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Houston company acquired by private equity​ firm, plans to expand support of energy transition

M&A

The deal and financial support will help Saber to expand its services within the energy transition, including the ability to build out renewables and battery resources amid the electrification of the U.S. economy. Photo via Getty Images

A Houston-based infrastructure services platform has been acquired by an energy industry-focused private equity firm.

Saber Power Services announced last month that it has been acquired by an investor group led by Greenbelt Capital Management from funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management. The acquisition was in partnership with funds managed by Schroders Capital, StepStone Group, and Wafra Inc., according to the company's news release.

Saber, founded in 2010, is an electrical services firm that provides design, construction, testing, and maintenance services and solutions across the energy spectrum — renewables, battery storage, utility, industrial, and energy infrastructure markets. The company's customers are located throughout Texas and the Southeast.

“With over a decade of experience, the Saber Power team has demonstrated its ability to provide a safe, reliable and high-performance service offering that excels in complex environments," Brian Bratton, CEO of Saber, says in the release. "We are excited for Saber’s next chapter and believe this investment from Greenbelt demonstrates the market leading position of our business and our customers’ trust in the quality of our work."

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but some of Saber’s management team will maintain ownership of a significant stake in the company, according to the news release. Greenbelt, the acquiring party, secured debt and equity financing from Blackstone Credit.

“We are excited to partner with Greenbelt and look forward to supporting Saber with the next phase of its growth," say Blackstone representatives in the release. "Blackstone Credit invests in market leading energy-transition companies and believes Saber is well-positioned to play an important role in this space.”

The deal and financial support will help Saber to expand its services within the energy transition, including the ability to build out renewables and battery resources amid the electrification of the U.S. economy.

“The energy landscape is rapidly evolving as electrification trends continue to impact commercial and industrial end markets," Sam Graham, principal at Greenbelt, says. "Both physical assets and power markets will need to adapt to support load shifting, bi-directional power flows, and meaningfully increased power demand, all of which require increased grid complexity and strengthens demand for Saber’s specialized engineering, design, construction and maintenance services.”

Chris Murphy, partner at Greenbelt, adds that modernization of the grid is an important sector focus for the company.

"We believe Saber’s end-to-end service platform is critical to facilitate the growing penetration of distributed energy resources across the grid, as well as meet the increasing demands of mass-scale industrial electrification," he says. "We are thrilled to partner with Saber’s experienced and talented executive team and believe our history of investing across the new energy economy will allow us to help accelerate the Company’s growth.”

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Shell partners with UK-based co. for hydrogen electrolyzer pilot

ultra-efficient electrolyzer

Shell Global Solutions International, a subsidiary of Shell, which maintains its U.S. headquarters in Houston, has signed a collaboration agreement with London-based Supercritical Solutions to advance Supercritical’s ultra-efficient hydrogen electrolyzer technology toward a field pilot demonstration.

In the deal, the companies will collaborate on a paid technology feasibility study that will support the evaluation and planning of the pilot demonstration, according to a news release. Supercritical Solutions’ technology aims to deliver high-efficiency renewable hydrogen at a lower cost for the industrial hydrogen market.

"Signing this collaboration agreement with Shell is a major milestone for Supercritical Solutions and an important step on our commercialisation journey,” Luke Tan, co-founder of Supercritical, said in the news release. “We are directly addressing the cost and complexity barriers facing the renewable hydrogen market. We are excited to move forward with a company like Shell, whose global leadership has been proven to accelerate innovative technologies to market.”

Supercritical’s hydrogen electrolyser technology can operate at high temperatures and pressures of up to 220 bar without the need for an external hydrogen compressor, rare-earth materials or easily degradable membranes. The technology removes the typical compression step in the process while delivering hydrogen at industry standards. It requires significantly less energy than many traditional electrolyzers and is more cost-efficient.

This recent investment builds on an ongoing relationship between Shell and Supercritical. Supercritical was founded in 2020 and was runner-up in Shell’s New Energy Challenge, which helps startups and scaleups develop sustainable technologies, in 2021. Shell Ventures then invested in Supercritical’s Series A funding round in 2024 with Toyota Ventures.

3 Houston-area companies named to Global Cleantech 100

Energized

Three Houston-area companies—Amperon, Hertha Metals and Vaulted Deep—appear on this year’s Global Cleantech 100 list.

The unranked list, generated by market intelligence and advisory firm Cleantech Group, identifies the 100 privately held companies around the world that are most likely to make a significant impact in the cleantech market over the next five to 10 years.

For the 2026 list, Cleantech Group received more than 24,000 Global Cleantech 100 nominations from nearly 60 countries. Cleantech Group scored those companies and narrowed the contenders to 264. An expert panel reviewed those nominees, and the list was whittled down to the 100 winners.

Here’s a rundown of the three Houston-area honorees:

Amperon

Founded in 2018 by Sean Kelly and Abe Stanway, Houston-based Amperon offers an AI-enabled energy forecasting and analytics platform designed to help stabilize electric grids. Amperon received undisclosed amounts of venture capital from National Grid Partners and Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd. last year and announced a recent investment from Samsung Ventures earlier this month.

Hertha Metals

Founded in 2022 by Laureen Meroueh, Conroe-based Hertha Metals provides a single-step process for producing sustainable steel. Last year, the company emerged from stealth mode and raised more than $17 million in venture capital.

Vaulted Deep

Vaulted Deep’s technology injects excess organic waste underground to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Julia Reichelstein and Omar Abou-Sayed founded the Houston-based company in 2023. Last year, the startup raised $32.3 million in venture capital. Also in 2025, Vaulted Deep signed a 12-year deal with software giant Microsoft to remove up to 4.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the environment.

Vaulted Deep also made the list last year, along with Houston-based Syzygy Plasmonics and Fervo Energy. Fervo was also named the 2025 North American Company of the Year by Cleantech Group.

Houston AI energy forecasting company lands investment from Samsung Ventures

funding for forecasts

Amperon, a Houston-based AI-powered forecasting solutions company, has received an investment for an undisclosed amount from Samsung Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Samsung Group.

According to Amperon, the funding will be put toward the company's global growth and next-generation product development. Samsung Ventures invests in emerging businesses developing technologies for the AI, advanced devices and energy-related sectors.

“Samsung Ventures’ investment is a strong validation of our mission to transform the way energy is forecasted and traded,” Sean Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Amperon, said in a news release. “Samsung’s global footprint and leadership in semiconductors, data infrastructure, and AI acceleration make them a natural fit as we expand Amperon’s reach into energy-intensive sectors like data centers. Their track record of scaling next-generation technologies aligns perfectly with our vision to build a more intelligent, resilient, and data-driven energy system.”

Amperon was founded in 2018. Its AI models combine real-time weather, consumption and market data for energy retailers, utilities and independent power producers.

Last year, the company launched its weather-informed grid demand Mid-Term Forecast (MTF), which provides users with data on electricity demand up to seven months in advance. It also secured strategic investments from Acario, the corporate venture capital and innovation division of Tokyo Gas, as well as National Grid Partners, the venture investment and innovation arm of National Grid (NYSE: NGG).

After expanding into Europe in 2024, the company has continued to see international growth, and currently operates in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia, Europe and the Middle East.

“Amperon has demonstrated strong technical capabilities and global traction in a rapidly evolving energy landscape,” a spokesperson for Samsung Ventures added in the release. “Their ability to forecast and model real-time energy data at global scale positions them as a key enabler of smarter energy systems and climate resilience. We are pleased to invest in a company developing technologies that support a more sustainable and digitized world.”

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