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TEX-E names Houston VC leader as new executive director

new hire

TEX-E, a Houston-based energy transition nonprofit, has named Sandy Guitar as its executive director. Photo courtesy TEX-E.

The Texas Exchange for Energy & Climate Entrepreneurship (TEX-E) has named Houston venture capital and innovation leader Sandy Guitar as its new executive director.

Guitar succeeds David Pruner, who will move into the board chair role.

Guitar previously served as general partner and managing director at Houston-based VC firm HX Venture Fund and is co-founder of Weathergage Capital. She also sits on the advisory board of Rice University's Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie) and launched the Women Investing in VC in Houston group.

In a LinkedIn post, Guitar shared that she's looking forward to bringing her problem-solving skills to the energy transition.

"Innovating in the energy sector is as significant and intricate a problem as I have ever worked on — one that demands creativity, collaboration, and resourcefulness at every turn," she shared.

"I'm honored to join TEX-E at such a pivotal time in the energy transition," she added in a news release. "Energy and climate innovation is accelerating at the intersection of brilliant minds and bold ideas. I'm excited to help TEX-E amplify that collision between students who think differently and the real-world problems that demand fresh solutions."

According to TEX-E, Guitar will continue to lead the organization's programming that aims to connect student climate entrepreneurs with "industry reality."

"Sandy understands the complexities of the Texas energy ecosystem and brings a forward-looking vision for how related innovation can drive meaningful, lasting impact. She's exactly the leader we need to take TEX-E to the next level and help create the next generation of energy transition innovators," David Baldwin, TEX-E board member, added in the release.

TEX-E was founded in 2022 through partnerships with MIT Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship and Greentown Labs. It works with university students from six schools: Rice University, University of Houston, Prairie View A&M University, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University and MIT.

It's known for its student track within the Energy Venture Day and Pitch Competition at CERAWeek, which awarded $25,000 to HEXASpec, a Rice University-led team, at the 2025 event. It also hosted its inaugural TEX-E Conference, centered on the theme of Energy & Entrepreneurship: Navigating the Future of Climate Tech, earlier this year.

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HEXAspec, founded by Tianshu Zhai and Chen-Yang Lin, has been awarded an NSF Partnership for Innovation grant. Photo courtesy of Rice

Rice University spinout lands $500K NSF grant to boost chip sustainability

cooler computing

HEXAspec, a spinout from Rice University's Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, was recently awarded a $500,000 National Science Foundation Partnership for Innovation grant.

The team says it will use the funding to continue enhancing semiconductor chips’ thermal conductivity to boost computing power. According to a release from Rice, HEXAspec has developed breakthrough inorganic fillers that allow graphic processing units (GPUs) to use less water and electricity and generate less heat.

The technology has major implications for the future of computing with AI sustainably.

“With the huge scale of investment in new computing infrastructure, the problem of managing the heat produced by these GPUs and semiconductors has grown exponentially. We’re excited to use this award to further our material to meet the needs of existing and emerging industry partners and unlock a new era of computing,” HEXAspec co-founder Tianshu Zhai said in the release.

HEXAspec was founded by Zhai and Chen-Yang Lin, who both participated in the Rice Innovation Fellows program. A third co-founder, Jing Zhang, also worked as a postdoctoral researcher and a research scientist at Rice, according to HEXAspec's website.

The HEXASpec team won the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship's H. Albert Napier Rice Launch Challenge in 2024. More recently, it also won this year's Energy Venture Day and Pitch Competition during CERAWeek in the TEX-E student track, taking home $25,000.

"The grant from the NSF is a game-changer, accelerating the path to market for this transformative technology," Kyle Judah, executive director of Lilie, added in the release.

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This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

The teams at this year's Energy Venture Day and Pitch Competition have collectively raised $435 million in funding. Photo courtesy of CERAWeek

CERAWeek announces winners of annual clean tech pitch competition

top teams

Teams from around the world and right here in Houston took home prizes at the fourth annual Energy Venture Day and Pitch Competition at CERAWeek on March 12.

The fast-paced event, put on by Rice Alliance, Houston Energy Transition Initiative and TEX-E, invited 36 industry startups and five Texas-based student teams focused on driving efficiency and advancements toward the energy transition to present at 3.5-minute pitch before investors and industry partners during CERAWeek's Agora program. The competition is a qualifying event for the Startup World Cup, powered by Pegasus Venture, where teams compete for a $1 million investment prize.

