Clean energy leaders taking the stage at Houston Energy and Climate Week

expert voices

Here's who's speaking at Houston Energy and Climate Week. Photos courtesy and via company websites

Some of the biggest names in the clean energy scene will be sharing their expertise in Houston this week.

From leaders fresh off one of the industry's biggest IPOs to local organizers, here's who's speaking at promising panels and anchor events during Houston Energy and Climate Week—taking place now through Sept. 18. Visit each event's website for a full lineup.

Read more about Houston Energy and Climate Week and its programming in Energy Capital's event preview. Or learn more about the startups pitching at events throughout the week here.

Energy Solutions in a New Era Hosted by JERA & Mitsubishi Heavy Industries — Sept. 15 at the Ion

Mary Dhillon, strategy manager at Fervo Energy
Ricky Sakai, SVP of investment & business development at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America
Daniel Padilla, strategy & business development lead at Emerald AI
Adrian Trömel, chief innovation officer / interim vice president for innovation at Rice University (moderator)
Shigeki Uchihashi, VP of strategy & corporate venturing at JERA Americas

Cypher Pilotathon and Startup Showcase — Sept. 15 at POST Houston

Nada Ahmed, co-founder and CRO of Energytech Cypher
Taylor Chapman, investment principal at New Climate Ventures
Jason Ethier, co-founder and CEO of Energytech Cypher
Sean Kelly, CEO of Amperon
Ionel Nechiti, investment director for Aramco Ventures
Hema Prapoo, global energy industry leader from Microsoft
Ishan Rao, VP of commercial at Syzygy Plasmonics

Greentown Climatetech Summit — Sept. 16 at Greentown Labs

Arne Ballantine, co-founder of Ohmium International
David Baldwin, partner at SCF Partners
Christopher Hanson, former chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Tim Latimer, CEO and co-founder of Fervo Energy
Georgina Campbell Flatter, CEO of Greentown Labs
Nicolaus Radford, CEO and co-founder of Persona AI
Prag Mishra, chief AI officer at Armada
Jeremy Pitts, managing director at Activate
Bobby Gallagher, CEO, CTO and co-founder of Deployable Energy
Jason Wells, chair, president and CEO of CenterPoint Energy
Eliecer Viamontes, CEO of Entergy Texas

Rice Alliance Energy Tech Venture Forum — Sept. 17 at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business

Laurent Alteirac, enabling technology development manager at SLB
Kemal Anbarci, managing executive and general manager of venture capital at Chevron Technology Ventures
Sameer Bandhu, managing director of ventures and licensing at GE Vernova
Brad Burke, former associate vice president at Rice Office of Innovation and former executive director of Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship at Rice University (moderator)
Andres Cabada, managing director at Halliburton Labs
Quennie Co, managing partner at Shell Ventures
Rob Crane, technology scouting & venturing manager at ExxonMobil
Ira Ehrenpreis, founder and managing partner at DBL Partners
Menachem Elimelech, director of Rice Center for Membrane Excellence (RiCeME) at Rice University
Brian Iversen, founder & managing partner at Cimbria Capital
Dustin Kinder, CEO of Maverick Water Group
Megan Lund, lead of venturing strategy & strategic partnerships at Woodside Energy
Sean Maher, vice president of investor relations & chief economist at Phillips 66
Robert Mellors, SUPERHOT program director at ARPA-E
John (JR) Reale, interim associate vice president for industry and new ventures at Rice University and executive director of Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship at Rice University
Chad Seely, SVP of regulatory policy, general counsel, chief compliance officer, and corporate secretary at ERCOT
David Sholl, executive vice president for research and professor of chemical & biomolecular engineering at Rice University
Jim Sledzik, managing director of strategic venturing, North America, at Aramco Ventures

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Four energy companies are putting their money where their mouths are following Hurricane Beryl. Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

4 Houston energy companies pledge financial support in wake of Hurricane Beryl

donation station

Four major energy companies in the Houston area have chipped in more than $400,000 to support relief efforts for Hurricane Beryl in Southeast Texas. Nationwide, it’s estimated that the storm caused at least $28 billion in damage and economic losses.

Here’s a breakdown of contributions announced by the four energy companies.

Baker Hughes Foundation

The Baker Hughes Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Houston-based energy technology company Baker Hughes, gave a $75,000 grant to the Houston chapter of the American Red Cross for Hurricane Beryl relief efforts.

“We understand recovery and rebuilding can take weeks or months, and we support the American Red Cross’ mission of providing people with clean water, safe shelter, and food when they need them most,” says Lorenzo Simonelli, chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes.

