Justin Lopas and Zach Dell founded Base Power in 2023 and are now expanding the company's electricity and backup battery offerings to Houston. Photo courtesy Base Power.
An Austin startup that sells electricity and couples it with backup power has entered the Houston market.
Base Power, which claims to be the first and only electricity provider to offer a backup battery, now serves the Houston-area territory served by Houston-based CenterPoint Energy. No solar equipment is required for Base Power’s backup batteries.
The company is initially serving customers in the Cy-Fair, Spring, Cinco Ranch and Mission Bend communities, and will expand to other Houston-area places in the future.
Base Power already serves customers in the Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth markets.
The company says it provides “a cost-effective alternative to generators and solar-battery systems in an increasingly unreliable power grid.”
“Houston represents one of the largest home backup markets in the world, largely due to dramatic weather events that strain the power grid,” says Base Power co-founder and CEO Zach Dell, son of Austin tech billionaire Michael Dell. “We’re eager to provide an accessible energy service that delivers affordable, reliable power to Houston homeowners.”
After paying a $495 or $995 fee that covers installation and permitting, and a $16- or $29-per-month membership fee, Base Power customers gain access to a backup battery and competitive energy rates, the company says. The startup is waiving the $495 setup fee for the first 500 Houston-area homeowners who sign up and make a refundable deposit.
With the Base Power backup package, electricity costs 14.3 cents per kilowatt-hour, which includes Base Power’s 8.5 cents per kilowatt-hour charge and rates charged by CenterPoint. The average electric customer in Houston pays 13 cents per kilowatt-hour, according to EnergySage.
“Base Power is built to solve a problem that so many Texans face: consistent power,” says Justin Lopas, co-founder and chief operating officer of Base Power and a former SpaceX engineer. “Houstonians can now redefine how they power their homes, while also improving the existing power grid.”
Founded in 2023, Base Power has attracted funding from investors such as Thrive Capital, Valor Equity Partners, Altimeter Capital, Trust Ventures, and Terrain. Zach Dell was previously an associate on the investment team at Thrive Capital.
Ace Green Recycling Inc. will build one of India's largest battery recycling facilities and plans to develop a flagship battery recycling plant in Texas. Photo courtesy Ace Green Recycling Inc.
Ace Green Recycling Inc., a Houston-operated sustainable battery recycling and technology solutions provider, announced it has finalized a lease agreement for a location to build one of India's largest battery recycling facilities in Mundra, Gujarat.
The facility will expand Ace's existing Indian commercial operations, which have been recycling lithium-ion batteries since 2023, including lithium iron phosphate ("LFP") chemistries.
The deployment of Ace’s LithiumFirst LFP battery recycling technology in India will coincide with the deployment of the company's technology in Texas. Last year, the company announced it planned to develop a flagship battery recycling plant in Texas for lead and lithium-ion batteries.
Ace also plans to establish 10,000 metric tons of LFP battery recycling capacity per year in India by 2026. The Mundra LFP battery recycling facility is expected to create up to 50 jobs.
The new facility plans to use Ace's LithiumFirst technology to recycle LFP batteries at room temperature in a fully electrified hydrometallurgical process that produces no direct (or Scope 1) carbon emissions and with zero liquid and solid waste.
"Ace's innovative technology enables profitable recycling of LFP batteries, even with the current low lithium price, by recovering significant amounts of these critical minerals,” Vipin Tyagi, Chief Technology Officer of Ace, said in a news release. “We believe that our successful operational demonstration positions us for future partnerships and collaborations that will unlock the full potential of our LithiumFirst technology in this market.”
Ace will also utilize its GreenLead recovery technology to recycle lead batteries at the new recycling park. The technology is considered a more environmentally friendly alternative to conventional smelting operations.
The company also reported visiting China for possible future expansion. According to a release, it launched a facility in Taiwan last year and is developing projects in Europe and Israel, as well.
