Envana Software Solutions' tech allows an oil and gas company to see a full inventory of greenhouse gases. Photo via Getty Images

Houston-based Envana Software Solutions has received more than $5.2 million in federal and non-federal funding to support the development of technology for the oil and gas sector to monitor and reduce methane emissions.

Thanks to the work backed by the new funding, Envana says its suite of emissions management software will become the industry's first technology to allow an oil and gas company to obtain a full inventory of greenhouse gases.

The funding comes from a more than $4.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and more than $1 million in non-federal funding.

“Methane is many times more potent than carbon dioxide and is responsible for approximately one-third of the warming from greenhouse gases occurring today,” Brad Crabtree, assistant secretary at DOE, said in 2024.

With the funding, Envana will expand artificial intelligence (AI) and physics-based models to help detect and track methane emissions at oil and gas facilities.

“We’re excited to strengthen our position as a leader in emissions and carbon management by integrating critical scientific and operational capabilities. These advancements will empower operators to achieve their methane mitigation targets, fulfill their sustainability objectives, and uphold their ESG commitments with greater efficiency and impact,” says Nagaraj Srinivasan, co-lead director of Envana.

In conjunction with this newly funded project, Envana will team up with universities and industry associations in Texas to:

  • Advance work on the mitigation of methane emissions
  • Set up internship programs
  • Boost workforce development
  • Promote environmental causes

Envana, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup, provides emissions management technology to forecast, track, measure and report industrial data for greenhouse gas emissions.

Founded in 2023, Envana is a joint venture between Houston-based Halliburton, a provider of products and services for the energy industry, and New York City-based Siguler Guff, a private equity firm. Siguler Gulf maintains an office in Houston.

“Envana provides breakthrough SaaS emissions management solutions and is the latest example of how innovation adds to sustainability in the oil and gas industry,” Rami Yassine, a senior vice president at Halliburton, said when the joint venture was announced.

The U.S. Department of Energy funding is earmarked for the new HyVelocity Hub. Photo via Getty Images

Houston's hydrogen revolution gets up to $1.2B federal boost to power Gulf Coast’s clean energy future

HyVelocity funding

The emerging low-carbon hydrogen ecosystem in Houston and along the Texas Gulf Coast is getting as much as a $1.2 billion lift from the federal government.

The U.S. Department of Energy funding, announced November 20, is earmarked for the new HyVelocity Hub. The hub — backed by energy companies, schools, nonprofits, and other organizations — will serve the country’s biggest hydrogen-producing area. The region earns that status thanks to more than 1,000 miles of dedicated hydrogen pipelines and almost 50 hydrogen production plants.

“The HyVelocity Hub demonstrates the power of collaboration in catalyzing economic growth and creating value for communities as we build a regional hydrogen economy that delivers benefits to Gulf Coast communities,” says Paula Gant, president and CEO of Des Plaines, Illinois-based GTI Energy, which is administering the hub.

HyVelocity, which aims to become the largest hydrogen hub in the country, has already received about $22 million of the $1.2 billion in federal funding to kickstart the project.

Organizers of the hydrogen project include:

  • Arlington, Virginia-based AES Corp.
  • Air Liquide, whose U.S. headquarters is in Houston
  • Chevron, which is moving its headquarters to Houston
  • Spring-based ExxonMobil
  • Lake Mary, Florida-based Mitsubishi Power Americas
  • Denmark-based Ørsted
  • Center for Houston’s Future
  • Houston Advanced Research Center
  • University of Texas at Austin

The hub’s primary contractor is HyVelocity LLC. The company says the hub could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to seven million metric tons per year and create as many as 45,000 over the life of the project.

HyVelocity is looking at several locations in the Houston area and along the Gulf Coast for large-scale production of hydrogen. The process will rely on water from electrolysis along with natural gas from carbon capture and storage. To improve distribution and lower storage costs, the hub envisions creating a hydrogen pipeline system.

Clean hydrogen generated by the hub will help power fuel-cell electric trucks, factories, ammonia plants, refineries, petrochemical facilities, and marine fuel operations.

In all, DOE recently allocated $518 million to 23 CCUS projects in the U.S. Photo via Getty Images

DOE dishes out funding to 2 Houston carbon caption projects

ccus news

Two Houston companies have received federal funding to develop carbon capture and storage projects.

Evergreen Sequestration Hub LLC, a partnership of Houston-based Trace Carbon Solutions and Jacksonville, Mississippi-based Molpus Woodlands Group, got more than $27.8 million from the U.S. Department of Energy for its Evergreen Sequestration Hub project in Louisiana. DOE says the project is valued at $34.8 million.