CenterPoint Energy

Houston-based CenterPoint Energy, which at one point had more than 2 million customers without power due to Hurricane Beryl, says its foundation has donated to several disaster relief organizations in the region. These include the American Red Cross of Coastal Bend, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Combined Arms, and the 4B Disaster Response Network in Brazoria and Galveston counties.

As of July 11, the company had also provided:

More than 30,000 bottles of water to cooling centers and distribution centers in the Houston area.
Meals to local first responders.
Mobile power generation at cooling centers, hospitals, senior living centers, and water treatment plants.

CenterPoint didn’t assign a dollar value to its contributions.

“Our first priority is getting the lights back on. At the same time, we have seen firsthand the devastation our neighbors are facing, and our commitment to the community goes beyond restoration efforts,” says Lynnae Wilson, senior vice president of CenterPoint’s electric business.

ConocoPhillips

Houston-based ConocoPhillips contributed $200,000 to relief efforts for Hurricane Beryl. The company also is matching donations from U.S. employees of ConocoPhillips.

The money is being split among the Houston Food Bank, Salvation Army and American Red Cross.

“Houston is our hometown, and many of our employees and neighbors have been impacted by Hurricane Beryl,” says Ryan Lance, chairman and CEO of ConocoPhillip.

Entergy Texas

Entergy Texas, based in The Woodlands, donated $125,000 to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Beryl relief efforts. The money will go toward emergency needs such as food, shelter, and medical care.

“Our commitment to helping communities in distress remains unwavering, and we are hopeful that our contribution will offer relief and comfort to those facing hardships in the storm’s aftermath,” says Eliecer Viamontes, president and CEO of Entergy Texas.

Entergy Texas supplies electricity to about 512,000 customers in 27 counties. It’s a subsidiary of New Orleans-based Entergy Corp.

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Harris County officials seek more local control over data centers

data demands

Three Harris County officials are pushing for greater local control over the development and operation of data centers.

County Attorney Abby Kamin, County Commissioner Lesley Briones and County Commissioner Adrian Garcia recently called for action to give Harris County more power to regulate data centers.

As it stands now, Harris County “has little to no authority” over the construction of data centers, Briones said at a news conference. Harris County has 55 operating, under-construction, or planned data centers, according to a document filed with the county.

Briones outlined four steps being included in the Harris County commissioners’ exploration of potentially tighter local regulation of data centers:

Reviewing what Harris County can and cannot do regarding data centers
Creating a Harris County plan for the upcoming state legislative session aimed at granting more local control over data center construction and operations. State lawmakers would need to approve any changes in local control.
Establishing community “listening” sessions in Harris County about data centers
Notifying Harris County commissioners when a proposed data center seeks permits

Kamin noted Houston and Harris County lack zoning regulations, and the county’s 34 cities set their own zoning rules. Furthermore, she said, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has not issued a ruling on whether counties can impose a moratorium on development of data centers.

However, she said, “limited jurisdiction does not mean limited responsibility … New technology is arriving in our communities faster than our laws and institutions can keep up with, whether that’s data centers, AI or even drones.”

The effort by Kamin, Briones, and Garcia follows Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent statewide halt of new environmental and construction permits for data centers. State permitting is frozen until the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the Public Utility Commission of Texas complete their review of data centers.

Their initiative also comes amid growing public concern over the amount of electricity and water gobbled up by data centers, as well as residents’ own rising electric and water bills.

Houston-based CenterPoint Energy expects to connect 8 gigawatts of new data-center loads in the Houston area by 2029, with about 4 gigawatts to follow, Kamin said. That, she said, would significantly increase peak power demand.

“No industry should get to monopolize or run roughshod over residents, public safety, and our critical natural resources,” Kamin said.

That being said, Kamin and Briones stressed they take pride in Houston being the Energy Capital of the World and Texas being an economic powerhouse.

“This isn’t about being against technology or new technology, but growth has to go hand in hand with accountability,” Kamin said.

Garcia said he’s open to welcoming data centers as good corporate neighbors, but not without protecting the people who live near these projects.

“I’ll keep an open mind,” he said, “but I want to know what will ultimately be the benefit to the community. And right now, I need tools [to do that].”

Houston bio-based materials co. steps into new sustainable consumer products

a cleaner shoe

A more sustainable shoe can’t be built on a single material swap. From the hard plastics hidden inside a heel to the material covering a sneaker’s upper, footwear is a collection of components—and each presents a different challenge for companies trying to move away from conventional, petroleum-based materials.

