New $22M ERCOT energy storage project and more trending news to know

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Houston's GoodPeak is breaking ground on its first energy storage projects. Photo via Getty Images.

Editor's note: We're looking back at the top energy transition news for the first part of April 2025, including tapping into AI to boost grid reliability, new ERCOT energy storage projects, Greentown Labs' newest members, and more. Read on for the five most-read EnergyCapital stories from April 1-10.

CenterPoint partners with AI and infrastructure companies to boost reliability

CenterPoint has partnered with Atlanta-based Osmose and Australia-based Neara to use AI-powered predictive modeling to inform decisions on restorations and risk. Photo via Getty Images

Houston utilities giant CenterPoint is partnering with companies from Atlanta and Australia to use AI to increase data accuracy and strengthen the power grid. The partnership is part of a collaboration between AI-powered predictive modeling platform company Neara and utility infrastructure asset assessment solutions company Osmose. Continue reading.

Houston startup secures $22 million for ERCOT energy storage projects

Houston's GoodPeak is breaking ground on its first energy storage projects. Photo via Getty Images.

Houston-based GoodPeak has nailed down $22 million in construction debt financing to help build its first two 10-megawatt battery energy storage projects, both of which are expected to come online in the Houston area at the end of 2025. GoodPeak secured the debt financing from financial services company Pathward and renewable energy lender BridgePeak Energy Capital.

GoodPeak says an undisclosed amount of funding from private equity firm Current Equity Partners and other investors will further spur growth. That growth starts with the construction of the two Houston-area battery energy storage projects, which will serve the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), whose power grid serves most of the state.Continue reading.

Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week announces 2025 dates, key events

Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week is coming back for a second year. Photo via GHP

Six local organizations focused on the energy transition have teamed up to bring back Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week. The second annual event will take place Sept. 15-19. The Ion District will host many of the week's events.

Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week was founded in 2024 by Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, Halliburton Labs, Greentown Labs, Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI), Digital Wildcatters and Activate. Continue reading.

Greentown Labs announces newest startups to join Houston climatetech incubator

Five companies have joined Greentown Labs Houston, specializing in various "green" applications, from converting plastic waste into sustainable materials to developing energy-storage solutions. Photo courtesy Greentown Labs.

Greentown Labs announced that it added five startups to its Houston community in Q1 of 2025. The companies are among a group of 19 that joined the climatetech incubator, which is co-located in Houston and Boston, in the same time period. The companies that joined the Houston-based lab specialize in a number of "green" applications, from converting plastic waste into sustainable materials to developing energy-storage solutions. Continue reading.

Houston geothermal company closes $13M in investments to fuel growth

XGS Energy plans to “aggressively expand” its team in Houston this year thanks to its latest round of investments. Photo via Getty Images

XGS Energy, a California-headquartered geothermal power company with a major presence in Houston, has closed $13 million in new financing that included new investors Aligned Climate Capital, ClearSky, ClimateIC and WovenEarth Ventures, in addition to inside investors. The company plans to “aggressively expand” its team in Houston this year. Continue reading.

Greentown Labs announces newest startups to join Houston climatetech incubator

green team

Greentown Labs announced that it added five startups to its Houston community in Q1 of 2025.

The companies are among a group of 19 that joined the climatetech incubator, which is co-located in Houston and Boston, in the same time period. The companies that joined the Houston-based lab specialize in a number of "green" applications, from converting plastic waste into sustainable materials to developing energy-storage solutions.

The new Houston members include:

Concept Loop, a project of Pakistan-based Innova8e Inc., aims to repurpose post-industrial and post-consumer plastic waste into sustainable building materials.
GeoFuels, a Sugar Land-based company that produces hydrogen by using baseload geothermal power and methane pyrolysis.
PLASENE, a Houston-based company with an innovative platform that converts plastic waste into liquid fuel and low-carbon hydrogen through its proprietary catalysts and modular, scalable, pre-engineered units platform. The company was named to Greentown's ACCEL Year 3 cohort earlier this year.
RepAir Carbon, an Israeli company with a fully electric, zero-heat carbon-removal technology that consumes minimal energy, operates without liquids or solvents, and produces no hazardous materials or waste.
RotorVault from Pasadena, California, is commercializing energy-storage and load-following solutions that are containerized, modular, and field-deployable systems built on flywheel technology.