The hub will be built on about 20,000 acres of timberland in Louisiana’s Calcasieu and Beauregard parishes for an unidentified customer. It’ll be capable of storing about 250 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.

Trace Carbon Solutions, a subsidiary of Trace Midstream Partners, is developing CCS assets and supporting midstream infrastructure across North America. Molpus, an investment advisory firm, buys, manages, and sells timberland as an investment vehicle for pension funds, college endowments, foundations, insurance companies, and high-net-worth investors.

Another Houston company, RPS Expansion LLC, has received $9 million from the DOE to expand the River Parish Sequestration Project. Following the expansion, the project will be able to store up to 384 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. The CCUS hub is between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

DOE says the River Parish expansion is valued at $11.8 million.

Also receiving DOE funding is a CCUS project to be developed off the coast of Corpus Christi. The developer is the Southern States Energy Board, based in Peachtree Corners, Georgia.

DOE is chipping in more than $51.1 million for the nearly $64 million hub. It’s estimated that about 35 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions are released each year from about 50 industrial and power facilities within a 100-mile radius of Mustang Island. Port Aransas is located on the 18-mile-long island.

In all, DOE recently allocated $518 million to 23 CCUS projects in the U.S.

“The funding … will help ensure that carbon storage projects — crucial to slashing harmful carbon pollution — are designed, built, and operated safely and responsibly across all phases of development to deliver healthier communities as well as high-quality American jobs,” Brad Crabtree, assistant DOE secretary for fossil energy and carbon management, says in a news release.

A report Wednesday by the Carbon Removal Alliance, a nonprofit representing the industry, outlined recommendations to improve monitoring, reporting, and verification. Photo via Getty Images

Carbon removal industry calls on U.S. government for regulation in new industry report

by the numbers

The unregulated carbon dioxide removal industry is calling on the U.S. government to implement standards and regulations to boost transparency and confidence in the sector that's been flooded with billions of dollars in federal funding and private investment.

A report Wednesday by the Carbon Removal Alliance, a nonprofit representing the industry, outlined recommendations to improve monitoring, reporting, and verification. Currently the only regulations in the U.S. are related to safety of these projects. Some of the biggest industry players, including Heirloom and Climeworks, are alliance members.

“I think it’s rare for an industry to call for regulation of itself and I think that is a signal of why this is so important,” said Giana Amador, executive director of the alliance. Amador said monitoring, reporting and verification are like “climate receipts” that confirm the amount of carbon removed as well as how long it can actually be stored underground.

Without federal regulation, she said “it really hurts competition and it forces these companies into sort of a marketing arms race instead of being able to focus their efforts on making sure that there really is a demonstrable climate impact.”

The nonprofit defines carbon removal as any solution that captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores it permanently. One of the most popular technologies is direct air capture, which filters air, extracts carbon dioxide and puts it underground.

The Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law have provided around $12 billion for carbon management projects in the U.S. Some of this funding supports the development of four Regional Direct Air Capture Hubs at commercial scale that will capture at least 1 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. Two hubs are slated to be built in Texas and Louisiana.

Some climate scientists say direct air capture is too expensive, far from being scaled and can be used as an excuse by the oil and gas industry to keep polluting.

Gernot Wagner, a climate economist at Columbia Business School at Columbia University, said this is the “moral hazard” of direct air capture — removing carbon from the atmosphere could be utilized by the oil and gas industry to continue polluting.

“It does not mean that the underlying technology is not a good thing,” said Wagner. Direct air capture “decreases emissions, but in the long run also extends the life of any one particular coal plant or gas plant.”

In 2023, Occidental Petroleum Corporation purchased the direct air capture company, Carbon Engineering Ltd, for $1.1 billion. In a news release, Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub said, “Together, Occidental and Carbon Engineering can accelerate plans to globally deploy (the) technology at a climate-relevant scale and make (it) the preferred solution for businesses seeking to remove their hard-to-abate emissions.”

Jonathan Foley, executive director of Project Drawdown, doesn't consider carbon dioxide removal technologies to be a true climate solution.

“I do welcome at least some interventions from the federal government to monitor and verify and evaluate the performance of these proposed carbon removal schemes, because it’s kind of the Wild West out there,” said Foley.

“But considering it can cost ten to 100 times more to try to remove a ton of carbon rather than prevent it, how is that even remotely conscionable to spend public dollars on this kind of stuff?” he said.

