These top Houston energy transition startups are hiring

Want to work for one of the top energy startups in Houston? These ones are hiring. Photo via Getty Images

About a third of this year's startup finalists for the Houston Innovation Awards are hiring — from contract positions all the way up to senior-level roles. And seven of these companies are advancing innovative energy transition technologies.

The finalists, announced last week, range from the medical to energy to AI-related startups and will be celebrated next month on Thursday, November 14, at the Houston Innovation Awards at TMC Helix Park. Over 50 finalists will be recognized for their achievements across 13 categories, which includes the 2024 Trailblazer Legacy Awards that were announced earlier this month.

Click here to secure your tickets to see which growing startups win.

When submitting their applications for the awards, every startup was asked if it was hiring. Let's take a look at what companies among the energy transition finalists you could land a job at.

Double-digit growth

Houston energy tech company Enovate Ai (previously known as Enovate Upstream) reported that it is hiring 10-plus positions. The company, with 35 current employees, helps automate business and operational processes for decarbonization and energy optimization. Its CEO and founder, Camilo Mejia, sat down for an interview with InnovationMap in 2020. Click here to read the Q&A.

Square Robot is hiring about 10 new Houston employees and 15 total between Houston and other markets, according to its application. The advanced robotics company was founded in Boston in 2016 and opened its Houston office in August 2019. It develops submersible robots for the energy industry, specifically for storage tank inspections and eliminating the need for humans to enter dangerous and toxic environments. Last year it reported to be hiring 10 to 30 employees as well, ahead of the 2023 Houston Innovators Award. It currently has 25 Houston employees and about 50 nationally.

InnoVent Renewables LLC is also hiring 15 new employees to be based in Mexico. The company launched last year with its proprietary continuous pyrolysis technology that can convert waste tires, plastics, and biomass into fuels and chemicals. The company scaled up in 2022 and has operations in Pune, India, and Monterrey, Mexico, with plans for aggressive growth across North America and Latin America. It has 20 employees in Mexico and one in Houston currently.

Senior roles and steady growth

Geothermal energy startup Sage Geosystems reported that it is looking to fill two senior roles in the company. It also said it anticipates further staff growth after its first commercial energy storage facility is commissioned at the end of the year in the San Antonio metro area. The company also recently expanded its partnership with the United States Department of Defense's Defense Innovation Unit and announced this month that it was selected to conduct geothermal project development initiatives at Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi. It has 12 full-time employees, according to its application.

Meanwhile, Syzygy Plasmonics is hiring four positions to add to its team of 120. The company was named to Fast Company's energy innovation list earlier this year.

Future roles

Other finalists reported that they are currently not hiring, but had plans to in the near future.

NanoTech Materials Inc., which recently moved to a new facility, is not currently. Hiring but said it plans with new funding during its series B.

Renewable energy startup CLS Wind is not hiring at this time but reported that it plans to when the company closes funding in late 2024.

———

A version of this article originally ran on InnovationMap.

Nearly 20 Houston startups and innovators were named finalists for the 2024 Houston Innovation Awards this week. Photo via Getty Images

Houston energy transition innovators named finalists for annual awards program

best of the rest

The Houston Innovation Awards have named its honorees for its 2024 awards event, and several clean energy innovators have made the cut.

The finalists, which were named on EnergyCapital's sister site InnovationMap this week, were decided by this year's judges after they reviewed over 130 applications. More 50 finalists will be recognized in particular for their achievements across 13 categories, which includes the 2024 Trailblazer Legacy Awards that were announced earlier this month.

All of the honorees will be recognized at the event on November 14 and the winners will be named. Registration is open online.

Representing the energy industry, the startup finalists include:

Amperon, an AI platform powering the smart grid of the future, was named a finalist in the Energy Transition Business category.
ARIXTechnologies, an integrated robotics and data analytics company that delivers inspection services through its robotics platforms, was named a finalist in the Energy Transition Business and the AI/Data Science Business categories.
CLS Wind, a self-erection wind turbine tower system provider for the wind energy industry, was named a finalist in the Minority-Founded Business category.
Corrolytics, a technology startup founded to solve microbiologically influenced corrosion problems for industrial assets, was named a finalist in the Minority-Founded Business and People's Choice: Startup of the Year categories.
Elementium Materials, a battery technology with liquid electrolyte solutions, was named a finalist in the Energy Transition Business category.
Enovate Ai, a provider of business and operational process optimization for decarbonization and energy independence, was named a finalist in the AI/Data Science Business category.
FluxWorks, developer and manufacturer of magnetic gears and magnetic gear-integrated motors, was named a finalist in the Deep Tech Business category.
Gold H2, a startup that's transforming depleted oil fields into hydrogen-producing assets utilizing existing infrastructure, was named a finalist in the Minority-Founded Business and the Deep Tech Business categories.
Hertha Metals, developer of a technology that cost-effectively produces steel with fewer carbon emissions, was named a finalist in the Deep Tech Business category.
InnoVentRenewables, a startup with proprietary continuous pyrolysis technology that converts waste tires, plastics, and biomass into valuable fuels and chemicals, was named a finalist in the Energy Transition Business and the People's Choice: Startup of the Year categories.
NanoTech Materials, a chemical manufacturer that integrates novel heat-control technology with thermal insulation, fireproofing, and cool roof coatings to drastically improve efficiency and safety, was named a finalist in the Scaleup of the Year category.
SageGeosystems, an energy company focused on developing and deploying advanced geothermal technologies to provide reliable power and sustainable energy storage solutions regardless of geography, was named a finalist in the Energy Transition Business category.
Square Robot, an advanced robotics company serving the energy industry and beyond by providing submersible robots for storage tank inspections, was named a finalist in the Scaleup of the Year category.
Syzygy Plasmonics, a company that's decarbonizing chemical production with a light-powered reactor platform that electrifies the production of hydrogen, syngas, and fuel with reliable, low-cost solutions, was named a finalist in the Scaleup of the Year category.
TierraClimate, a software provider that helps grid-scale batteries reduce carbon emissions, was named a finalist in the Energy Transition Business category.
Voyager Portal, a software platform that helps commodity traders and manufacturers in the O&G, chemicals, agriculture, mining, and project cargo sectors optimize the voyage management lifecycle, was named a finalist in the AI/Data Science Business category.

In addition to the startup finalists, two energy transition-focused organizations were recognized in the Community Champion Organization category, honoring a corporation, nonprofit, university, or other organization that plays a major role in the Houston innovation community. The two finalists in that category are:

Energy Tech Nexus, a new global energy and carbon tech hub focusing on hard tech solutions that provides mentor, accelerator and educational programs for entrepreneurs and underserved communities.
Greentown Houston, a climatetech incubator and convener for the energy transition community that provides community engagement and programming in partnership with corporations and other organizations.

Lastly, a few energy transition innovators were honored in the individual categories, including Carlos Estrada, growth partner at First Bight Ventures and head of venture acceleration at BioWell; Juliana Garaizar, founding partner of Energy Tech Nexus; and Neal Dikeman, partner at Energy Transition Ventures.

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10+ must-attend Houston energy transition events happening in Q3 2025

Must-Attend Meetings

Editor's note: Q3 is here, and with it, a full slate of must-attend events for Houston energy professionals. On the agenda are casual mixers, exciting showcases, week-long happenings, and more. Mark your calendars for these top Houston energy transition events coming up from July to September 2025, and begin registering today. Please note: this article may be updated to include additional events.

July 17 — TEX-E Energy, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship networking mixer

The Texas Exchange for Energy & Climate Entrepreneurship hosts this casual networking event to connect the Houston energy and climate tech ecosystem.

This event takes place Thursday, July 17 at 5 pm at Second Draught. Click here to register.

July 29 — Center for Houston's Future presents Summer Salon

This year's Summer Salon breakfast program is titled "Digital Technology and AI: Challenges and Opportunities for Driving Energy Innovation." Sponsored by bp, it will feature a timely conversation about the intersection of digital technology (including AI) and energy innovation.

This event takes place Tuesday, July 29 at 7:30 am at Junior League of Houston. Click here to register.

August 21 — Transition on Tap

Greentown Labs’ signature networking event returns in August to foster conversations and connections within Houston's climate and energy transition ecosystem. Entrepreneurs, investors, students, philanthropists, and more are invited to attend, meet colleagues, discuss solutions, and engage with the growing community.

This event takes place Thursday, August 21 at 5:30 pm at Greentown Labs. Click here to register.

August 22 – Determined to Lead Women Lunch: Investing Through Market Cycles with Ellen Wilkirson

EnergyTech Nexus hosts a monthly Determined to Lead Women’s Lunch as part of its ongoing efforts to create safe spaces for women leaders in the energy transition to connect, learn, and lead. The August session features Ellen Wilkirson, principal at Rev Innovations. With deep experience across traditional and transition energy sectors, Wilkirson will share how she’s approached investing through multiple market and commodity cycles and what it means to be a clean energy investor in today’s evolving landscape.

This event takes place Friday, August 22 at 1 pm. Click here to register.

August 27-28 — 6th Texas Energy Forum 2025

The 6th Texas Energy Forum will dive deep into the strategies, policies, and innovative solutions that reinforce energy security for the United States and its allies and fuel economic growth — centered on Texas’ pivotal role in the global energy landscape. Key discussions will address the future of regulatory reform, tariffs, and tax incentives; advancements in oil, gas, and LNG markets; the expansion of power generation; and breakthroughs in EVs and charging infrastructure. This year's topic is "Texas: The Energy Innovation Powerhouse."