Fourteen other companies will join Greentown Boston's incubator. See the full list here.

PLASENE and five other new members—Thola, Respire Energy, Andros Innovations, FAST Metals and Tato Labs—join Greentown Labs through its most recent Advancing Climatetech and Clean Energy Leaders Program, or ACCEL, cohort. ACCEL, which works to advance BIPOC-led startups in the climatetech space, announced its third cohort last month.

From potato-starch-based bioplastics startups to companies developing carbon-coated silicon anodes, here's who's joining Greentown Labs and Browning the Green Space's ACCEL program. Photo via browningthegreenspace.org

2 Houston startups join Greentown Labs' BIPOC-led accelerator program

seeing green

Greentown Labs and Browning the Green Space announced the newest cohort for its Advancing Climatetech and Clean Energy Leaders Program, or ACCEL, which works to advance BIPOC-led startups in the climatetech space.

Two Houston companies and one from Austin are among the eight startups to be named to the 2025 group.

“The startups selected for the third ACCEL cohort represent a phenomenal range of energy and climatetech innovations, which underscores our belief that everyone and many solutions must play a role in our community’s collective decarbonization efforts,” Georgina Campbell Flatter, Greentown’s new CEO, said in a release. “We’re proud to welcome these entrepreneurs to our community and eager to see all they’ll achieve throughout the program and beyond!”

Each of the early-stage startups within the cohort will receive $25,000 in non-dilutive grant funding and participate in the year-long program focused on product and technology development, market development, fundraising and management, and team development, according to Greentown. The curriculum is led by VentureWell, a nonprofit with expertise in venture development in climatetech.

The Houston companies include:

Carbonext, founded by Olanrewaju Tanimola. The company is leveraging its proprietary, off-the-shelf 3D-graphene technology to develop integrated solutions with carbon-coated silicon anodes to address challenges in the graphite ecosystem, as well as lithium-battery anodes.
PLASENE, founded by Sohel Shaikh, Alper Gulludag and Romolo Raciti. The company offers an innovative platform that converts plastic waste into liquid fuel and low-carbon hydrogen through its proprietary catalysts and modular, scalable, pre-engineered units

The remaining six companies are:

Inductive Robotics, founded in Austin by Madhav Ayyagari and David Alspaugh. The startup deploys autonomous robots that deliver EV charging directly to parked vehicles in commercial parking facilities, using a subscription-based model.
Andros Innovations, founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts by Laron Burrows. The startup has developed a reactor that produces ammonia more cheaply, cleanly and safely than traditional methods do.
FAST Metals, founded in Worcester, Massachusetts by Sumedh Gostu and Anthony Staley. It has developed a hydrometallurgical-recovery process capable of extracting iron, aluminum, scandium, titanium, and other rare-earth elements from industrial tailings.
Respire Energy, founded in Boston by Dave Hsu, Xiaowei Teng, and Candy Wong. The energy storage startup has developed a safe, low-cost, and long-duration metal-air battery designed for microgrids.
Tato Labs, founded in Brooklyn by Mecca McDonald and Mia Dunn. It is developing scalable, innovative, bioplastic products and packaging solutions that leverage potato starch, protect and preserve the natural ecosystem, and minimize plastic waste.
Thola, founded in Portland, Maine, by Nneile Nkholise and Lerato Takana. The company provides an on-demand marketplace for commercial-building sustainability and safety management, with a mission to decarbonize old buildings.

ACCEL is supported by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), Shell, Equinor, the Growth Capital Division of MassDevelopment, Microsoft and the Barr Foundation.