Katharine Hayhoe, chief scientist of The Nature Conservancy and a distinguished professor at Texas Tech University, said standards for the direct carbon capture industry “are very badly needed” because of the level of government subsidies and private investment. She said there's no single fix for the climate crisis, and many strategies are needed.

Hayhoe said these include improving the efficiency of energy systems, transitioning to clean energy, weaning the world off fossil fuels and maintaining healthy ecosystems to trap carbon dioxide. On the other hand, she said, carbon removal technologies are “very high hanging fruit.”

"It takes a lot of money and a lot of energy to get to the top of the tree. That’s the carbon capture solution,” said Hayhoe. “Of course we need every fruit on the tree. But doesn’t it make sense to pick up the fruit on the ground, to prioritize that?”

Other climate scientists are entirely opposed to this technology.

“It should be banned,” said Mark Z. Jacobson, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University.

Carbon removal technologies indirectly increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, Jacobson said. The reason, he said, is that even in cases where direct air capture facilities are powered by renewable energy, the clean energy is being used for carbon removal instead of replacing a fossil fuel source.

“When you just look at the capture equipment, you get a (carbon) reduction," Jacobson said. "But when you look at the bigger system, you’re increasing.”

Some of the key takeaways include strategies that include partnering for success, hands-on training programs, flexible education pathways, comprehensive support services, and early and ongoing outreach initiatives. Photo via Getty Images

New report maps Houston workforce development strategies as companies transition to cleaner energy

to-do list

The University of Houston’s Energy University latest study with UH’s Division of Energy and Innovation with stakeholders from the energy industry, academia have released findings from a collaborative white paper, titled "Workforce Development for the Future of Energy.”

UH Energy’s workforce analysis found that the greatest workforce gains occur with an “all-of-the-above” strategy to address the global shift towards low-carbon energy solutions. This would balance electrification and increased attention to renewables with liquid fuels, biomass, hydrogen, carbon capture, utilization and storage commonly known as CCUS, and carbon dioxide removal, according to a news release.

The authors of the paper believe this would support economic and employment growth, which would leverage workers from traditional energy sectors that may lose jobs during the transition.

The emerging hydrogen ecosystem is expected to create about 180,000 new jobs in the greater Houston area, which will offer an average annual income of approximately $75,000. Currently, 40 percent of Houston’s employment is tied to the energy sector.

“To sustain the Houston region’s growth, it’s important that we broaden workforce participation and opportunities,” Ramanan Krishnamoorti, vice president of energy and innovation at UH, says in a news release. “Ensuring workforce readiness for new energy jobs and making sure we include disadvantaged communities is crucial.”

Some of the key takeaways include strategies that include partnering for success, hands-on training programs, flexible education pathways, comprehensive support services, and early and ongoing outreach initiatives.

“The greater Houston area’s journey towards a low-carbon future is both a challenge and an opportunity,” Krishnamoorti continues. “The region’s ability to adapt and lead in this new era will depend on its commitment to collaboration, innovation, and inclusivity. By preparing its workforce, engaging its communities, and leveraging its industrial heritage, we can redefine our region and continue to thrive as a global energy leader.”

The study was backed by federal funding from the Department of the Treasury through the State of Texas under the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012.

The latest investigation of CenterPoint Energy comes after state regulators and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott have also demanded answers about storm preparations and the response to Beryl. Photo via Getty Images

Texas launches new investigation into Houston's power utility following deadly outages after Beryl

zooming in

Texas' attorney general launched an investigation Monday into Houston's electric utility over allegations of fraud and waste following Hurricane Beryl, adding to the mounting scrutiny after widespread power outages left millions without electricity for days.

The latest investigation of CenterPoint Energy comes after state regulators and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott have also demanded answers about storm preparations and the response to Beryl, a Category 1 hurricane that knocked out power to nearly 3 million people around the nation’s fourth-largest city.

The storm was blamed for at least three dozen deaths, including those of some residents who died in homes that were left without air conditioning in sweltering heat after the storm's passage.

“My office is aware of concerning allegations regarding CenterPoint and how its conduct affected readiness during Hurricane Beryl,” Ken Paxton, the state's Republican attorney general, said in a statement. “If the investigation uncovers unlawful activity, that activity will be met with the full force of the law.”

The utility pledged its support of the investigation.

“We look forward to cooperating with the Texas Attorney General or any other agency and have made clear our commitment to upholding the values of our company,” CenterPoint spokesperson John Sousa said.