This event begins Wednesday, August 27 at the Petroleum Club of Houston. Click here to register.

September 3-4 — 11th Annual Digitalization in Oil & Gas Conference

This conference will delve deep into the intersection of digitalization and decarbonization, highlighting the transformation required for the oil and gas sector to stay relevant, resilient, and achieve business value. This year, the focus is on leveraging AI and generative AI, driving sustainability and workforce development, and achieving operational excellence through digitalization. Key objectives include building future-ready facilities, planning for a lower carbon market, and realizing business value through innovative solutions.

This event begins Wednesday, September 3 at Hilton Americas Houston. Click here to register.

September 8-10 — SPE Energy Transition Symposium

The SPE Energy Transition Symposium brings together professionals from multiple disciplines across the energy sector, offering a comprehensive platform for learning, networking, and collaboration. Its primary objective is to facilitate the exchange and dissemination of knowledge drawn from the insights of industry leaders, technical experts, academics, practitioners, representatives from the financial community, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) leaders. This year's symposium is titled "Synergizing Innovation and Collaboration: Transforming Energy for a Sustainable Future."

This event begins Monday, September 8 at Houston Marriott Sugar Land. Click here to register.

September 15-19 — Houston Energy & Climate Week

Houston Energy & Climate Week utilizes Houston's potential to propel global climate action. This gathering welcomes an unparalleled selection of global energy leaders and communities, giving participants opportunities to interact and discuss capital, technology, workforce, and policy needs. It is organized by Allies in Energy, a nonprofit dedicated to building energy and climate literacy and a pathway to the workforce of the future.

Following an invite-only dinner on Sunday, September 14, this event begins with Opening Ceremonies on Monday, September 15. Click here for details.

September 15-19 — Houston Energy + Climate Startup Week

Launched in 2024, the official Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week returns for its second year, showcasing how Houston is developing and scaling real solutions for the dual challenge of meeting growing global energy demand while reducing carbon emissions. Join leading energy and climate venture capital investors, industry leaders, and startups from around the world for this showcase of the most innovative companies and technologies that are transforming the energy industry while driving a sustainable, low-carbon energy future.

This event begins Monday, September 15 with a kickoff event at the Ion Plaza. Click here for details.

September 16 — Pilotathon 2025 & Company Showcase

EnergyTech Nexus hosts its annual Pilotathon — a high-impact event designed to fast-track pilot deployments for climate and energy tech startups. Expect a full day of curated startup pitches, a 50-plus company innovation showcase, and direct engagement with corporate partners, investors, and ecosystem leaders. The afternoon will also feature participants from the ETN CoPilot Accelerator. Startup applications and event registration is now open at www.pilotathon.com.

This event takes place Tuesday, September 16 at 8 am at GreenStreet. Click here to register.

September 18 — ACCEL Year 3 Showcase

As part of Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week, Greentown Labs will celebrate ACCEL, an accelerator program for startups led by BIPOC and other underrepresented founders. The third ACCEL cohort will present a showcase featuring their technologies, what they’ve accomplished in the first six months of the program, and where they’re headed next. Attendees will also have the opportunity to network with industry leaders who are passionate about and building an inclusive and sustainable future.

This event takes place Thursday, September 18 at 5 pm at Greentown Labs. Click here to register.

Greentown Labs adds 6 Texas clean energy startups to Houston incubator

green team

Greentown Labs announced the six startups to join its Houston community in Q2 of 2025.

The companies are among a group of 13 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 clean energy applications, from long-duration energy storage systems to 3D solar towers.

The new Houston members include:

Encore CO2, a Louisiana-based company that converts CO2 into ethanol, acetate, ethylene and other sustainable chemicals through its innovative electrolysis technology
Janta Power, a Dallas-based company with proprietary 3D-solar-tower technology that deploys solar power vertically rather than flatly, increasing power and energy generation
Licube, an Austin-based company focused on sustainable lithium recovery from underutilized sources using its proprietary and patented electrodialysis technology
Newfound Materials, a Houston-based company that has developed a predictive engine for materials R&D
Pix Force, a Houston-based company that develops AI algorithms to inspect substations, transmission lines and photovoltaic plants using drones
Wattsto Energy, a Houston-based manufacturer of a long-duration-energy-storage system with a unique hybrid design that provides fast, safe, sustainable and cost-effective energy storage at the microgrid and grid levels

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

Greentown Houston also added five startups to its local lab in Q1. Read more about the companies here.