Today, the company also announced that it was tapped by Spiro, one of Africa’s largest EV battery producers, as its global preferred recycling partner. According to a release, Ace will recycle end-of-life lithium-ion batteries, including LFP batteries, and waste from Spiro's battery manufacturing facilities.
Ace Green Recycling Inc. is headquartered in Houston and Singapore.
Under this partnership, Home Depot customers will be able to buy Sunnova’s Adaptive Home products, which includes solar power, battery storage, and smart energy management. Photo via Sunnova
Houston-based clean energy company Sunnova Energy International has been tapped as the exclusive provider of solar power and battery storage services for the more than 2,000 Home Depot stores in the U.S.
Under this partnership, Home Depot customers will be able to buy Sunnova’s Adaptive Home products. The Adaptive Home line combines solar power, battery storage, and smart energy management.
Sunnova didn’t assign a value to the Home Depot deal.
“Our goal is to make clean, affordable, and reliable energy services more accessible to everyone,” Michael Grasso, executive vice president and chief revenue officer at Sunnova, says in a news release. “As utility rates continue to skyrocket across the country, weather patterns worsen, and remote work becomes more prevalent, the need for resilient, affordable, and dependable power at the home is non-negotiable.”
In 2021, Sunnova rolled out its SunSafe solar and battery storage service at 100 Home Depot stores in hurricane-prone states like Florida, Maryland, and Virginia. A year later, Sunnova made the service available to all Home Depot stores in Puerto Rico.
In 2023, Sunnova expanded the SunSafe offering to 15 Home Depot markets, encompassing about 400 stores.
Publicly traded Sunnova, founded in 2012, had 419,200 customers at the end of last year.
The company recorded revenue of $720.7 million in 2023, up from $557.7 million the previous year. Its net loss in 2023 totaled $502.4 million, up from $130.3 million in 2022.
ERCOT will close 2023 with nearly 3.3 gigawatts of battery storage capacity and almost 10.7 gigawatts by the end of 2024. That would represent a one-year jump of 225 percent. Photo via Getty Images
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas — which runs the power grid serving about 90 percent of the state — is energizing the rise of U.S. battery storage capacity.
A new report from data provider S&P Global Commodity Insights forecasts that ERCOT will close 2023 with nearly 3.3 gigawatts of battery storage capacity and almost 10.7 gigawatts by the end of 2024. That would represent a one-year jump of 225 percent.
Austin-based ERCOT is expected to add nearly 400 megawatts of battery storage capacity during the third quarter after adding no capacity in the second quarter, according to S&P Global.
In terms of bulking up battery storage capacity, ERCOT had a momentous first quarter. The nonprofit organization added 498.6 megawatts of battery storage capacity during the first three months of 2023, accounting for 70.2 percent of all new capacity in the U.S., says S&P Global.
One gigawatt, which equals one billion watts, can provide enough power for about 750,000 homes.
ERCOT’s battery storage capacity has contributed to a lack of power outages during this year’s scorching summer heat in Texas. However, it’s worth noting that this summer’s wave of triple-digit temperatures is straining the ERCOT grid, prompting a series of pleas for Texans to conserve energy.
ERCOT set a new September peak demand record of 78,459 megawatts September 4, surpassing the previous September peak of 72,370 megawatts set on September 1, 2021. The current all-time peak demand, 85,435 megawatts, was set August 10.
As of September 5, ERCOT has set 10 records this year for peak demand. In 2022, ERCOT set 11 peak demand records, surpassing 80 gigawatts for the first time.
“Based on expected weather conditions, ERCOT anticipates there will be sufficient generation to meet customer demand this summer,” ERCOT said in its forecast for summertime power demand.
ERCOT’s combined solar and wind share of overall power generation is projected to reach 43 percent by 2035, according to S&P Global.
“Firing on all green energy cylinders, despite a long-surpassed renewable portfolio standard,” says S&P Global, “Texas leads the U.S. in operating and planned wind energy as well as solar and battery storage capacity in development … .”