The teams at this year's Energy Venture Day have collectively raised $435 million in funding.

Rice University student teams took home two of the three top prizes in the competition.

HEXASpec won the student track, known at TEX-E, taking home $25,000. The team's pitch focused on enhancing semiconductor chips’ thermal conductivity to boost computing power. Pattern Materials, another Rice-led team, claimed third place and won $10,000 for its proprietary LIG and LIGF technology that produces graphene patterns.

A team from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business, Nanoborne, took home second place and $15,000 for its engineering company focused on research and development in applied nanotechnology.

The companies that pitched in the three industry tracts competed for non-monetary awards. Here's who won:

Track A: Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, Buildings, Water, & Other Energy Solutions

Track B: Advanced Manufacturing, Materials, Fossil Energy, & Carbon Management

Track C: Industrial Efficiency, Decarbonization, Electricity, & the Grid

Arculus Solutions, which retrofits natural gas pipelines for safe hydrogen transportation, was named the overall winner and will move on to the Startup World Cup competition. California-based Membravo was also given a "golden ticket" to participate in the next NOV Supernova Accelerator cohort.

Teams at this year's Energy Venture Day represented five countries and 15 states. Click here to see the full list of companies and investor groups that participated.

Here's what student-founded startups are leaving CERAWeek with fresh funding. Photo courtesy of HETI

Houston clean tech startup pitch competition awards prizes at annual CERAWeek event

big winners

For the third year, the Greater Houston Partnership's Houston Energy Transition Institute hosted its startup pitch competition at CERAWeek by S&P Global. A dozen startups walked away with recognition — and three some with cash prizes.

HETI joined partners Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship and TEX-E for the 2024 Energy Venture Day and Pitch Competition at CERAWeek on Wednesday, March 20. Forty-two companies, which have collectively raised over $265 million in investment funding already, pitched to judges. Nine startups won awards across three tracks.

TEX-E, a Texas nonprofit that supports student-founded upstarts, had five of its companies pitch and three winners walked away with monetary prizes. Teams that competed in the TEX-E Prize track, many of which come from Houston universities, include:

  • AirMax, University of Texas at Austin
  • BeadBlocker, University of Houston
  • Carvis Energy Solutions, Texas A&M University
  • Coflux Purification, Rice University
  • Solidec, Rice University

Solidec, which is working on a platform to produce chemicals from captured carbon, won first place and $25,000. The company also recently scored a $100,000 grant from Rice's One Small Step Grant program, as well as a voucher from the DOE. Coflux Purification, which has a technology that destroys PFAS in filtration, won second place and$15,000. The company also secured a One Small Step Grant to the tune of $80,000. AirMax, which focuses on optimizing sustainability for air conditioning equipment, won third place and $10,000.

Last year, Houston-based Helix Earth Technologies took home the top TEX-E price and $25,000 cash awards. The venture, founded by Rawand Rasheed and Brad Husick from Rice University, developed high-speed, high-efficiency filter systems derived from technology originating at NASA.

The rest of the companies that pitched competed for non-monetary awards. Here's what companies won:

  • Group A (CCUS, oilfield solutions, analytics and minerals):
    • First place: Ardent
    • Second place: Vaulted Deep
    • Third place: Mitico
  • Group B (batteries, renewables, water, and grid technology):
    • First place: SungreenH2
    • Second place: FeX Energy
    • Third place: Mercurius Biorefining
  • Group C (Mobility, Materials, and hydrogen solutions)
    • First place: Thiozen
    • Second place: Power2Hydrogen
    • Third place: Arolytics
  • People's choice: Decimetrix
HETI, Rice Alliance, and TEX-E celebrated the winners at a private reception on Wednesday evening.

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This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

The pitch day will feature more than 40 energy ventures driving efficiency and advancements toward the energy transition showcasing their companies. Photo via htxenergytransition.org

HETI, collaborators open pitch competition applications for annual CERAWeek event

the view from heti

The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, the Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI) and TEX-E have opened applications for their Energy Venture Day and Pitch Competition at CERAWeek, set to take place in the Agora program on March 20.

The pitch day will feature more than 40 energy ventures driving efficiency and advancements toward the energy transition showcasing their companies. The fast-paced competition is designed to connect energy startups with venture capitalists, corporate innovation groups, industry leaders, academics and service providers.

