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Houston airport debuts solar canopy and more energy news to know

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Hobby Airport's new solar canopy is operating at 100% capacity. Photo courtesy Houston Airports.

Editor's note: We're looking back at the biggest Houston energy transition stories for the second half of September. From Hobby's new solar canopy to the most promising clean tech startups, here's the top energy news to know from September 15-30, 2025:

1. Hobby debuts solar canopy as airport system reaches new sustainability milestone

Hobby Solar Panel

Hobby's solar canopy. Courtesy photo

Houston's William P. Hobby Airport is generating its own clean energy. Houston Airports announced that Hobby's red garage is now home to a "solar canopy" that is producing energy at 100 percent capacity to power daily operations. The photovoltaic (PV) solar system generated more than 1.1 gigawatt-hours of electricity in testing, and is expected to produce up to 1 megawatt-hour now that it's operating at full power.

“This project is proof that sustainability can be practical, visible and directly tied to the passenger experience,” Jim Szczesniak, director of aviation for Houston Airports, said. Continue reading.

2. Houston Methodist leader on the push for sustainable health care and new local event

Dr. Faisal N. Masud, medical director of critical care at Houston Methodist and a champion for sustainability efforts. Courtesy photo

Every industry can play a role in the energy transition, and Houston Methodist is leading the charge in the health care sector. Culminating at September's inaugural Green ICU Conference, part of Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week, the health care system has spent the last three years taking a closer look at its environmental footprint—and showing other hospital systems and medical organizations how they too can make simple changes to reduce emissions.

The event brought together health care professionals, industry leaders, policymakers and innovators to explore solutions for building a more sustainable healthcare system. Continue reading.

3. Rice Alliance Energy Tech Venture Forum names most-promising startups

Ten climatetech startups were named most-promising at this annual Rice Alliance Energy Tech Venture Forum. Photo courtesy Rice Alliance.

Investors at the Rice Alliance Energy Tech Venture Forum have named the 10 most-promising startups among the group of 100 clean tech companies participating in the event.

The 22nd annual event was held September 18 at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business and was part of the second Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week. The most-promising startups will receive $7,000 in in-kind legal services from Baker Botts. Continue reading.

4. Daikin to run massive Houston-area campus on solar power through new Engie partnership

Daikin has tapped Engie North America to provide clean electricity for its Texas facilities, including the massive Daikin Texas Technology Park. Photo courtesy Daikin.

Japan-based HVAC manufacturer Daikin has struck a five-year deal with Houston-based Engie North America to fully power its Texas facilities with renewable energy.

The deal includes Daikin Texas Technology Park (DTTP), home to the company’s North American headquarters and its largest factory (and one of the largest factories in the world). The more than $500 million, 4.2 million-square-foot campus sits on nearly 500 acres in Waller. Continue reading.

5. Solar tracking manufacturer opens second Houston facility

PV Hardware USA has opened a new 95,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Houston. Photo via pvhardware.com.

PV Hardware USA, a provider of solar tracking and foundation solutions, has announced the opening of its second U.S. manufacturing facility in Houston, which is expected to create more than 100 jobs locally and strengthen domestic production capacity for solar energy facilities.

The 95,000-square-foot facility began operations in July and aims to increase production while reducing lead times for customers. The new state-of-the-art building joins the company’s first $30 million U.S. manufacturing facility, which opened in Houston in May 2024 as one of America’s largest solar tracker manufacturing facilities. Continue reading.

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Daikin has tapped Engie North America to provide clean electricity for its Texas facilities, including the massive Daikin Texas Technology Park. Photo courtesy Daikin.

Daikin to run massive Houston-area campus on solar power through new Engie partnership

power deal

Japan-based HVAC manufacturer Daikin has struck a five-year deal with Houston-based Engie North America to fully power its Texas facilities with renewable energy.

The deal includes Daikin Texas Technology Park (DTTP), home to the company’s North American headquarters and its largest factory (and one of the largest factories in the world). The more than $500 million, 4.2 million-square-foot campus sits on nearly 500 acres in Waller.

The technology park, which held its grand opening in 2017, combines manufacturing, engineering, logistics, marketing, and sales operations for Amana, Daikin and Goodman HVAC products. Earlier this year, Daikin installed a solar array at DTTP to power its central chiller plant.

