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bp bets big on EV infrastructure, opens new Houston charging center

plugging in

The new bp pulse station is the first bp pulse branded Gigahub in the US and will be open to the public. Photo via bp.com

Energy giant bp is opening a large electric-vehicle charging site at its American headquarters in Houston.

The new bp pulse station is the first bp pulse branded Gigahub in the US and will be open to the public. The Gigahub, will offer 24 high-speed EV charge points with Tritium 150kW DC fast chargers. The chargers will be integrated with the bp pulse app, which assists users to locate the site, access real-time charging availability, and WiFi capabilities.

"As we expand our global footprint, I am thrilled to unveil our first EV charging Gigahub in the US,” Emma Delaney, bp executive vice president for customers and products, says in a news release. “With leading fast charging positions already in key markets in the UK, China, and Germany, we're learning about customer charging preferences on the go.”

The plan for bp pulse includes continued deployment of additional charging points at high-demand spots like major metropolitan areas, bp-owned properties, and airports. The company has also been awarded grant funds through programs including National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure and California Energy Commission, which will help to provide charging infrastructure at sites in Virginia,California, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Last year, bp announced plans to invest $1 billion in EV charging infrastructure by 2030, with $500 million invested in by the end of 2025.

"We're excited to bring bp pulse to America's energy corridor and expand our presence in the US public EV-charging market," CEO of bp pulse Americas Sujay Sharma said in a news release "This project will bring fast, reliable charging to EV drivers when and where they need it, helping support faster electric-vehicle adoption in the US. We look forward to welcoming new and existing EV drivers to our growing network."

The PhD and doctoral students will each receive a one-year $12,000 fellowship, along with mentoring from experts at UH and Chevron. Photo via UH.edu

University of Houston names first group of Chevron-backed fellows

meet the chosen ones

The University of Houston has named eight graduate students to its first-ever cohort of UH-Chevron Energy Graduate Fellows.

The PhD and doctoral students will each receive a one-year $12,000 fellowship, along with mentoring from experts at UH and Chevron. Their work focuses on energy-related research in fields ranging from public policy to geophysics and math. The fellowship is funded by Chevron.

“The UH-Chevron Energy Fellowship program is an exciting opportunity for our graduate students to research the many critical areas that impact the energy industry, our communities and our global competitiveness,” Ramanan Krishnamoortil UH's Vice President for Energy and Innovation says in a statement.

“Today’s students not only recognize the importance of energy, but they are actively driving the push for affordable, reliable, sustainable and secure energy and making choices that clearly indicate that they are meaningfully contributing to the change,” he continues.

“We love that Chevron is sponsoring this group of fellows because it’s a fantastic way for us to get involved with the students who are working on some of the biggest problems we’ll face in society,” Chevron Technology Ventures President Jim Gable adds.

The 2023 UH-Chevron Energy Graduate Fellows are:

Kripa Adhikari, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the Cullen College of Engineering. Her work focuses on thermal regulation in enhanced geothermal systems. She currently works under the mentorship of Professor Kalyana Babu Nakshatrala and previously worked as a civil engineer with the Nepal Reconstruction Authority.

Aparajita Datta, a researcher at UH Energy and a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science. Her work focuses on the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a redistributive welfare policy designed to help households pay their energy bills. She holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering from the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies in India, and master’s degrees in energy management and public policy from UH. She also recently worked on a paper for UH about transportation emissions.

Chirag Goel, a Ph.D. student in materials science and engineering at UH. His work focuses on using High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) to optimize manufacturing processes, which he says can help achieve carbon-free economies by 2050. The work has uses in renewable energy generation, electric power transmission and advanced scientific applications.

Meghana Idamakanti, a third-year Ph.D. student in the William A. Brookshire Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Her work focuses on using electrically heated steam methane for cleaner hydrogen production. She received her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in India in 2020 and previously worked as a process engineering intern at Glochem Industries in India.