Houston-based Rheom Materials wants to change that equation. The biomaterials company has launched a sustainable footwear platform featuring two of its bio-based alternatives: Benree, a biodegradable plastic designed for hard internal components, and ShoraiDura, a durable leather alternative for footwear uppers.

“A shoe is not one material; it is multiple parts working together as a system. Substituting a single material has never moved the needle,” Rheom founder and CEO Zimri Hinshaw said in a news release. “Rheom wants to make it easier for brands to make a positive impact. By providing an assortment of bio-based materials, brands can change the system, not just a swatch of it.”

Benree is Rheom’s alternative to conventional hard plastics used in footwear construction. The company says it is a 100 percent USDA-certified bio-based, biodegradable material with performance comparable to acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), a widely used engineering plastic.

The material has passed SATRA testing for high-heel applications with Bared Footwear, an Australian footwear brand.

“At Bared, we're constantly on a journey to remove plastic from our shoes. At the same time, our brand won't compromise on quality for the end customer,” Millie Richards, Bared’s head of sustainability, added in the release. “From samples and testing, Rheom has proven to be solving both of those problems for us. We look forward to seeing how they develop as a company and would love to use them in our shoes.”

Rheom says it is also exploring Benree for additional internal components, including toe puffs and heel counters.

Rheom's Benree material was used for a high-heel prototype. Photo courtesy Rheom Materials

The company’s ShoraiDura material addresses another major part of shoe construction: the upper, which must withstand repeated flexing, friction and wear while maintaining its appearance.

Containing about 80 percent bio-based content, ShoraiDura is engineered as a durable leather alternative for footwear. Rheom says the material’s molecular structure is designed to deliver the strength and durability required for demanding applications.

To demonstrate how the material could be used in finished products, Rheom worked with a Los Angeles-based footwear manufacturer to create two prototypes: an athletic sneaker and a textured skater shoe, both featuring ShoraiDura uppers.

The two offerings reflect the company’s broader strategy. Rather than asking brands to evaluate a single material in isolation, Rheom is positioning its platform as a way to explore alternatives across different parts of footwear construction.

The next step is broader industry adoption. Benree’s testing with Bared Footwear and ShoraiDura’s footwear prototypes offer early examples of how the materials could be applied, while commercial use will depend on manufacturers’ evaluations and product-development decisions.

Rheom Materials is a Houston-based biomaterials company developing bio-based alternatives to petrochemical plastics. Its product portfolio includes Shorai, a leather alternative, and Benree, a hard plastic alternative.

The company debuted Shorai at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 2025 and showed a bio-based "leather" collection in Milan earlier this year. Read more here.

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This article originally appeared on our sister site, InnovationMap.

Houston solar manufacturer expands facility, production capacity

houston expansion

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.

PV Hardware plans to increase the capacity at its Houston facility by 42 percent, according to a news release. With the additional capacity, PV Hardware expects a 35 percent increase in production of pre-assembled parts. The company has not announced whether any additional employees will be hired or the costs of expansion.

In September, the company completed its new dedicated pre-assembly facility, which will help migrate difficult assembly into an easier manufacturing setting. The new pre-assembly area will also assist with streamlined field installation, enhanced schedule predictability and reduction of manual labor.

Citybiz reports that the expansion totals approximately 34,200 square feet.

PV Hardware USA aims to make solar installation more efficient. For large-scale solar projects, PV Hardware USA’s pre-assembly process helps to relieve assembly work done by installation teams. According to PV Hardware USA, it reduces the number of on-site components by 70 percent.

“Traditionally, manufacturers pushed the assembly burden onto the jobsite,” Rodolfo Bitar, vice president of business development for PVH USA, told Renewable Energy Magazine. “We ask a different question: what work can be done more efficiently before the equipment ever leaves the factory? By managing the assembly of 188 loose parts per row in our controlled manufacturing environment, we remove field complexity and make installation highly predictable.”

PV Hardware USA produces single-axis solar trackers made in Texas and has supplied over 52 gigawatts of solar trackers worldwide.

“The expanded presence in Texas underscores a long-term commitment: bringing world-class solar expertise to local American manufacturing, supporting communities, and serving as a reliable partner through the clean energy transition,” the company said in the release.

In July of 2025, the company opened its 95,000-square-foot facility, which was the second Houston location following its initial $30 million U.S. manufacturing facility, which, at 50,000 square feet, is one of America's largest solar tracker manufacturing facilities.

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