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This Houston organization is on a mission to shrink the city's carbon footprint — one EV at a time

driving energy transition

Evolve Houston, founded in 2018 through Houston’s Climate Action Plan and relaunched last year, has launched a new tool for EV incentivization. Photo via Evolve

Equity and environmental impact characteristics often used to describe a company’s outlook on increased sustainability and fighting climate change.

Evolve Houston, which was founded in 2018 through Houston’s Climate Action Plan and relaunched last year, is one of the organizations leading the way, and now with their Grant Tracker program, they are giving back to those who are giving back to the planet.

“Raising awareness is a critical part of accelerating a new technology, this includes awareness of incentives that individuals and fleets in the Greater Houston region may be eligible for,” Casey Brown, executive director and president, tells EnergyCapital. “Beyond understanding incentives, most Houstonians have not experienced an EV for themselves. With the support of our Founding Members (Shell, NRG Energy, CenterPoint Energy, University of Houston, and the City of Houston), we offer educational and experiential ways for Houstonians to interact with EVs and learn more about the benefits.”

The Grant Tracker aims to make it easier to find funding opportunities, and assist with current grants available to organizations and individuals that are committed to a goal of zero emissions. The tracker serves as a tool to assist with purchasing an EV and charging equipment. Ultimately, Evolve wants to assist and fund those looking to make the transition to electric.

Anup Parikh and his company Pangea Charging, through EVOLVE, was granted a project to help bring charging capacity for EVs to help build the infrastructure in areas and apartment complexes that traditionally would not have them.

“People see electric vehicles as high-end and a luxury lifestyle, when in fact it can happen for everybody,” Parikh said in a promotional video.

In addition to the Grant Tracker program, Evolve’s Mobility Microgrant Initiative will partner with local nonprofits,community reviewers, and corporate catalysts to award funding to eMobility projects aimed at serving mobility needs in Houston's underserved neighborhoods. In July, Evolve teamed up with RYDE and District D Council Member Carolyn Evans-Shabazz to bring the free on-demand electric local shuttle service to residents in the Third Ward area, which was one of the many microgrants associated with the project. RYDE’s service in the area has been extended recently into the fall and “until further notice” according to a newsletter from EVOLVE.

“Private investments in this sector follow EV adoption,“ Brown says. “Investing in areas early creates more opportunity for EV technology interaction and benefits.

"We are excited about the success of our Equity Program and the exciting projects it has funded across Houston," he continues. "Today, we accomplish this through our eMobility Microgrant Initiative, a community-led investment program focused on historically disadvantaged communities, and aimed to tackle community needs with electric vehicle technologies. We have had a very successful Round 1 of investments this year and we are excited to announce round two grant winners in January of 2024.”

As Evolve continues to evolve its sphere of influence, the company still aims for its goal to have half of the vehicles in the city be electric by 2030. The company says that EVs should be for all Houstonians, not just for some.

“Houston maintains some of the lowest population density and longest commute distances of major U.S. cities, and we have an immense amount of business and goods that flow through Houston,” Brown said. “We see a landscape that can uniquely achieve larger financial and environmental benefits of EV technologies. One way that we share these benefits is being the Presenting Sponsor of the Houston Auto Show. We also summarize the local EV sector through our R.I.S.E. report and maintain an actionable, forward view in our EV Roadmap; both sources can be found on our website and are undergoing a refresh as we close 2023.”

All aboard the bus to greener transportation. Photo via Unsplash

HISD receives millions in funding from EPA for clean school buses

seeing green

Houston Independent School District is hopping on the city's net-zero carbon emissions bus, so to speak, thanks to more than $6.2 million in funding that came from the Environmental Protection Agency last year.

The funds are part of the EPA's Clean School Bus Program Fiscal Year 2022 rebate competition, which will award nearly $51 million in funds from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to Texas school districts, and $965 million in total to districts around the country.

Houston's $6.2 million will go toward 25 new school buses, according to a statement from the EPA. Fifteen of the vehicles will be brand-new electric buses.

"Taking steps to make our school buses greener while remaining safe and effective is not only imperative for the wellbeing of students and bus drivers, but also for the public at large,” Houston Congressman Al Green said in a statement. “I applaud this announcement by the EPA under President Biden’s leadership. I look forward to seeing the positive impact that this outstanding award to purchase electric and propane school buses will have on reducing our carbon footprint.”

HISD's next step was to submit Payment Request Forms with purchase orders that shows the district has ordered the new buses and eligible infrastructure.

The district is among 13 Texas school districts to receive funding. Dallas ISD, the second largest school district in the state behind HISD, was awarded roughly $7.6 million. Killeen ISD and Socorro ISD received the largest sums among the districts, totalling nearly $9.9 million in funding each.

At the time of the statement from October, the EPA had selected 389 applications across the country totaling $913 million to support the purchase of 2,463 buses, mainly in areas serving low-income, rural, and/or Tribal students. More applications are under review, and the EPA plans to announce additional districts that will receive funding, bringing the total investment to the full $965 million, in the coming weeks, according to a statement.

The EPA intends to make available another $1 billion for clean school buses in Fiscal Year 2023.

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This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

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Tesla, Houston City College to receive millions for workforce training

texas talent

Gov. Greg Abbott announced $1.73 million in workforce training grants for the Houston and Rio Grande Valley regions late last month, with the bulk of the funding heading toward Houston.

The funding comes through the Skills Development Fund (SDF) grant program from the Texas Workforce Commission. The grants will help train 689 current and new workers in technology, manufacturing, technology, logistics and other fields in high demand.

Three grants totaling $1.56 million will go to Houston City College to develop training programs for 602 Houston-area workers.