Under the new agreement, Daikin will pay Engie North America for clean electricity from the 260-megawatt Impact Solar Farm, located northeast of Dallas-Fort Worth in Lamar County. Engie North America is a subsidiary of French utility company Engie.

The $250 million solar farm, which London-based Lightsource BP started operating in 2021, produces about 450,000 megawatt-hours of solar power each year. Lightsource, which has an office in Austin, develops, finances and operates utility-scale renewable energy projects. Lightsource BP is a subsidiary of energy giant BP, whose North American headquarters is in Houston.

“This initiative represents a major step forward in aligning our operations with Daikin’s long-term sustainability goals,” Mike Knights, senior vice president of procurement at Daikin, said in a release.

Daikin aims to make its DTTP a net-zero factory by 2030.

Plug and Play is opening a Sugar Land hub to accelerate startups and innovation across smart cities, energy, health, and mobility sectors. Photo courtesy of Plug and Play

Global organization unveils new location in Houston suburb to drive energy transition innovation and beyond

moving in

Leading innovation platform Plug and Play announced the opening of its new flagship Houston-area location in Sugar Land, which is its fourth location in Texas.

Plug and Play has accelerated over 2,700 startups globally last year with corporate partners that include Dell Technologies, Daikin, Microsoft, LG Chem, Shell, and Mercedes. The company’s portfolio includes PayPal, Dropbox, LendingClub, and Course Hero, with 8 percent of the portfolio valued at over $100 million.

The deal, which facilitated by the Sugar Land Office of Economic Development and Tourism, will bring a new office for the organization to Sugar Land Town Square with leasing and hiring between December and January.

The focus will be on “smart cities,” which include energy, health, transportation, and mobility sectors. The official launch is slated for the first quarter of 2025, and will feature 15 startups announced on Selection Day.

"By expanding to Sugar Land, we’re creating a space where startups can access resources, build partnerships, and scale rapidly,” VP Growth Strategy at Plug and Play Sherif Saadawi says in a news release. “This location will help fuel Texas' innovation ecosystem, providing entrepreneurs with the tools and networks they need to drive real-world impact and contribute to the state’s technological and economic growth."

Plug and Play plans to hire four full-time equivalent employees and accelerate two startup batches per year. One Sugar Land City representative will serve as a board member.

“We are excited to welcome Plug and Play to Sugar Land,” Mayor of Sugar Land Joe Zimmerma adds. “This investment will help us connect with corporate contacts and experts in startups and businesses that would take us many years to reach on our own. It allows us to create a presence, attract investments and jobs to the city, and hopefully become a base of operations for some of these high-growth companies.”

The organization originally entered the Houston market in 2019 and now has locations in Bryan/College Station, Frisco, and Cedar Park in Texas.

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This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

Daikin committed to installing energy efficient technology in low-to-moderate-income households in Houston. Photo courtesy of Daikin

Japanese company collaborates with city of Houston on energy efficiency partnership

daikin's in

A Japanese air conditioner manufacturer has teamed up with the city of Houston on an energy efficiency initiative.

Daikin Comfort Technologies, which has its 4.2 million-square-foot Daikin Texas Technology Park in Waller, Texas, has partnered with the city of Houston to provide advanced air conditioning and heating solutions to help homeowners with energy efficiency and general comfort.

The company will install up to 30 horizontal discharge inverter FIT heat pump units over the next three years. The units will be provided to low-to-moderate-income households, which will include seniors over the age of 62, and homes renovated through the Housing and Community Development Department’s Home Repair Program. The new units will offer internet connectivity for remote monitoring and control. The installations align with Houston's Home Repair Program reconstruction plans.

“We are proud to partner with the City of Houston to launch this program that can directly advance their vision for decarbonization and increasing grid resiliency through higher efficiency,” CEO Satoru Akama says in a news release. “Through this program, Homeowners will have a premium system that will not only provide comfort but save on their monthly bills and do so in a way that lowers site emissions of CO2 compared to traditional, non-inverter systems. At Daikin, we are focused on changing the culture of air conditioning in North America and are looking forward to having a direct impact in our hometown.”

The initiative coincides with the company’s 100th year anniversary and National Air Condition Appreciation Days, which was coined by Mayor John Whitmire on August 13. Air Conditioning Appreciation Days ran from July 3 until August 15.