Paxton did not cite any specific allegations of waste or fraud in his announcement and his office did not respond to requests for comment.

Abbott has demanded answers from CenterPoint for what he called its slow restoration efforts and poor communication with customers in the days leading up to the storm. The state's Public Utility Commission has launched its own investigation, and lawmakers grilled the company’s top executive over its failures at a hearing last month.

CenterPoint has largely defended its storm preparedness and said that it deployed thousands of additional workers to help restore power. The utility provider has also begun a monthslong plan to replace hundreds of wooden utility poles and double its tree-trimming efforts after the governor pressed for swift action.

Beryl damaged power lines and uprooted trees when it made its Texas landfall on July 8. It’s the latest natural disaster to hit Houston after a powerful storm ripped through the area in May, leaving nearly 1 million people without power.

Many residents fear that chronic outages have become the norm after Texas’ power grid failed amid a deadly winter storm in 2021.

CenterPoint has previously faced questions over the reliability of Houston's power grid.

In 2008, Hurricane Ike, a Category 2 storm, knocked out power to more than 2 people million and it took 19 days to fully restore electricity. The city of Houston created a task force initiative to investigate the company's response and determined it needed to automate parts of its grid to minimize outages.

CenterPoint received millions of dollars in federal funding to implement this technology years ago. However, according to executive vice president Jason Ryan, it's still a work in progress.

Some utility experts and critics say the company hasn’t adapted its technology fast enough to meet the extreme weather conditions Texas will continue to face.

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Tesla sales tumble 13% as Musk backlash, competition and aging lineup turn off buyers

Tesla Talk

Tesla sales fell 13% in the first three months of the year, another sign that Elon Musk’s once high-flying electric car company is struggling to attract buyers.

The double-digit drop is likely due to a combination of factors, including its aging lineup, competition from rivals and a backlash from Musk’s embrace of right wing politics. It also is a warning that the company’s first-quarter earnings report later this month could disappoint investors.

Tesla reported deliveries of 336,681 globally in the January to March quarter. The figure was down from sales of 387,000 in the same period a year ago. The decline came despite deep discounts, zero financing and other incentives.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected much higher deliveries of 408,000.

Dan Ives of Wedbush said in a note to clients that Tesla is seeing soft demand in the United States and China, as well as facing pressure in Europe.

“The brand crisis issues are clearly having a negative impact on Tesla...there is no debate,” he said.

Ives said that Wall Street financial analysts knew the first-quarter figures were likely to be bad, but that it was even worse than expected, calling them a “disaster on every metric.”

The sales drop came three weeks after President Donald Trump held an extraordinary press conference outside the White House in which he praised Tesla, blasted boycotts against the company and bought a Tesla himself while TV cameras rolled in an effort to help lift sales.

“I don’t like what’s happening to you,” said Trump, before slipping into a red Model S and exclaiming, “Wow. That’s beautiful.”

After falling as much as 6% in early Wednesday, Tesla stock shot up more than 5% in afternoon trading after a report from Politico, citing anonymous sources, that Musk may soon step down from leadership of his Department of Government Efficiency, the cost-cutting group that has led to tens of thousands of federal workers losing their jobs.

Tesla investors have complained the DOGE work has diverted Musk's focus from Tesla, where he is the CEO. On Tuesday, New York City's comptroller overseeing pension funds down $300 million this year on Tesla holdings called for a lawsuit accusing a distracted Musk of "driving Tesla off a financial cliff.”

Tesla’s stock has plunged by roughly half since hitting a mid-December record as expectations of a lighter regulatory touch and big profits with Donald Trump as president were replaced by fear that the boycott of Musk's cars and other problems could hit the company hard.

Analysts are still not sure exactly how much the fall in sales is due to the protests or other factors. Electric car sales have been sluggish in general, and Tesla in particular is suffering as car buyers hold off from buying its bestselling Model Y while waiting for an updated version.

Still, even bullish financial analysts who earlier downplayed the backlash to Musk’s polarizing political stances are acknowledging that it is hurting the company, something that Musk also recently acknowledged.

“This is a very expensive job,” Musk said at a Wisconsin rally on Sunday, referring to his DOGE role. “My Tesla stock and the stock of everyone who holds Tesla has gone roughly in half."

The protests come as the Austin, Texas electric vehicle maker faces fierce competition from other EV makers offering vastly improved models, including those of BYD. The Chinese EV giant unveiled in March a technology that allows it cars to charge up in just five to eight minutes.