Ventures will be showcased across three industry tracks, spanning materials to clean energy. Industry experts and investors will judge the pitches, and the top three ventures from each track will be named at the conclusion of the event. The pitches from energy ventures will include a university track, the TEX-E Prize, highlighting the innovation of five Texas student-led energy startups. With mentorship leading up to the competition, these student startups will compete for $50,000 in cash prizes.

“The goal of the TEX-E Prize is to support, encourage and inspire students across the state of Texas to pursue entrepreneurship as a means of reducing emissions and building a healthier, more resilient society,” said David Pruner, executive director at TEX-E.

Energy ventures for all tracks of the competition are asked to apply by Feb. 9. More details about eligibility can be found at alliance.rice.edu/EVD.

“The Energy Venture Day and Pitch Competition at CERAWeek bring together key members of the energy ecosystem, investors and startups to showcase innovations and emerging technologies that create value from the world’s transition to low-carbon energy systems,” said Jane Stricker, senior vice president at the Greater Houston Partnership and executive director of HETI. “We are thrilled to partner with our ecosystem partner, Rice Alliance, on this exciting event at CERAWeek and build on the momentum of the last few years.”

“In addition to the access to investors and awareness at CERAWeek, this is an invaluable opportunity to pitch in front of active investors, corporates and key players in the energy industry,” said Brad Burke, executive director of the Rice Alliance and vice president for industry and new ventures in Rice’s Office of Innovation. “The Energy Venture Day and Pitch Competition at CERAWeek is a platform designed to foster innovation, collaboration and investment in the ever-evolving energy landscape.”

Learn more about this year’s pitch day here.

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Houston company wins contract to operate South Texas wind farm

wind deal

Houston-based Consolidated Asset Management Services (CAMS), which provides services for owners of energy infrastructure, has added the owner of a South Texas wind power project to its customer list.

The new customer, InfraRed Capital Partners, owns the 202-megawatt Mesteño Wind Project in the Rio Grande Valley. InfraRed bought the wind farm from Charlotte, North Carolina-based power provider Duke Energy in 2024. CAMS will provide asset management, remote operations, maintenance, compliance and IT services for the Mesteño project.

Mesteño began generating power in 2019. The wind farm is connected to the electric grid operated by the Energy Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

With the addition of Mesteño, CAMS now manages wind energy projects with generation capacity of more than 2,500 megawatts.

Mesteño features one of the tallest wind turbine installations in the U.S., with towers reaching 590.5 feet. Located near Rio Grande City, the project produces enough clean energy to power about 60,000 average homes.

In June, CAMS was named to the Financial Times’ list of the 300 fastest-growing companies in North and South America. The company’s revenue grew more than 70 percent from 2020 to 2023.

Earlier this year, CAMS jumped into the super-hot data center sector with the rollout of services designed to help deliver reliable, cost-effective power to energy-hungry data centers. The initiative focuses on supplying renewable energy and natural gas.

Google's $40B investment in Texas data centers includes energy infrastructure

The future of data

Google is investing a huge chunk of money in Texas: According to a release, the company will invest $40 billion on cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, with the development of new data centers in Armstrong and Haskell counties.

The company announced its intentions at a meeting on November 14 attended by federal, state, and local leaders including Gov. Greg Abbott who called it "a Texas-sized investment."

Google will open two new data center campuses in Haskell County and a data center campus in Armstrong County.

Additionally, the first building at the company’s Red Oak campus in Ellis County is now operational. Google is continuing to invest in its existing Midlothian campus and Dallas cloud region, which are part of the company’s global network of 42 cloud regions that deliver high-performance, low-latency services that businesses and organizations use to build and scale their own AI-powered solutions.

Energy demands

Google is committed to responsibly growing its infrastructure by bringing new energy resources onto the grid, paying for costs associated with its operations, and supporting community energy efficiency initiatives.

One of the new Haskell data centers will be co-located with — or built directly alongside — a new solar and battery energy storage plant, creating the first industrial park to be developed through Google’s partnership with Intersect and TPG Rise Climate announced last year.

Google has contracted to add more than 6,200 megawatts (MW) of net new energy generation and capacity to the Texas electricity grid through power purchase agreements (PPAs) with energy developers such as AES Corporation, Enel North America, Intersect, Clearway, ENGIE, SB Energy, Ørsted, and X-Elio.