Houston is playing a pivotal role in Texas’ adoption of battery storage of wind and solar power, with companies like Broad Reach Power and Key Capture Energy among the leaders.
“Known for its strong ties with oil and gas, Texas and Houston in particular are changing the narrative on their relationships with energy, with new innovations and initiatives being created to combat the effects of climate change and to create better, more efficient energy systems for years to come,” says the Greater Houston Partnership.
More than three-fourths of the 20.8 gigawatts of utility-scale battery storage capacity on track to be installed from 2022 to 2025 will be in Texas (7.9 gigawatts) and California (7.6 gigawatts), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Houston-based Zeta Energy has fresh funding from the government. Image via Zeta Energy
Houston-based Zeta Energy announced this week that it was selected to receive $4 million in federal funding for the development of efficient electric vehicle batteries.
The funds come from the U.S. Department of Energy's ARPA-E Electric Vehicles for American Low-Carbon Living, or EVs4ALL, program, which aims to increase the number of EVs on the roads by boosting the country’s supply chain of affordable, convenient, reliable and safe batteries.
Zeta Energy is one of 12 groups in the U.S. to receive funding from the program, which awarded $42 million in total.
“Electric vehicle sales in America have tripled since the start of this Administration and by addressing battery efficiency, resiliency and affordability, the projects announced today will make EVs attractive to even more drivers,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said in a statement released in January. “This is a win-win for our efforts to fight climate change and power America’s clean transportation future with technologies produced by researchers and scientists right here at home.”
Other teams to receive funding include 24M Technologies, national laboratories and universities like The Ohio State University, University of Maryland, Virginia Tech, among others. Zeta is the only Texas-based company to receive funds. It received one of the largest grants among the group.
"We are thrilled to have been selected for funding by the ARPA-E EVs4ALL program," Zeta Energy CEO Tom Pilette said in a statement. "We have been working hard to make this technology a reality, and we are really grateful to receive this recognition of the promise of our technology and the progress we have made on it."
Zeta Energy is known for its lithium sulfur batteries that traditionally have not been long lasting. While sulfur is an economical and abundant material, it traditionally would dissolve after a few uses in lithium sulfur batteries.
However, Zeta uses its proprietary sulfur-based cathodes and lithium metal anodes that have shown to have higher capacity and density and better safety profiles, according to the company's website.
According to ARPAE, the company will create a new anode that will "be highly accessible and rechargeable" with the funding.
Zeta Energy closed a $23 million series A round led by New York VC firm Moore Strategic Ventures about a year ago. In addition to applications for electric vehicles, the company's technology is also expected to have uses in grid energy storage.
Houston maintained its No. 3 status this year among U.S. metro areas with the most Fortune 500 headquarters. Fortune magazine tallied 26 Fortune 500 headquarters in the Houston area, behind only the New York City area (62) and the Chicago area (30).
Last year, 23 Houston-area companies landed on the Fortune 500 list. Fortune bases the list on revenue that a public or private company earns during its 2024 budget year.
On the Fortune 500 list for 2025, Spring-based ExxonMobil remained the highest-ranked company based in the Houston area as well as in Texas, sitting at No. 8 nationally. That’s down one spot from its No. 7 perch on the 2024 list. During its 2024 budget year, ExxonMobil reported revenue of $349.6 billion, up from $344.6 billion the previous year.
Here are the rankings and 2024 revenue for the 25 other Houston-area companies that made this year’s Fortune 500:
Nationally, the top five Fortune 500 companies are:
Walmart
Amazon
UnitedHealth Group
Apple
CVS Health
“The Fortune 500 is a literal roadmap to the rise and fall of markets, a reliable playbook of the world's most important regions, services, and products, and an indispensable roster of those companies' dynamic leaders,” Anastasia Nyrkovskaya, CEO of Fortune Media, said in a news release.