The accelerator has supported 13 early-stage startups since it was founded in 2023, resulting in $325,000 in grant funding. Houston companies have been represented in each cohort. Click here to see the 2024 cohort and here to see the inaugural 2023 cohort.

A mix of public and private investors have funded Greentown Labs. Photo via GreentownLabs.com

Investors from Houston and Boston fuel Greentown with $4M commitment

next era

Greentown Labs, a climatetech incubator with locations in the Houston and Boston areas, has announced it has received funding from a mix of investors.

The $4 million in funding came from both of the Houston and Massachusetts locations. Houston investors included Bobby Tudor, CEO of Artemis Energy Partners and chairman of the Houston Energy Transition Initiative; David Baldwin, co-founder of OpenMinds and TEX-E and partner at SCF Partners; and Rice University. Other investors included MassDevelopment and the City of Somerville.

“The challenges of the energy transition are immense, and the role played by technology incubators like Greentown Labs is essential,” Tudor says in a news release. “We believe this role, which is a partnership between academia, industry, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, and governments, is the best way to get to effective, scalable solutions in a time frame that the urgency of the challenge requires. We need all hands on deck, and this partnership between Massachusetts and Texas can be a role model for others.”

According to Greentown, the funding will support its financial position and contribute to preparing the incubator for its next chapter of supporting its its leadership team prepare for Greentown’s next chapter supporting and growing its 575 startups.

“Greentown’s mission aligns closely with the Houston Energy Transition Initiative’s goal of accelerating global solutions to address the dual challenge of meeting growing energy demand globally while also significantly reducing CO2 emissions,” adds Steve Kean, president and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership.

With the announcement of the funding, Greentown named its board members, including Tudor, who will serve as Greentown Labs Board Chair. The other Houston-based board members are:

David Baldwin, co-founder of OpenMinds and TEX-E; partner atSCF Partners
Bob Harvey, former president and CEO of GHP; board member of TEX-E
Jane Stricker, senior vice president of energy transition and executive director of HETI

“With this new funding, Greentown is poised to expand its impact across its existing ecosystems and support even more climatetech startups,” adds Kevin Dutt, interim CEO of Greentown Labs. “We believe in the essential role entrepreneurship will play in the energy transition and we’re grateful for the support of our partners who share in that belief and our collective commitment to commercializing these technologies as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

According to Greentown, the incubator plans to announce its new CEO in the coming months.

Meet the newest additions to Greentown Houston. Photo via Greentown Houston

11 clean energy-focused startups join Greentown Houston

ready to grow

There are some new faces at Houston's Greentown Labs location.

The climatetech incubator announced 22 new startup members between its two locations in Boston and Houston joining the facilities this quarter, and 11 have a local presence. Here are the new Houston additions, according to Greentown Labs:

A digital tech company, eVillage.io’s software manages the lifecycle of a clean energy project from the very beginning.
With its power-to-heat and power-to-power solutions, NOC Energy is focused on decarbonizing industrial heat to reduce emissions and cost.
AI company Pix Force uses computer vision, using machine learning, and deep learning techniques to automate the inspection of assets more safely, remotely, and efficiently.
Ardent is a process technology company that is developing membrane-based solutions for point-source carbon capture and other chemical separations. The startup is participating in Year 4 of the Carbon to Value Initiative.
Also a C2V Initiative Year 4 cohort member, CarbonBlue develops a chemical process that mineralizes and extracts CO2 from water, which then reabsorbs more atmospheric CO2.
Maple Materials develops an electrolysis process to convert CO2 into graphite and oxygen. The startup is a Greentown Go alum that’s returning for Year 4 of the C2V Initiative.
A C2V Initiative cohort member, Secant Fuel develops a one-step electrocatalytic process that converts flue gas into syngas.
Deep Anchor Solutions accelerates renewable energy project adoption, especially in floating offshore wind and other offshore sectors, with its innovative deeply embedded ring anchor.
Thiozen’s proprietary chemical waste-to-hydrogen cycle removes hydrogen sulfide from gas streams and generates zero-emission hydrogen.
TS-Nano is an energy technology company focused on reducing methane emissions from abandoned wellbores using its patented sealants, monitoring technologies, and blockchain carbon offsets—enabling its partners to achieve their ESG and decarbonization goals.
Seabound builds carbon-capture equipment for new and existing ships. The startup is participating in Year 4 of the C2V Initiative.

