Fidelis New Energy's newly announced Norne Carbon Storage Hub in Denmark has announced a new customer. Photo courtesy of Fidelis

A Houston company has signed onto an offshore carbon storage deal in Denmark.

Fidelis New Energy Europe, the European arm of Houston-headquartered Fidelis New Energy, and Norway-based Carbon Centric have signed a letter of intent for Fidelis recently announced Norne Carbon Storage Hub in Denmark. With the agreement, Norne will "safely and permanently store CO2 emissions of Carbon Centric's clients," according to a news release.

"Norne enables the safe and environmentally friendly decarbonization of key segments of the Danish and European economies while ensuring industries remain globally competitive due to the low overall costs of CO2 mitigation," Bengt Jarlsjo, co-founder, president, and COO of Fidelis, says in a news release. "This announcement with Carbon Centric is an important milestone for the decarbonization of Denmark and Northern Europe. We look forward to our continued collaboration with Carbon Centric."

Carbon Centric plans to store around 800,000 tons of CO2 annually with Norne by 2027, according to the release, and the company's CO2 will be moved to Fidelis' CO2 reception facility at the Port of Aalborg. Carbon Centric has carbon management already underway in Norway and Iceland, with others planned in Denmark and Sweden.

"At Carbon Centric we have been looking for a company like Fidelis that will be able to ensure cost-effective large scale carbon storage for our clients. Norne is visionary with its ability to scale up quickly and will allow us to build out our businesses together," Kenneth Juul, Carbon Centric chief commercial officer and co-founder, says in the release. "With Denmark's foresight of moving quickly toward onshore carbon storage and with Fidelis' plans and prior three years of work on the Norne vision to provide carbon storage solutions on both Jutland and Zealand, we see a great opportunity to expand our activities in Denmark."

Carbon Centric is just the latest customer for the Norne Carbon Storage Hub, which was announced in May by Fidelis. The facility is billed as being "safe, ESG-friendly, and economically advantaged." The hub reportedly aims to store more than 20 million tons of CO2 per year by 2030.

Earlier this month, Fidelis New Energy selected Mason County, West Virginia selected Mason County, West Virginia, as the site for its carbon neutral hydrogen production facility and low carbon microgrid — The Mountaineer GigaSystem and the Monarch Cloud Campus for data centers powered by net-zero hydrogen.

This major project will include net-zero hydrogen production to be used onsite to fuel a microgrid, greenhouses, and more. Image courtesy of Fidelis New Energy

Houston company selects site for net-zero hydrogen production facility, low-carbon microgrid

major move

A Houston-based energy transition infrastructure firm has announced where it's planning to build a multiple-phase project that will produce carbon-neutral hydrogen and run a low-carbon microgrid.

Fidelis New Energy selected Mason County, West Virginia, as the site for its carbon neutral hydrogen production facility and low carbon microgrid —The Mountaineer GigaSystem and the Monarch Cloud Campus for data centers powered by net-zero hydrogen.

The facility will be using the company's the proprietary tech, called the FidelisH2, that produces hydrogen using "a combination of natural gas, renewable energy, and carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration," according to a news release.

The four-phase project is estimated to cost $2 billion per phase and will produce over 500 metric tons per day of net-zero carbon hydrogen. The first phase is expected to be completed in 2028.

"I am beyond excited that West Virginia will be the home of the Mountaineer GigaSystem and Monarch Cloud Campus," West Virginia Governor Jim Justice says in a news release. "West Virginia has a long history as an energy powerhouse for our nation, thanks to our hardworking people who know how to get the job done. And now, we're in a great position to make the most of a new fuel – hydrogen – through this incredible project in Mason County.

"There's simply no doubt that Fidelis is going to help shape the future of West Virginia in a major, major way by assisting in the commercial lift-off of some truly exciting new industries," he continues.

The project includes an incentive package from the West Virginia Department of Economic Development.

"The project's four-phase construction plan will not only provide substantial employment opportunities for the local workforce, with 800 full-time jobs and 4,200 construction workers, but it will also have a major positive impact on the region's economy," John Musgrave, the executive director of the Mason County Development Authority, says in the release. "The influx of workers and the establishment of the facility will bring additional business, industry, and new technology to Mason County, the state, and the surrounding region."

In addition to the hydrogen-producing FidelisH2 tool, Fidelis's suite of technologies includes H2PowerCool, which powers and cools data centers, and CO2PowerGrow, which is used for greenhouses to decarbonize and lower the cost of food production.

The new collaborative project is a rising amid the region's bid in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations for the regional clean hydrogen hub Funding Opportunity Announcement. The bid, called the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub, or ARCH2, was submitted earlier this year by a multi-state effort.