Water demands

Google’s three new facilities in Armstrong and Haskell counties will use air-cooling technology, limiting water use to site operations like kitchens. The company is also contributing $2.6 million to help Texas Water Trade create and enhance up to 1,000 acres of wetlands along the Trinity-San Jacinto Estuary. Google is also sponsoring a regenerative agriculture program with Indigo Ag in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and an irrigation efficiency project with N-Drip in the Texas High Plains.

In addition to the data centers, Google is committing $7 million in grants to support AI-related initiatives in healthcare, energy, and education across the state. This includes helping CareMessage enhance rural healthcare access; enabling the University of Texas at Austin and Texas Tech University to address energy challenges that will arise with AI, and expanding AI training for Texas educators and students through support to Houston City College.

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

Texas A&M's micro-nuclear reactor tops energy transition news to know

Trending News

Editor's note: The top energy transition news of November includes major energy initiatives from Texas universities and the creation of a new Carbon Measures coalition. Here are the most-read EnergyCapitalHTX stories from Nov. 1-15:

1. Micro-nuclear reactor to launch next year at Texas A&M innovation campus

Last Energy will build a 5-megawatt reactor at the Texas A&M-RELLIS campus. Photo courtesy Last Energy.

The Texas A&M University System and Last Energy plan to launch a micro-nuclear reactor pilot project next summer at the Texas A&M-RELLIS technology and innovation campus in Bryan. Washington, D.C.-based Last Energy will build a 5-megawatt reactor that’s a scaled-down version of its 20-megawatt reactor. The micro-reactor initially will aim to demonstrate safety and stability, and test the ability to generate electricity for the grid. Continue reading.

2. Baker Hughes to provide equipment for massive low-carbon ammonia plant

Baker Hughes will supply equipment for Blue Point Number One, a $4 billion low-carbon ammonia plant being developed in Louisiana. Photo courtesy Technip Energies.

Houston-based energy technology company Baker Hughes has been tapped to supply equipment for what will be the world’s largest low-carbon ammonia plant. French technology and engineering company Technip Energies will buy a steam turbine generator and compression equipment from Baker Hughes for Blue Point Number One, a $4 billion low-carbon ammonia plant being developed in Louisiana by a joint venture comprising CF Industries, JERA and Mitsui & Co. Technip was awarded a contract worth at least $1.1 billion to provide services for the Blue Point project. Continue reading.

3. Major Houston energy companies join new Carbon Measures coalition

The new Carbon Measures coalition will create a framework that eliminates double-counting of carbon pollution and attributes emissions to their sources. Photo via Getty Images.

Six companies with a large presence in the Houston area have joined a new coalition of companies pursuing a better way to track the carbon emissions of products they manufacture, purchase and finance. Houston-area members of the Carbon Measures coalition are Spring-based ExxonMobil; Air Liquide, whose U.S. headquarters is in Housto; Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, whose U.S. headquarters is in Houston; Honeywell, whose Performance Materials and Technologies business is based in Houston; BASF, whose global oilfield solutions business is based in Houston; and Linde, whose Linde Engineering Americas business is based in Houston. Continue reading.

4. Wind and solar supplied over a third of ERCOT power, report shows

A new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that wind and solar supplied more than 30 percent of ERCOT’s electricity in the first nine months of 2025. Photo via Unsplash.

Since 2023, wind and solar power have been the fastest-growing sources of electricity for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and increasingly are meeting stepped-up demand, according to a new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The report says utility-scale solar generated 50 percent more electricity for ERCOT in the first nine months this year compared with the same period in 2024. Meanwhile, electricity generated by wind power rose 4 percent in the first nine months of this year versus the same period in 2024. Continue reading.

5. Rice University partners with Australian co. to boost mineral processing, battery innovation

Locksley Resources will provide antimony-rich feedstocks from a project in the Mojave Desert as part of a new partnership with Rice University that aims to develop scalable methods for extracting and utilizing antimony. Photo via locksleyresources.com.au.

Rice University and Australian mineral exploration company Locksley Resources have joined together in a research partnership to accelerate the development of antimony processing in the U.S. Antimony is a critical mineral used for defense systems, electronics and battery storage. Rice and Locksley will work together to develop scalable methods for extracting and utilizing antimony. Continue reading.

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