“The city thanks Daikin for this collaboration. Houstonians, especially seniors, (that) must have the resources to stay comfortable during extreme temperatures,” Whitmire adds. “This partnership reflects our dedication to caring for the well-being of our community.”

Awareness is part of the appreciation days, as Daikin recommends homeowners and facilities to clean filters, schedule maintenance checkups and look at ways to lower energy use.

“Through these new energy-efficient solutions, Daikin is helping the city promote a more sustainable environment for our community, and we are thankful for their example of how public-private partnerships can make a positive difference in society,” Houston Council Member Sallie Alcorn says in a news release.

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Katy’s TerraFlow acquires Houston battery tech startup FlowCellutions

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Katy-based TerraFlow Energy, an energy storage and infrastructure company, has acquired Houston-based battery technology startup FlowCellutions. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

FlowCellutions still operates under its established name, but with the tagline “A TerraFlow Energy Company.” Becca Segel, founder and CEO of FlowCellutions, now runs the business as its president.

FlowCellutions specializes in electrochemical sensing, diagnostics, analytics, and testing that offer insights into battery chemistry, charging capabilities, and system performance.

“FlowCellutions has always been focused on developing better ways to understand what is happening inside a flow battery and using that information to improve how these systems perform,” Segal said in a press release. “Joining TerraFlow gives us the opportunity to apply that work at a much larger scale while continuing to build the capabilities and expertise that make FlowCellutions unique.”

The FlowCellutions platform supports data centers and other heavy users of power. It’s designed to help reduce operating costs, prevent failures and costly downtime, and extend battery lifetime from about seven years to more than 30 years.

Segel founded the company in 2022. A member of Greentown Labs, the company raised more than $2 million in non-dilutive funding and received $1.5 million in National Science Foundation funding earlier this year.

FlowCellutions is one of five finalists in the Energy Transition Business category of InnovationMap’s 2026 Houston Innovation Awards.

“FlowCellutions brings a depth of scientific and technical expertise that fits naturally with where TerraFlow is going,” Jon Parrella, CEO of TerraFlow, said in the release.

“As we move from developing these systems to deploying them at commercial scale, understanding performance at a deeper level matters,” he said. “Bringing FlowCellutions into TerraFlow strengthens that capability and gives both teams more opportunity to advance the technology.”

TerraFlow, founded in 2024, develops long-duration energy storage and power infrastructure for data centers, industrial facilities, utilities and other large power consumers.

2 Houston cleantech cos.  among world's 50 to watch and more energy news

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Editor's note: The top Houston energy transition news for October includes local startups landing global recognition and a look at the finalists for Energy Transition Business in the 2026 Houston Innovation Awards. Here are the five most-read EnergyCapitalHTX stories published October 16-31, 2026:

Rice University spinouts named among 50 top cleantech companies to watch

Two Rice University spinouts, Coflux Purification and DexMat, appear on a new list of the world’s 50 cleantech companies to watch. Cleantech Group’s 2026 Cleantech 50 to Watch list recognizes early-stage companies “creating groundbreaking solutions to address some of the world’s most pressing environmental and sustainability challenges.” Continue reading.

These 5 trailblazing Houston startups are leading the energy transition

Houston is home to a growing number of startups reshaping what it means to be called the "Energy Capital of the World." As part of the 2026 Houston Innovation Awards, our Energy Transition Business category honors those innovative startups that are providing solutions within renewables, climatetech, clean energy, alternative materials, circular economy and more. Five clean energy startups have been named finalists for the 2026 award. Continue reading.

Tesla unveils new Roadster sports car, which can thrust itself in the air

Tesla has unveiled its new Roadster sports car, which can thrust itself in the air, among other engineering bells and whistles. But drivers shouldn't expect to take it for a spin anytime soon. Elon Musk's electric car company rolled out its second-generation Roadster at a recent event, showing off a set of cold gas thrusters and a “multi-mode” suction system that can fling the car in the air for short spurts and spin the vehicle mid-flight. Continue reading.

Houston researchers develop heating method to recover critical minerals from e-waste

Researchers at Rice University have developed a new technique to efficiently recycle electronic waste and harvest critical minerals using rapid heating. Most electronic devices use flame-retardant plastic. The plastic is formulated from a critical metal called antimony. Continue reading.

