Daikin completes solar plant to power massive Houston-area campus

switched on

Daikin Industries' new solar power plant at its Waller-area campus will power its central chiller plant and is designed to connect to the campus' electric grid. Photo courtesy Daikin.

Japanese HVAC company Daikin Industries has completed a nearly one-megawatt solar power plant at its Daikin Comfort Technologies North America campus southeast of Waller.

Daikin says the new plant at its 4.2 million-square-foot Daikin Texas Technology Park will eliminate an estimated 845 metric tons of carbon emissions each year. The park houses the largest HVAC factory in North America.

“Daikin’s unwavering commitment to innovation drives us to continually perfect the air we share. With the launch of this solar project, we’re one step closer to being a net-zero CO2 emission factory by 2030,” Nathan Walker, senior vice president of environmental business development of locally based Daikin Comfort Technologies North America, said in a release. “This installation is a significant step in reducing our carbon footprint and underscores our commitment to energy efficiency, sustainability, and environmental stewardship.”

Solar power from the new facility will power the Daikin campus’ central chiller plant, which circulates about 125,000 gallons of chilled water annually and 75,000 gallons of hot water in the winter. Also, the solar setup is designed to connect to the electric grid that serves the campus. About 10,000 people work at the campus.

Daikin, a Fortune 1000 company, may not have been a familiar name to some Houstonians until January, when it took over the naming rights for the Houston Astros’ stadium. The naming rights agreement for Daikin Park, formerly Minute Maid Park, expires during the Astros’ 2039 season. The stadium had been named Minute Maid Park since 2002.

“The Astros are the pride of Houston, an organization that has built resiliency in hard times, and have succeeded to be a winning team. The coming together of both our organizations is a symbol of our love for our hometown and the communities of the Greater Houston area,” Takayuki “Taka” Inoue, executive vice president and chief sales and marketing officer at Daikin Comfort Technologies North America, said in November.

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The Astros' stadium will have a new name in 2025. Courtesy of the Houston Astros

Global industrial company Daikin makes deal with Houston Astros on stadium rename

big deal

The Houston Astros' home will get a new name on Jan. 1, becoming Daikin Park under an agreement through the 2039 season the team announced Monday.

The stadium opened as Enron Field in 2000 as part of a 30-year, $100 million agreement but the name was removed in March 2002 following Enron Corp.'s bankruptcy filing and the ballpark briefly became Astros Field.

It was renamed Minute Maid Park in June 2002 as part of a deal with The Minute Maid Co., a Houston-based subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Co. Then-Astros owner Drayton McLane said at the time the agreement was for 28 years and for more than $100 million.

The new deal is with Daikin Comfort Technologies North America Inc., a subsidiary of Daikin Industries Ltd., which is based in Japan and is a leading air conditioning company.

Minute Maid will remain an Astros partner through 2029, the team said.

In August, Daikin, which has its 4.2 million-square-foot Daikin Texas Technology Park in Waller, Texas, 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 pledged install up to 30 horizontal discharge inverter FIT heat pump units over the next three years.

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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Energy AI company opens first U.S. office in Houston after Halliburton deal

houston expansion

Building on its partnership with Houston-based oilfield services provider Halliburton, energy-sector AI company Shape Digital recently opened an office at The Ion. It’s the company’s first U.S. location.

Shape Digital’s workforce in Houston includes employees specializing in tech support, business development and client services. The company’s local hiring projections and headcount weren’t available. The new office will be located within Industrious at the Ion, according to Rice Alliance.

A key driver of the new Houston office: The company forecasts North America will account for more than 20 percent of its business in 2027.

“North America is a critical market for industrial innovation, and Houston sits at the center of companies driving that progress,” Caio Sene, vice president of client services at Shape Digital, said in a release. “Growing our presence here allows us to work alongside operators as they look for practical ways to turn existing operational data into clear recommendations for what to do next.”

Shape Digital, which also has offices in Singapore and Brazil, develops decision-making platforms for the oil and gas sector.

The Ion District office gives Shape Digital a presence close to Halliburton’s headquarters. In May, the two companies forged a partnership to combine Halliburton’s Digital Field Solverdecision-making system with Shape Digital’s AI portfolio.

Shape Digital layers AI software atop existing operations data rather than replacing legacy systems or adding new software.