The newly named interim Greentown Labs CEO is based in Boston. Photo via Greentown

Greentown Labs names interim leader as hunt for CEO continues

at the helm

Greentown Labs, after announcing its CEO is stepping down at the end of the month, has named the climatetech incubator's interim leader.

Kevin Dutt, a recently named member of Greentown's board of directors based in the Boston area, has been appointed interim CEO. The decision, made by the board, is effective July 8. Dutt is a management consultant at Sustainable Edge Consulting, as well as an environmental entrepreneur, executive, and adviser with 25 years of experience.

"We continue to believe deeply in Greentown and are proud to have one of our board members step into this role before our next long-term CEO is identified," the nonprofit writes in the announcement. "We are confident Kevin is best suited to lead Greentown through this time of transition—his experience in climate and sustainability, philanthropy, and venture will play a key role in helping seamlessly guide Greentown in the coming months."

Dutt will lead the organization, which has dual locations in Houston and Somerville, Massachusetts, following outgoing CEO and President Kevin Knobloch. Knobloch announced in May that he will be stepping down after less than a year in the position. He was named CEO last September, previously serving as chief of staff of the United States Department of Energy in President Barack Obama’s second term.

The news of Knobloch's departure came just over a month after the organization announced that it was eliminating 30 percent of its staff, which affected 12 roles in Boston and six in Houston.

Dutt is the fourth person to take the help of Greentown since Emily Reichert, who held the position from 2013 to 2022, stepped down. Prior to Knobloch's appointment, Greentown's Co-Founder Jason Hanna and former CFO Kevin T. Taylor, who each served in an interim capacity.

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Oxy subsidiary granted landmark EPA permits for carbon capture facility

making progress

Houston’s Occidental Petroleum Corp., or Oxy, and its subsidiary 1PointFive announced that the U.S Environmental Protection Agency approved its Class VI permits to sequester carbon dioxide captured from its STRATOS Direct Air Capture (DAC) facility near Odessa. These are the first such permits issued for a DAC project, according to a news release.

The $1.3 billion STRATOS project, which 1PointFive is developing through a joint venture with investment manager BlackRock, is designed to capture up to 500,000 metric tons of CO2 annually and is expected to begin commercial operations this year. DAC technology pulls CO2 from the air at any location, not just where carbon dioxide is emitted. Major companies, such as Microsoft and AT&T, have secured carbon removal credit agreements through the project.

The permits are issued under the Safe Drinking Water Act's Underground Injection Control program. The captured CO2 will be stored in geologic formations more than a mile underground, meeting the EPA’s review standards.

“This is a significant milestone for the company as we are continuing to develop vital infrastructure that will help the United States achieve energy security,” Vicki Hollub, Oxy president and CEO, said in a news release.“The permits are a catalyst to unlock value from carbon dioxide and advance Direct Air Capture technology as a solution to help organizations address their emissions or produce vital resources and fuels.”

Additionally, Oxy and 1PointFive announced the signing of a 25-year offtake agreement for 2.3 million metric tons of CO2 per year from CF Industries’ upcoming Bluepoint low-carbon ammonia facility in Ascension Parish, Louisiana.

The captured CO2 will be transported to and stored at 1PointFive’s Pelican Sequestration Hub, which is currently under development. Eventually, 1PointFive’s Pelican hub in Louisiana will include infrastructure to safely and economically sequester industrial emissions in underground geologic formations, similar to the STRATOS project.