Among the states, Texas ranks second for the number of Fortune 500 headquarters (54), preceded by California (58) and followed by New York (53).
Three Houston companies claimed spots on LexisNexis's 10 Most Innovative Startups in Texas report, with two working in the geothermal energy space.
Sage Geosystems claimed the No. 3 spot on the list, and Fervo Energy followed closely behind at No. 5. Fintech unicorn HighRadius rounded out the list of Houston companies at No. 8.
LexisNexis Intellectual Property Solutions compiled the report. It was based on each company's Patent Asset Index, a proprietary metric from LexisNexis that identifies the strength and value of each company’s patent assets based on factors such as patent quality, geographic scope and size of the portfolio.
Houston tied with Austin, each with three companies represented on the list. Caris Life Sciences, a biotechnology company based in Dallas, claimed the top spot with a Patent Asset Index more than 5 times that of its next competitor, Apptronik, an Austin-based AI-powered humanoid robotics company.
“Texas has always been fertile ground for bold entrepreneurs, and these innovative startups carry that tradition forward with strong businesses based on outstanding patent assets,” Marco Richter, senior director of IP analytics and strategy for LexisNexis Intellectual Property Solutions, said in a release. “These companies have proven their innovation by creating the most valuable patent portfolios in a state that’s known for game-changing inventions and cutting-edge technologies.We are pleased to recognize Texas’ most innovative startups for turning their ideas into patented innovations and look forward to watching them scale, disrupt, and thrive on the foundation they’ve laid today.”
This year's list reflects a range in location and industry. Here's the full list of LexisNexis' 10 Most Innovative Startups in Texas, ranked by patent portfolios.
Fervo Energy fully contracted its flagship 500 MW geothermal development, Cape Station, this spring. Cape Station is currently one of the world’s largest enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) developments, and the station will begin to deliver electricity to the grid in 2026. The company was recently named North American Company of the Year by research and consulting firm Cleantech Group and came in at No. 6 on Time magazine and Statista’s list of America’s Top GreenTech Companies of 2025. It's now considered a unicorn, meaning its valuation as a private company has surpassed $1 billion.
Meanwhile, HighRadius announced earlier this year that it plans to release a fully autonomous finance platform for the "office of the CFO" by 2027. The company reached unicorn status in 2020.
The climate conversation is evolving — fast. It’s no longer just about emissions targets and net-zero commitments. It’s about capital, infrastructure, and execution at industrial scale.
That’s exactly where Yao Huang operates. A seasoned tech entrepreneur turned climate investor, Yao brings sharp clarity to one of the biggest challenges in climate innovation: how do we fund and scale technologies that remove carbon without relying on goodwill or government subsidies?
In this episode of the Energy Tech Startups Podcast, Yao sits down with hosts Jason Ethier and Nada Ahmed for a wide-ranging conversation that redefines how we think about decarbonization. From algae-based photobioreactors that capture CO₂ at the smokestack, to financing models that mirror real estate and infrastructure—not venture capital—Yao lays out a case for why the climate fight will be won or lost on spreadsheets, not slogans.
Her message is as bold as it is practical: this isn’t about saving the planet for the sake of it. It’s about building profitable, resilient systems that scale. And Houston, with its industrial base and project finance expertise, is exactly the place to do it.
The 40-Gigaton Challenge—and a Pandemic Pivot
Yao’s entry into climate wasn’t part of a long-term plan. It was sparked by a quiet moment during the pandemic—and a book.
Reading How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates, she came to two uncomfortable realizations:
The people in power don’t actually have this figured out, and
She would be alive to suffer the consequences.
That insight jolted her out of the traditional tech world and into climate action. She studied at Stanford, surrounded herself with mentors, and began diving into early-stage climate deals. But she quickly realized that most of the solutions she was seeing were still years away from commercialization.
So she narrowed her focus: no R&D moonshots, no science experiments—just deployable solutions that could scale now.