The company’s suite of AI agents draws on more than 200 operations-monitoring algorithms, continually learning from company and industry data. The suite comprises four products: Shape Aura, Shape Lighthouse, Shape Lumen and Shape Reef.

Shape Digital says that by working with a customer’s existing operations data, it can deliver ROI in less than two months without any additional investment in equipment or infrastructure.

The company is a 2021 spinoff of Japan-based Modec. Modec builds, owns, and operates floating offshore oil and gas production facilities. Its Modec America subsidiary is based in Houston.

This article originally appeared on our sister site, InnovationMap.

Houston energy startup names former Cheniere execs to C-suite

new leaders

Houston-based energy infrastructure startup Joulent has brought aboard a new chief financial officer and new chief operating officer—both former executives at Houston-based Cheniere Energy.

The C-suite moves come three months after Joulent raised $1.75 billion from National Grid Ventures.

Michael Wortley joins Joulent as co-president and CFO. Wortley most recently was executive vice president and CFO at Cheniere, an LNG producer and exporter.

In conjunction with Wortley’s hiring, Brian Boland, who was Joulent’s interim CFO, has been named executive vice president, chief investment officer, and head of strategy.

Corey Grindal comes to Joulent as co-president and COO. Grindal most recently was executive vice president and COO at Cheniere.

“As Joulent evolves to meet the growing demand for power infrastructure, our expanded leadership team will help ensure we continue delivering the execution certainty our customers, partners, and investors expect,” Chris James, Joulent’s founder and CEO, said in a press release.

“Corey and Michael are accomplished operators with exceptional records of building and leading world-class energy infrastructure businesses, where they have embedded a culture defined by operational excellence and disciplined execution,” James added.

Joulet builds dedicated power-generating facilities that feed directly into data centers and other power-dependent facilities. This eliminates the need for companies to draw power from grids.

“With an initial multi-gigawatt development portfolio and strategic partnerships across the energy, infrastructure, and data center ecosystem, Joulent is helping remove power constraints to enable the next chapter of American innovation and U.S. reindustrialization,” the company says.

The $1.75 billion minority investment from National Grid Ventures complements Joulent’s existing partnerships.

Joulent, founded in 2023, emerged from stealth mode this summer. The company was founded by investment firm Engine No. 1.

Joulent’s first project, the Project Kilby natural gas facility in West Texas, will be co-located with a Microsoft data center. It’ll deliver about 2.67 gigawatts of power under a 20-year deal between Microsoft and Energy Forge One, a 50/50 joint venture between Chevron and Joulent.

Lithium refiner expands into Houston with new Energy Corridor office

new to hou

Battery-grade lithium carbonate manufacturer Stardust Power has expanded into Houston’s Energy Corridor, the company tells Energy Capital.

The company’s new office will serve as a project execution hub to support operations and planning for the company’s forthcoming lithium refinery in Muskogee, Oklahoma, according to a news release. The Greenwich, Connecticut-based, publicly traded company says the facility will be one of the largest lithium refining operations in the United States. The refinery is expected to have production capacity of up to 50,000 metric tons per year and seeks to address the critical shortage of U.S. lithium refining capacity.

Battery-grade lithium carbonate is commonly used in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems.

The company says it chose Houston as the location for its new execution hub for its rich history of expertise in engineering, a robust energy infrastructure ecosystem, and access to a leading talent pool for engineering, procurement and construction professionals. The Houston project hub will work closely with the company’s existing office in Oklahoma City.

“The Houston office strengthens our operational footprint at a critical phase of development,” Chris Celano, COO of Stardust Power, said in the release. “By building out a dedicated project management hub in one of the most experienced energy markets in the world, we are positioning the Company for execution as we advance the Muskogee refinery.”

Currently, the Houston office plans to accommodate a workforce of about 20 people with the possibility to add staff upon reaching project milestones, according to a representative from the company.

“This expansion reflects our commitment to deliver domestic, battery-grade lithium that supports U.S. energy security and industrial growth,” Celano added in the release.

In August, Stardust Power secured an offtake agreement to supply up to 20,000 metric tons of battery-grade lithium carbonate by 2030 from the Muskogee, Oklahoma, refinery to New York-based battery technology company Charge CCCV. Stardust reports that the deal adds to a separate non-binding agreement for up to 25,000 metric tons annually for 10 years with an undisclosed global trading company.

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