The largest grant, totaling $782,998, will go toward training 261 employees for Tesla Inc. as welders, maintenance technicians, process technicians and other jobs. In addition to Tesla’s $200 million megafactory in Brookshire, Texas, the electric vehicle company is also considering building a $10.1 billion solar cell manufacturing facility in Fort Bend County called Project Sun City. The company recently expanded its self-driving Robotaxi service throughout 610 Loop and northwest Houston.

A second grant of $690,044 will go toward training 300 workers at Texas Tissue LLC and Karsten Management LLC as frontline supervisors, production line operators, design specialists and maintenance technicians. An allocation of $83,963 will go toward training 41 workers at Watchfire Signs LLC as production supervisors, operations specialists, industrial maintenance technicians, and more.

According to HCC, its Corporate Training and Development will coordinate the program in partnership with the college’s Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence Southwest and the Material Science Center of Excellence Welding Department.

“These grants demonstrate how state agencies, employers and Houston City College can work together to meet evolving workforce needs, strengthen Texas businesses and create meaningful opportunities for workers,” HCC Chancellor Margaret Ford Fisher said in a news release.

TWC granted an additional $169,087 to Workforce Solutions Lower Rio Grande Valley to train 87 workers at Denso Ten America Limited, Alps Logistics (USA) Inc., Index Fresh Inc. and Emerson Electric Co.

“When we align local training directly with the needs of expanding industries, we strengthen the regional economy,” TWC Chairman Joe Esparza said in the news release. “These Skills Development Fund grants empower Houston City College and Workforce Solutions Lower Rio Grande Valley to provide the specialized, high-demand training that employers need to succeed right here in Texas.”

Texas A&M wins $5.4M DOE grant for advanced nuclear fuel research

fresh funding

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) a $5.4 million grant to research ways to turn nuclear waste into fuel.

The goal of the project, “Turning Nuclear Waste into Fuel with a Thorium Molten Salt Reactor,” is to develop innovative reactor fuel technology that could help transform long-lived nuclear waste into a valuable energy resource while advancing the future of nuclear power, according to Texas A&M.

Lin Shao, a Texas A&M professor of nuclear engineering, will lead the project and unite researchers from TEES, Savannah River National Laboratory and Abilene, Texas-based nuclear power company Natura Resources. The team will use experimental testing, fuel preparation, reactor design and computational modeling in their work.

“Texas A&M Engineering is honored to receive this support from the Department of Energy to advance groundbreaking nuclear energy technologies,” Robert H. Bishop, vice chancellor and dean of Texas A&M Engineering and director of TEES, said in a news release. “This research aligns directly with our mission to solve the nation’s most pressing engineering challenges through innovation and collaboration. We have an opportunity to develop solutions that reduce nuclear waste, improve energy reliability and help maintain American leadership in advanced nuclear technologies.”

Texas A&M’s award is part of the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) $50 million advancement for next-generation nuclear fuels through the High-performance Optimized Recycled Nuclear Isotopes for Gen IV reactors (HORNIG) program. Texas A&M was one of eight projects selected as part of the ARPA-E efforts.

“America’s energy future depends on bold innovation and strong partnerships between the federal government, national laboratories, universities and industry,” U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy James P. Danly said when he awarded the grant on campus Oct. 29. “This project demonstrates how we can address long-term nuclear waste challenges while advancing technologies that strengthen our nation’s energy security. The Department of Energy is proud to support research that has the potential to unlock new value from existing nuclear materials and accelerate the deployment of advanced reactor systems.”

Zero-emission electric air taxi network to land in Texas in 2027

Electric Travel

San Jose, California-based aerospace company Archer Aviation is bringing its air-taxi system to the “Texas triangle” of Houston, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth.

Currently, the planned zero-emission electric air taxi networks will use Archer’s Midnight air taxi to “turn 60- to 90-minute drives to major airports, business districts and major destinations into 10- to 20-minute flights,” the company said in a news release. Archer plans to begin flights in the Texas triangle next year.

The Midnight air taxi is an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. It can carry four passengers and a pilot and is designed for consecutive flights of about 20 miles.

Archer cites the Texas triangle as one of the busiest and fastest-growing “megaregions” in the country due to its proximity to coastal regions, major airports, and a number of business districts.

Archer Chief Commercial Officer Nikhil Goel described the air taxi experience to CW Houston as “100 times quieter than a helicopter for the price of an Uber Black.” He added that the air taxis are a combination of a helicopter, a small airplane and a drone.

In Houston, Archer’s air taxi network will aim to connect George Bush Intercontinental, William P. Hobby and Sugar Land Regional Airport with downtown destinations, including the Thompson Hotel helipad, and Galveston.

In Austin, it plans to link the city's Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and Austin Executive Airport with the F1 Circuit Helipad at the Circuit of the Americas. Archer debuted its Midnight aircraft at the F1 Prix in the Fan Zone and the F1 Paddock at Austin’s COTA.

The Dallas-Fort Worth network is slated to include Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas Love Field, Addison Airport, Arlington Municipal Airport, Fort Worth Meacham International Airport and Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, plus major business hubs like Frisco Station.

“Texas is setting the bar for America’s leadership in the next generation of aviation,” Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer Aviation, said in the release. “Our planned networks will make the benefits of electric air taxis real for Texans — trading hours in traffic for minutes in the air, while connecting the biggest airports, business districts and sporting hubs in ways that America’s largest megaregion needs to grow.”

Archer is working with state and local partners to develop charging infrastructure and plans to pursue Texas operations through the White House’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, according to the release. It recently completed its "No Roads" flight tour, which included multiple flights over the San Francisco Bay, and flew to seven cities over three days.

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This article first appeared on InnovationMap.com.

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