Houston solar manufacturer expands facility, production capacity

Solar tracking and manufacturing company PV Hardware USA is increasing its production capacity and expanding its Houston facility in an effort to meet growing demands. The move marks the company's third expansion in the Houston area in three years. PV Hardware reports a 400 percent surge in national market growth over the past three years, as solar-based projects have been pivotal in energy resilience efforts. Continue reading.

8 must-attend Houston energy events happening in November 2026

Mark your calendars

Editor's note: The November calendar is front-loaded with events for those in Houston's energy sector. From annual summits to an expo exploring AI and energy, these are the events you'll want to register for this month.

Nov. 2 — Energy Leadership Speaker Series

Join UH Energy for a conversation with Jason Wells, Chair, President, and Chief Executive Officer of CenterPoint Energy. The Energy Leadership Speaker Series is a year-long program featuring 12 expert-led sessions covering topics from energy leadership to AI and data science in energy operations. The November topic is "Grid Modernization & The Electricity Revolution."

This event begins at 4:15 pm on November 2 at the University of Houston. Find details here.

Nov. 3-4 — Next-Gen AI for Energy Summit 2026

The summit brings together over 600 senior executives from energy, technology, policy, and investment communities worldwide to explore six strategic areas: operational optimization, digital infrastructure, finance, digital twins, risk management, cybersecurity, and AI-driven market and regulatory strategies. The summit is co-located with EnergyTech X, an invite-only forum connecting energy innovators, AI founders, startups, and investors to scale next-generation energy technologies.

This event begins Nov. 3 at the Intercontinental Houston. Register here.

Nov. 3-5: 17th Annual Operational Excellence in Oil & Gas Summit

The 17th Annual Operational Excellence in Oil & Gas Summit will focus on aligning technology, process, and workforce to balance reliability, resilience, and operational cost. It will feature case studies on AI adoption, asset management, and workforce modernization.

This event begins Nov. 3 at Norris Conference Center. Register here.

Nov. 4-5 — 2026 OPIS Global LPG Conference: Powering Global Connectivity

This November, industry leaders, traders, producers, and infrastructure stakeholders will once again converge in Houston—the world’s LPG hub—for the 2026 OPIS Global LPG Conference. The conference will cover the global LPG market, which is entering a new phase of structural evolution, and how the industry is moving from managing volume to mastering the connectivity between expanding supply hubs and global energy and petrochemical demand.

This event begins Nov. 4 at the Royal Sonesta Houston Galleria. Register here.

Nov. 4-6: SAF North America Congress 2026

The aviation and energy value chains will gather in Houston once again to help shape the future of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in North America. The focus will be on safeguarding progress made to date and ensuring SAF remains central to energy and climate strategies.

This event begins Nov. 4 at Marriott Marquis Houston. Register here.

Nov. 11: BNEF Summit Houston 2026

The BNEF Summit Houston 2026 will explore how AI-driven demand, geopolitical tensions, and electrification are reshaping energy systems at unprecedented speed. Bringing together 600 leaders across energy, tech, digital infrastructure and finance, the summit will address the race to build power, infrastructure, and supply chains — and who will fund, deliver, and benefit from the next phase of growth.

This event takes place Nov. 11 at Post Oak Houston. Register here.

Nov. 11-12: Energy Supply Chain & Procurement Summit

For 12 years, the Energy Supply Chain and Procurement Summit has brought senior procurement, supply chain, and logistics leaders to Houston — from operators, EPCs, utilities, service and equipment providers, and the suppliers they depend on. At the 2026 summit, leaders will discuss what production growth is doing to sourcing, supplier risk, and assurance of supply, and what’s working.

This event begins Nov. 11 at Houston Marriott Uptown. Register here.

Nov. 18-19: American Data Centers & AI Conference and Exhibition 2026

Set to redefine the intersection of energy and digital infrastructure, the American Data Centers & AI Conference and Exhibition convenes in Houston for its second annual event. The event will address the increasing demand for high-performance computing and the sustainable development of AI infrastructure, which requires significant power. Participants can expect to learn about practical solutions in energy integration, modern data center design, and scalable approaches. The agenda includes presentations from leading experts, demonstrations of new technologies for thermal management and grid optimization, and detailed discussions on AI's environmental impact and how to reuse generated heat.

This event begins Nov. 18 at the Double Tree Hotel at Greenway Plaza. Register here.

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