Tesla is expected to report earnings of 48 cents per share for the first quarter later this month, up 7% from a year earlier, according to a survey of financial analysts who the car company by research firm FactSet.

Nearly all of Tesla’s sales in the quarter came from the smaller and less-expensive Models 3 and Y, with the company selling less than 13,000 more expensive models, which include X and S as well as the Cybertruck.

Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week announces 2025 dates, key events

comeback tour

Six local organizations focused on the energy transition have teamed up to bring back Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week.

The second annual event will take place Sept. 15-19, according to an announcement. The Ion District will host many of the week's events.

Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week was founded in 2024 by Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, Halliburton Labs, Greentown Labs, Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI), Digital Wildcatters and Activate.

“Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week was created to answer a fundamental question: Can we achieve more by working together than we can alone?” Jane Stricker, senior vice president at the Greater Houston Partnership and executive director of HETI, said in the release.

So far, events for the 2025 Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week include an introduction to climatetech accelerator Activate's latest cohort, the Rice Alliance Energy Tech Venture Forum, a showcase from Greentown Labs' ACCEL cohort, and Halliburton Labs Pitch Day.

Houston organizations New Climate Ventures and Digital Wildcatters, along with Global Corporate Venturing, are slated to offer programming again in 2025. And new partners, Avatar Innovations and Decarbonization Partners, are slated to introduce events. Find a full schedule here.

Other organizations can begin entering calendar submissions starting in May, according to the release.

Last year, Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week welcomed more than 2,000 attendees, investors and industry leaders to more than 30 events. It featured more than 100 speakers and showcased more than 125 startups.

"In 2024, we set out to build something with lasting impact—rooted in the ingenuity of Houston’s technologists and founders. Thanks to a collaborative effort across industry, academia, and startups, we’ve only just begun to showcase Houston’s strengths and invite others to be part of this movement," Stricker added in the release. "We can’t wait to see the city rise to the occasion again in 2025.”

Dow aims to power Texas manufacturing complex with next-gen nuclear reactors

Clean Energy

Dow, a major producer of chemicals and plastics, wants to use next-generation nuclear reactors for clean power and steam at a Texas manufacturing complex instead of natural gas.

Dow's subsidiary, Long Mott Energy, applied Monday to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a construction permit. It said the project with X-energy, an advanced nuclear reactor and fuel company, would nearly eliminate the emissions associated with power and steam generation at its plant in Seadrift, Texas, avoiding roughly 500,000 metric tons of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions annually.

If built and operated as planned, it would be the first U.S. commercial advanced nuclear power plant for an industrial site, according to the NRC.

For many, nuclear power is emerging as an answer to meet a soaring demand for electricity nationwide, driven by the expansion of data centers and artificial intelligence, manufacturing and electrification, and to stave off the worst effects of a warming planet. However, there are safety and security concerns, the Union of Concerned Scientists cautions. The question of how to store hazardous nuclear waste in the U.S. is unresolved, too.

Dow wants four of X-energy's advanced small modular reactors, the Xe-100. Combined, those could supply up to 320 megawatts of electricity or 800 megawatts of thermal power. X-energy CEO J. Clay Sell said the project would demonstrate how new nuclear technology can meet the massive growth in electricity demand.

The Seadrift manufacturing complex, at about 4,700 acres, has eight production plants owned by Dow and one owned by Braskem. There, Dow makes plastics for a variety of uses including food and beverage packaging and wire and cable insulation, as well as glycols for antifreeze, polyester fabrics and bottles, and oxide derivatives for health and beauty products.

Edward Stones, the business vice president of energy and climate at Dow, said submitting the permit application is an important next step in expanding access to safe, clean, reliable, cost-competitive nuclear energy in the United States. The project is supported by the Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program.

The NRC expects the review to take three years or less. If a permit is issued, construction could begin at the end of this decade, so the reactors would be ready early in the 2030s, as the natural gas-fired equipment is retired.

A total of four applicants have asked the NRC for construction permits for advanced nuclear reactors. The NRC issued a permit to Abilene Christian University for a research reactor and to Kairos Power for one reactor and two reactor test versions of that company's design. It's reviewing an application by Bill Gates and his energy company, TerraPower, to build an advanced reactor in Wyoming.

X-energy is also collaborating with Amazon to bring more than 5 gigawatts of new nuclear power projects online across the United States by 2039, beginning in Washington state. Amazon and other tech giants have committed to using renewable energy to meet the surging demand from data centers and artificial intelligence and address climate change.