"Our proprietary net-zero solutions using only proven technologies are attracting significant commercial interest from hydrogen users, data center operators, and greenhouse owners," Bengt Jarlsjo, co-founder, president, and COO at Fidelis, says in the release. "This helps the ARCH2 hub to achieve scale across the hydrogen lifecycle from production through consumption."

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Houston cleantech startup closes $17M round to tap into hot geothermal sector

fresh funding

Houston-area startup Hephae Energy Technology Corp. has closed a $17.8 million Series A financing round to commercialize its geothermal technology.

The round was co-led by Pennsylvania-based Susquehanna Sustainable Investments, which invests in early-stage climatech companies, and Copenhagen-based Underground Ventures, which focuses on geothermal energy startups. Alfa8, Baruch Future Ventures, Centaurus Capital LP, Elemental Impact, Exa Ventures, Future Ventures, Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, New System Ventures and True North Institute joined the round, along with existing Houston-based investor Nabors Industries. Hyphae reports in a news release that the Series A round brings the company's total capital raised to $24.7 million.

Hephae develops ultra-high-temperature downhole sensing, measurement, communications and control systems that can withstand the heat of geothermal sites, which are hotter and deeper than traditional oil and gas reservoirs. The company's Pandora210 system can operate at up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Hephae reports that it plans to use the new funding to commercialize its Pandora210 tool and to launch research and development into systems that can withstand temperatures of up to 570 degrees Fahrenheit. Houston-based Fervo Energy, for instance, recently tapped its hottest geothermal well to date in western Utah, showing temperatures above 555 degrees Fahrenheit.

"Commercial deployment represents a major milestone in our mission to scalable, always-on, emission-free power globally, with a world-class team to tackle this problem," Steve Krase, CEO of Hephae Energy Technology, said in the release." This investment enables Hephae to transition from development to scale, delivering the ultra-high temperature drilling technologies needed to support the rapid growth of the geothermal industry in the US and international markets."

Hephae has been collaborating with Fervo Energy in the field. The company told the Houston Business JournalHouston Business Journal this spring that it expected its Pandora210 technology to be deployed at its Utah sites.

“Fervo is encouraged by the early progress of our collaboration with Hephae, whose novel high-temperature innovations have the potential to contribute positively to EGS economics, unlock higher-energy geothermal resources, and further cement the competitiveness of next-generation geothermal power," Elliot Howard, director of drilling and completions at Fervo, added in the release.

As the geothermal industry continues to scale, Hephae says it aims for its technology to help companies "unlock hotter, deeper resources that result in lower produced energy costs."

The Spring-based startup was founded in 2020 by CEO Steve Krase and CTO John Clegg. Krase previously launched Navigate Energy Services, which was acquired by Nabors in 2013. Clegg is also an industry veteran and has held numerous leadership positions at energy companies, including Weatherford, NOV, Schlumberger and others.

Houston clean energy events announce keynote speakers from Fervo, Phillips 66

where to be

Two Houston energy institutions will host their signature events this September and have named industry leaders as their keynote speakers.

The Rice Alliance Energy Tech Venture Forum and Greentown Lab's Climatetech Summit kick off Sept. 16. The events are part of Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week and Houston Energy and Climate Week.

The two-day Energy Tech Venture Forum will bring together climatech startups and professionals from around the world to hear pitches, participate in one-on-one office hours and connect with energy innovators.

Sean Maher, chief economist at Phillips 66, will open the forum with a keynote address on the macroeconomic forces shaping the energy industry. Maher also serves as vice president of investor relations at Phillips 66. He previously launched Third Gear Investments, a Houston-based energy investment firm.

Ira Ehrenpreis, founder and managing partner of DBL Partner, which manages more than $1 billion of capital and invests in companies driving social change, will present the keynote on the second day of the forum, Sept. 17. Ehrenpreis is a board member of Tesla and an investor of SpaceX. He will share insights on commercializing breakthrough technologies and what investors are looking for in today's energy innovations.

Applications for the Energy Tech Venture Forum close July 17. Register for the event here.

Fresh off a landmark IPO, Tim Latimer, co-founder and CEO of Houston-based Fervo Energy, will present the keynote at Greentown's Climatetech Summit. Latimer was recently named one of Fast Company's 2026 Visionaries of the Year.

He will be joined by Houston-based SCF Partners' David Baldwin, who will moderate the discussion. The conversation will focus on the timing of Fervo's IPO, what Latimer would have done differently at the early stages of the business, and why the company chose Houston as its headquarters.

The Climatetech Summit will bring together philanthropists, executives and innovators in the energy transition space. Greentown member startups will also present their pitches at the event. Learn more and secure tickets here.