Erin Picton, an environmental engineering Ph.D. student in the Shaffer Lab at UH. Her work focuses on ways to increase the sustainability of lithium processing and reducing wasted water and energy. “I love the idea of taking waste and turning it into value,” she said in a statement. She has previously worked in collaboration with MIT and Greentown Labs, as chief sustainability officer of a Houston-based desalination startup; and as a visiting graduate researcher at Argonne National Lab and at INSA in Lyon, France.

Mohamad Sarhan, a Ph.D. student and a teaching assistant in the Department of Petroleum Engineering. His work focuses on seasonal hydrogen storage and the stability of storage candidates during hydrogen cycling. He holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in petroleum engineering from Cairo University

Swapnil Sharma, a Ph.D. student in the William A. Brookshire Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. His work has been funded by the Department of Energy and focuses on thermal modeling of large-scale liquid hydrogen storage tanks. He works with Professor Vemuri Balakotaiah. He holds bachelor's and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). He also developed one of the world’s highest fiber-count optical fiber cables while working in India and founded CovRelief, which helped millions of Indians find resources about hospital beds, oxygen suppliers and more during the pandemic.

Larkin Spires, who's working on her doctoral research in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Her work focuses on a semi-empirical Brown and Korringa model for fluid substitution and the ties between geophysics and mathematics. She works under Professor John Castagna and holds a bachelor’s degree in math from Louisiana State University and a master’s degree in geophysics from UH.

Earlier this month Evolve Houston also announced its first-ever cohort of 13 microgrant recipients, whose work aims to make EVs and charging infrastructure more accessible in some of the city's more underserved neighborhoods.

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13 Houston energy sector companies make U.S. News' best places to work

where to work

A new U.S. News & World Report ranking of the best employers has named two dozen Houston-based companies among the best companies to work in the South, and more than half are part of the region's booming energy sector.

U.S. News' prestigious "2026-2027 Best Companies to Work For" ratings examine 3,900 public and privately owned companies across 14 industries to help employees and job seekers make decisions about workplaces that may be a good fit.

Each company is rated on a scale of 1-5 across six metrics: quality of pay and benefits; work-life balance and flexibility; job and company stability; physical and psychological comfort; belongingness and esteem; and career opportunities and professional development.

"Job seekers' definitions of 'best' evolve with their needs," said Carly Chase, vice president of Careers at U.S. News. "From new grads in the AI era and seasoned pros seeking a career change, to HR leaders researching organizational trends, the ratings are a central hub that highlights businesses that U.S. News found effectively support their staff."

The number of employers headquartered in the Houston area that made the cut for 2026-2027 has skyrocketed over previous years. A total of 24 local public and private companies made the list this year, up from 16 companies in 2024 and 11 in 2025.

The highest concentration of top employers is located in Houston proper (20), followed by two companies in The Woodlands and one each in Kingwood and Spring.

Several leading Houston energy powerhouses on the list include petroleum corporation Occidental (Oxy) and oil and gas giants Chevron and Phillips 66.

Other energy sector companies on the list are:

  • EOG Resources, Houston
  • Targa Resources, Houston
  • TechnipFMC, Houston
  • Cheniere, Houston
  • Baker Hughes, Houston
  • KBR, Houston
  • CenterPoint Energy, Houston
  • Powell Industries
  • S&B, Houston
  • DXP, Houston
Here are the remaining best Houston-based companies to work for:
  • David Weekley Homes
  • Comfort Systems USA, Houston
  • Corebridge, Houston
  • Cornerstone Home Lending, Houston
  • Farouk, Houston
  • Hines, Houston
  • Insperity, Kingwood
  • HPE, Spring
  • Sterling Infrastructure, The Woodlands
  • LGI Homes, The Woodlands
  • PROS, Houston
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A version of this article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

Texas City ammonia plant acquired by Yara in $1.3 billion deal

Ammonia Acquisition

Yara North America, a subsidiary of Norwegian fertilizer and ammonia producer Yara International, has agreed to buy an ammonia production plant in Texas City for $1.3 billion.

The seller is GCA Holdings, an affiliate of Texas City-based chemical manufacturer Gulf Coast Ammonia, which is owned by private equity firms Lotus Infrastructure Partners and MB Energy.

