOT battery storage projects

fresh funding

The Electricity Reliability Council of Texas’ grid will get a boost courtesy of Lydian Energy.

The D.C.-based company announced the successful financial close of its first institutional project financing totaling $233 million, backed by ING Group and KeyBank. The financing will support three battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in Texas.

Lydian is an independent power producer that specializes in the development, construction and operation of utility-scale solar and battery energy storage projects. The company reports that it plans to add 550 megawatts of energy—which can power approximately 412,500 homes—to the Texas grid administered by ERCOT.

“This financing marks an important step forward as we continue executing on our vision to scale transformative battery storage projects that meet the evolving energy needs of the communities we serve,” Emre Ersenkal, CEO at Lydian Energy, said in a news release.

The projects include:

Pintail 

  • Located in San Patricio county
  • 200 megawatts
  • Backed by ING

Crane

  • Located in Crane county
  • 200 megawatts
  • Backed by ING

Headcamp

  • Located in Pecos county
  • 150 megawatts
  • Backed by KeyBank

ING served as the lender for Pintail and Crane projects valued at a combined total of approximately $139 million.

KeyBank provided a $94 million financing package for the Headcamp project. KeyBanc Capital Markets also structured the financing package for Headcamp.

The three projects are being developed under Excelsior Energy Capital’s Fund II. Lydian’s current portfolio comprises 20 solar and storage projects, totaling 4.7 gigawatts of capacity.

“Our support of Lydian’s portfolio reflects ING’s focus on identifying strategic funding opportunities that align with the accelerating demand for sustainable power,” Sven Wellock, managing director and head of energy–renewables and power at ING, said in the release. “Battery storage plays a central role in supporting grid resilience, and we’re pleased to back a platform with strong fundamentals and a clear execution path.”

The facilities are expected to be placed in service by Q4 2025. Lydian is also pursuing additional financing for further projects, which are expected to commence construction by the end of 2025.

“These financings represent more than capital – they reflect the strong demand for reliable energy infrastructure in high-growth U.S. markets,” Anne Marie Denman, co-founding partner at Excelsior Energy Capital and chair of the board at Lydian Energy, added in the news release. “We’re proud to stand behind Lydian’s talented team as they deliver on the promise of battery storage with bankable projects, proven partners, and disciplined execution. In the midst of a lot of noise, these financings are a reminder that capital flows where infrastructure is satisfying fundamental needs of our society – in this case, the need for reliable, sustainable, domestic, and affordable energy.”