Carbon Optimum: Where Algae Meets Infrastructure
That’s how she found Carbon Optimum, a company using algae photobioreactors to remove CO₂ directly from industrial emissions. Their approach is both elegant and economic:
Install algae reactors next to major emitters like coal and cement plants.
Feed the algae with flue gas, allowing it to absorb CO₂ in a controlled system.
Harvest the algae and convert it into valuable commodities like bio-oils, fertilizer, and food ingredients.
It’s a nature-based solution, enhanced by engineering. One acre of tanks can capture emissions and generate profit—without subsidies.
“This is one of the few solutions I’ve seen that can scale profitably and quickly,” Yao says. “And we’re not inventing anything new—we’re just doing it better.”
The Real Problem? It’s Capital, Not Carbon
As an investor, Yao is blunt: most climate startups are misaligned with the capital markets.
They’re following a tech startup playbook—built for SaaS, not steel. But building climate infrastructure requires a completely different approach: project finance, blended capital, debt structures, carbon credit integration, and regulatory incentives.
“Climate tech is more like real estate or healthcare than software,” Yao explains. “You don’t raise six rounds of venture. You build a stack—grants, equity, debt, tax credits—and you structure your project like infrastructure.”
It’s not just theory. It’s exactly how Carbon Optimum is expanding—through partnerships, offtake agreements, and real-world deployments. And it’s why she believes many climate startups fail: they don’t speak the language of finance.
Houston’s Role in the Climate Capital Stack
For Yao, Houston isn’t just a backdrop—it’s a strategic asset.
The city’s deep bench of project finance professionals, commodity traders, lawyers, and infrastructure veterans makes it uniquely positioned to lead the deployment phase of climate solutions.
“We’ve been calling it the wrong thing,” she says. “This isn’t just about climate—it’s an energy transition. And Houston knows how to build energy infrastructure at scale.”
Still, she notes, the ecosystem needs to evolve. Less education, more execution. Fewer workshops, more closers.
“Houston could be the epicenter of this movement—if we activate the right people and get the right projects over the line.”
From Carbon Capture to Circular Economies
The potential applications of Carbon Optimum’s algae platform go beyond carbon capture. Because the output—algae biomass—can be converted into:
Renewable oil
High-efficiency fertilizers (critical in today’s geopolitically fragile supply chains)
Food ingredients rich in protein and nutrients
Even biochar, a highly stable form of carbon sequestration
It’s scalable, modular, and location-agnostic. In island nations, Yao notes, these systems can offer energy independence by turning waste CO₂ into local energy and fertilizer—without needing to import fuels or food.
“It’s not just emissions reduction. It’s economic sovereignty through circular systems.”
Doing, Not Just Talking
One of Yao’s key takeaways for founders? Don’t waste time. Climate startups don’t have the luxury of trial-and-error cycles stretched over years.
“Founders need to get real about what it takes to scale: talent, capital, storytelling, partnerships. If you’re not ready to do that, maybe you should be a CSO, not a CEO.”
She also points out that founders don’t need to hire everyone—they need to tap the right networks. And in cities like Houston, those networks exist—if you know how to motivate them.
“It takes a different kind of leadership. You’re not just raising money—you’re moving people.”
Why This Episode Matters
This conversation is for anyone who’s serious about scaling real solutions to the climate crisis. Whether you’re a founder navigating capital markets, an investor seeking return and impact, or a policymaker designing the frameworks — Yao Huang offers a grounded, urgent, and actionable perspective.
It’s not about hope. It’s about execution.
Listen to the full episode of the Energy Tech Startups Podcast with Yao Huang:
-- Hosted by Jason Ethier and Nada Ahmed, the Digital Wildcatters’ podcast, Energy Tech Startups, delves into Houston's pivotal role in the energy transition, spotlighting entrepreneurs and industry leaders shaping a low-carbon future.