“CF Industries’ and its partners' confidence in our Pelican Sequestration Hub is a validation of our expertise managing carbon dioxide and how we collaborate with industrial organizations to become their commercial sequestration partner,” Jeff Alvarez, President of 1PointFive Sequestration, said in a news release.

1PointFive is storing up to 20 million tons of CO2 per year, according to the company.

“By working together, we can unlock the potential of American manufacturing and energy production, while advancing industries that deliver high-quality jobs and economic growth,” Alvarez said in a news release.

Houston energy-focused AI platform raises $5M in Mercury-led seed round

fresh funding

Houston-based Collide, a provider of generative artificial intelligence for the energy sector, has raised $5 million in seed funding led by Houston’s Mercury Fund.

Other investors in the seed round include Bryan Sheffield, founder of Austin-based Parsley Energy, which was acquired by Dallas-based Pioneer Natural Resources in 2021; Billy Quinn, founder and managing partner of Dallas-based private equity firm Pearl Energy Investments; and David Albin, co-founder and former managing partner of Dallas-based private equity firm NGP Capital Partners.

“(Collide) co-founders Collin McLelland and Chuck Yates bring a unique understanding of the oil and gas industry,” Blair Garrou, managing partner at Mercury, said in a news release. “Their backgrounds, combined with Collide’s proprietary knowledge base, create a significant and strategic moat for the platform.”

Collide, founded in 2022, says the funding will enable the company to accelerate the development of its GenAI platform. GenAI creates digital content such as images, videos, text, and music.

Originally launched by Houston media organization Digital Wildcatters as “a professional network and digital community for technical discussions and knowledge sharing,” the company says it will now shift its focus to rolling out its enterprise-level, AI-enabled solution.

Collide explains that its platform gathers and synthesizes data from trusted sources to deliver industry insights for oil and gas professionals. Unlike platforms such as OpenAI, Perplexity, and Microsoft Copilot, Collide’s platform “uniquely accesses a comprehensive, industry-specific knowledge base, including technical papers, internal processes, and a curated Q&A database tailored to energy professionals,” the company said.

Collide says its approximately 6,000 platform users span 122 countries.

CenterPoint reports progress on grid improvements ahead of 2025 hurricane season

grid resilience

As part of an ongoing process to make Houston better prepared for climate disasters, CenterPoint Energy announced its latest progress update on the second phase of the Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative (GHRI).

CenterPoint reported that it has completed 70 percent of its resiliency work and all GHRI-related actions are expected to be complete before the official start of the 2025 hurricane season.

"Our entire CenterPoint Houston Electric team is focused on completing this historic suite of grid resiliency actions before the start of hurricane season,” Darin Carroll, Senior Vice President of CenterPoint's Electric Business, said in a news release. “That is our goal, and we will achieve it. To date, we have made significant progress as part of this historic effort.”

CenterPoint’s resiliency solutions include clearing higher-risk vegetation across thousands of miles of power lines, adding thousands more automation devices capable of self-healing, installing thousands of storm-resistant poles, and undergrounding hundreds of miles of power lines.

CenterPoint's GHRI efforts, which entered a second phase in September 2024, aim to improve overall grid resiliency and reliability and are estimated to reduce outages for customers by more than 125 million minutes annually, according to the company. It has undergrounded nearly 350 miles of power lines, about 85 percent of the way toward its target of 400 miles, which will help improve resiliency and reduce the risk of outages. CenterPoint also aims to install the first of 100 new local weather monitoring stations by June 1.

In March, CenterPoint cleared 655 miles of high-risk vegetation near power lines, installed 1,215 automated reliability devices capable of self-healing, and added an additional 3,300 storm-resilient poles.

In April, CenterPoint will begin building a network of 100 new weather monitoring stations, which will provide 24/7 weather monitoring and storm response preparation.

“We will continue to work every day to complete these critical improvements as part of our company's goal of building the most resilient coastal grid in the country,” Carroll added in the release.

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