How Planckton Data is building the sustainability label every industry will need

now streaming

There’s a reason “carbon footprint” became a buzzword. It sounds like something we should know. Something we should measure. Something that should be printed next to the calorie count on a label.

But unlike calories, a carbon footprint isn’t universal, standardized, or easy to calculate. In fact, for most companies—especially in energy and heavy industry—it’s still a black box.

That’s the problem Planckton Data is solving.

On this episode of the Energy Tech Startups Podcast, Planckton Data co-founders Robin Goswami and Sandeep Roy sit down to explain how they’re turning complex, inconsistent, and often incomplete emissions data into usable insight. Not for PR. Not for green washing. For real operational and regulatory decisions.

And they’re doing it in a way that turns sustainability from a compliance burden into a competitive advantage.

From calories to carbon: The label analogy that actually works

If you’ve ever picked up two snack bars and compared their calorie counts, you’ve made a decision based on transparency. Robin and Sandeep want that same kind of clarity for industrial products.

Whether it’s a shampoo bottle, a plastic feedstock, or a specialty chemical—there’s now consumer and regulatory pressure to know exactly how sustainable a product is. And to report it.

But that’s where the simplicity ends.

Because unlike food labels, carbon labels can’t be standardized across a single factory. They depend on where and how a product was made, what inputs were used, how far it traveled, and what method was used to calculate the data.

Even two otherwise identical chemicals—one sourced from a refinery in Texas and the other in Europe—can carry very different carbon footprints, depending on logistics, local emission factors, and energy sources.

Planckton’s solution is built to handle exactly this level of complexity.

AI that doesn’t just analyze

For most companies, supply chain emissions data is scattered, outdated, and full of gaps.

That’s where Planckton’s use of AI becomes transformative.

It standardizes data from multiple suppliers, geographies, and formats.
It uses probabilistic models to fill in the blanks when suppliers don’t provide details.
It applies industry-specific product category rules (PCRs) and aligns them with evolving global frameworks like ISO standards and GHG Protocol.
It helps companies model decarbonization pathways, not just calculate baselines.

This isn’t generative AI for show. It’s applied machine learning with a purpose: helping large industrial players move from reporting to real action.

And it’s not a side tool. For many of Planckton’s clients, it’s becoming the foundation of their sustainability strategy.

From boardrooms to smokestacks: Where the pressure is coming from

Planckton isn’t just chasing early adopters. They’re helping midstream and upstream industrial suppliers respond to pressure coming from two directions:

Downstream consumer brands—especially in cosmetics, retail, and CPG—are demanding footprint data from every input supplier.
Upstream regulations—especially in Europe—are introducing reporting requirements, carbon taxes, and supply chain disclosure laws.

The team gave a real-world example: a shampoo brand wants to differentiate based on lower emissions. That pressure flows up the value chain to the chemical suppliers. Who, in turn, must track data back to their own suppliers.

It’s a game of carbon traceability—and Planckton helps make it possible.

Why Planckton focused on chemicals first

With backgrounds at Infosys and McKinsey, Robin and Sandeep know how to navigate large-scale digital transformations. They also know that industry specificity matters—especially in sustainability.

So they chose to focus first on the chemicals sector—a space where:

Supply chains are complex and often opaque.
Product formulations are sensitive.
And pressure from cosmetics, packaging, and consumer brands is pushing for measurable, auditable impact data.

It’s a wedge into other verticals like energy, plastics, fertilizers, and industrial manufacturing—but one that’s already showing results.

Carbon accounting needs a financial system

What makes this conversation unique isn’t just the product. It’s the co-founders’ view of the ecosystem.

They see a world where sustainability reporting becomes as robust as financial reporting. Where every company knows its Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions the way it knows revenue, gross margin, and EBITDA.

But that world doesn’t exist yet. The data infrastructure isn’t there. The standards are still in flux. And the tooling—until recently—was clunky, manual, and impossible to scale.

Planckton is building that infrastructure—starting with the industries that need it most.

Houston as a launchpad (not just a legacy hub)

Though Planckton has global ambitions, its roots in Houston matter.

The city’s legacy in energy and chemicals gives it a unique edge in understanding real-world industrial challenges. And the growing ecosystem around energy transition—investors, incubators, and founders—is helping companies like Planckton move fast.

“We thought we’d have to move to San Francisco,” Robin shares. “But the resources we needed were already here—just waiting to be activated.”

The future of sustainability is measurable—and monetizable

The takeaway from this episode is clear: measuring your carbon footprint isn’t just good PR—it’s increasingly tied to market access, regulatory approval, and bottom-line efficiency.

And the companies that embrace this shift now—using platforms like Planckton—won’t just stay compliant. They’ll gain a competitive edge.

Listen to the full conversation with Planckton Data on the Energy Tech Startups Podcast:

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.

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