The Texas City plant, with an eventual annual capacity of 1.3 million metric tons, is expected to start full production by the end of this year. Yara says the ammonia produced by the plant will serve its own fertilizer production system and its key customers.

During a recent call with analysts and investors, Magnus Ankarstrand, executive vice president and CFO of Yara International, said the plant holds the potential to become one of the company’s most profitable plants. The $1.3 billion purchase price, he added, “is a very attractive entry ticket to ammonia production in the U.S. at a very attractive cost.”

The Texas City plant will add to Yara’s holdings in the Lone Star State, as Yara is the majority owner of an ammonia, hydrogen and nitrogen production plant in Freeport.

Construction of the ammonia plant began in 2020, but technical and infrastructure issues delayed the project. On its website, Gulf Coast Ammonia says the plant represented a $600 million investment.

“Gulf Coast Ammonia is a world-class asset that required disciplined execution across development, financing, construction, and commercial structuring,” Philipp Pletka, managing director of Lotus Infrastructure Partners, says in a news release.

Trexlertown, Pennsylvania-based Air Products, which owns and operates the country’s largest hydrogen pipeline network, will continue to supply hydrogen and nitrogen for the plant under a long-term deal with Yara, according to the release.

However, the news comes two days after Yara International announced that it would no longer be purchasing ammonia assets in the Louisiana Clean Energy Complex (LCEC) from Air Products. In a separate release, Yara said it planned to reallocate funds toward "alternative mature U.S. ammonia investment opportunities with more competitive returns."

Houston hypersonic engine company lands $91M to accelerate production

Clean Speed

Houston-based Venus Aerospace has closed a $91 million Series B round and plans to scale the production of its hypersonic engine.

The round was led by Houston-based Mercury Fund with participation from Lockheed Martin Ventures, MESH, PEAK6, Draper Associates, Starboard Star Venture Capital, Green Sands Equity and other investors, according to a news release.

The investment comes about a year after Venus completed the first U.S. flight test of its high-thrust rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE). The engine is expected to enable vehicles to travel four to six times the speed of sound from a conventional runway and is about 15 percent more efficient than traditional alternatives, according to the company.

Venus Aerospace says the latest round of funding will allow it to move the RDRE from demonstration to deployment and meet customer requirements for the near-term defense and space industries. The company says that the reusable RDRE is designed with a "common propulsion architecture" that can work for multiple industries and mission types.

“This financing marks an important step in moving Venus from breakthrough demonstration to scaled capability,” Sassie Duggleby, co-founder and CEO, said in the news release. “Our customers need propulsion systems that go farther, can be produced reliably and are built on supply chains they can trust. We are advancing that capability with American engineering and manufacturing talent to strengthen U.S. defense, expand space access and support the future of high-speed flight.”

Venus Aerospace raised a $20 million Series A in 2022, led by Wyoming-based Prime Movers Lab. At the time, the company said it would put the funding toward three main technologies: a next-generation rocket engine, aircraft shape and leading-edge cooling system.

The company also picked up an investment from Lockheed Martin Ventures, the investment arm of aerospace and defense contractor Lockheed Martin, in November 2025—in addition to funding from other investors over the years.

“Since our initial investment, Venus has progressed very quickly in its technology development," Chris Moran, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures, added in the release. "Our reinvestment in Venus recognizes Venus’ accomplishments to date and focus on speed to manufacture, cost management and reduction of supply chain constraints. Venus is working effectively to position its propulsion system for the production scale required by defense programs.”

"Venus is exactly the kind of company Houston capital should be backing," Blair Garrou, co-founder and managing partner at Mercury Fund, added in the release. "It combines multiple frontier technologies, domestic manufacturing and clear commercial and national security relevance. We believe this team is positioned to lead an important new chapter in defense and space, and we are proud to support a company building breakthrough technology here in Texas."

Venus Aerospace and Houston clean tech startup Vaulted Deep were also named to the World Economic Forum's Technology Pioneers community earlier this summer.

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This article first appeared on InnovationMap.com.

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