Editor's note:As fall reaches full swing, Houston's innovation and cleantech scene is calling on the latest batch of founders and startups looking to make a difference. A number of accelerators have opened applications. Read below to see which might be a good fit for you or your venture. And take careful note of the deadlines. Please note: this article may be updated to include additional information and programs.
Did we miss an accelerator or competition accepting applications? Email innoeditor@innovationmap.com for editorial consideration.
Greentown Lab's Go Make 2027: Advanced Carbon Materials with ExxonMobil
Deadline: Oct. 9
Details: Greentown Labs is seeking applications from startups developing novel carbon-based technologies for its latest Go Make cohort in conjunction with ExxonMobil. The structured accelerator is designed to facilitate validation activities and explore potential long-term collaborations with Exxon, according to Greentown. Founders will have the opportunity to engage directly with industry leaders to test, validate and scale their carbon technologies in real commercial contexts. The program tentatively starts on Jan. 20, 2027 and concludes June 16, 2027. Find more information here.
Activate's U.S. Fellowship Cohort 2027
Deadline: Oct. 30
Details: Activate supports scientists at "the outset of their entrepreneurial journey." It partners with U.S.-based funders and research institutions to support its fellows in developing high-impact technology. Its fellows receive a living stipend, research and development funding, connections from Activate's robust network of mentors and access to a curriculum specific to the program for two years. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and 4-plus years of post-baccalaureate scientific research, engineering or technology development experience. Their work must be based in the physical or biological sciences or related engineering disciplines. Find more information here.
Rice Innovation Fellows
Deadline: Oct. 30
Details: The Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie)'s Rice Innovation Fellows program supports Rice Ph.D. students and postdocs in turning their research into real-world ventures. Participants receive $10,000 in translational research funding, co-working space and personalized mentorship. Candidates from all Rice engineering and science-related disciplines are encouraged to apply. Find more information here.
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A version of this article originally appeared on our sister site, InnovationMap.
While hundreds of thousands descend on New York for Climate Week, Houston offered a different proposition: come where the work is being built. And last week Houston proved that it’s solving for more energy and fewer emissions; reliability and affordability; speed and durability. We are solving for the “&.”
That equation sharpened last week. On Sept. 14, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it had repealed most 2024 federal carbon-pollution standards for power plants and proposed rescinding remaining greenhouse-gas requirements. Policy matters, but it can pivot. The need to build does not.
HECW is a proving ground, not another conference stop. As I wrote in the Houston Chronicle, Mayor Sylvester Turner planted the seed by insisting we bring people together across the city and industry to drive Houston’s energy future. He knew false choices have no place here: oil and gas and clean technology; prosperity and stewardship; industry and lower emissions.
ECW joined the Climate Week Network this year, connecting Houston to a growing community of more than 500,000 people across 22-plus cities. We now have a seat at the global table—and a responsibility to use it well, building with other cities and the wider clean-energy-solutions world rather than merely talking at them.
The capital is already moving. Since 2017, Houston Energy Transition Initiative member companies have invested more than $95 billion in low-carbon infrastructure, technologies, and research and development. This is where the transition is financed, engineered, tested and operated. But the work requires more than capital. It requires capital allocators who understand the difference between a promising idea and a project that can scale, hire and endure.
Last week was Houston’s show and tell. At ARTECHOUSE, The &Bassador Reception & Awards brought art, technology, culture, philanthropy and energy together. Then the week went beyond downtown.
Sugar Land Town Square became the launchpad for the Metro Innovation Tour & Market: a place for an ecosystem conversation about smart cities, clean energy, equitable access and next-generation mobility before participants boarded three tour routes across greater Houston. It was also the starting point for the Bay City South Innovation Tour to Erthos Project Bravo in Matagorda County, where small groups saw Earth Mount solar modules being installed in real time. The conversation did not end at a panel. It went to the project site.
The HTX Tech Tours included a visit to the Erthos Project Bravo in Matagorda County. Photo courtesy
Approximately 100 startups from around the world pitched at Rice Alliance, Greentown Labs and Halliburton Labs events. At Astros Night at Daikin Park, builders, backers, and believers traded conference rooms for the diamond, creating an experience, not just another event. That is how this work becomes civic fabric.
Activation also means making the energy story felt, not merely explained. AY Young brought the Battery Tour for live performances. It was a reminder that the “Power of &” is not confined to a boardroom or a laboratory. Art and technology, culture and commerce, a new generation and established industry can share the same stage—and help more people see themselves in the work ahead.
Perhaps no activation made the “Power of &” more immediate and real than the Houston, We Have Solutions open mic night. At Creatopia’s Innovation Studio, people took the mic—or simply listened—to share what they were building, the problem they could not stop thinking about, and the connection they hoped to make. It put founders, artists, community builders, researchers and future-makers in one room. That is collaboration in real time: different kinds of expertise meeting before anyone knows exactly what the solution will be.
FOX26 helped carry that story beyond the rooms we convened, hosting Erthos COO Jessica Knight, Mars Materials co-founder Aaron Fitzgerald, and investors Taylor Chapman and Juliana Garaizar to discuss building and backing the future in Houston. Our region should be proud—not as self-congratulation, but because the world is beginning to experience energy and climate solutions firsthand.
This was also a week to give back. Allies in Energy awarded $27,500 to nine organizations advancing energy and climate literacy, civil dialogue, workforce pathways and community action. NRG Energy’s Brighter Communities provided a founding gift to expand the week and fund local grants. It took partners, hosts, sponsors, volunteers, funders and community organizations. That is the “Power of &”: collaboration that leaves a stronger community behind.
The “Power of &” cannot stop at Houston’s city limits. Louisiana’s participation—through its support of the Digital Delta Symposium & Expo—made clear that Houston’s builder ecosystem is regional by necessity. Gulf Coast infrastructure, supply chains, talent, and industrial decisions do not recognize state lines. Neither should our collaboration. If we are serious about building more energy with fewer emissions, we must align capital, resources and opportunity across the entire Gulf Coast.
That same commitment to practical collaboration means listening, learning and adjusting. A builder’s mindset does not protect a plan simply because it came first; it improves the conditions for the work to succeed. That is why Houston Energy and Climate Week will move to April 4–10, 2027—better weather, more time and space for connection, and a stronger city-wide experience for the people building what comes next.
But the real test begins now. Can we keep widening the circle? Can we continue to turn research into projects, pilots into infrastructure, capital into good jobs and climate ambition into results that families and communities can see? Can we make every new solution stronger by bringing in the people who must finance it, build it, operate it, live beside it and benefit from it?
That is the work ahead. Turner understood that Houston does not move forward by asking who wins the argument. It moves forward by asking who is ready to solve the problem. His legacy—and the promise of the “&”—is an invitation to choose collaboration over division, action over performance and possibility over false choices.
The future does not need another city to talk about it. It needs Houston to keep building it. And it will only be built if we keep choosing the "&."
Approximately 100 startups from around the world pitched their breakthrough technologies and businesses during Houston Energy and Climate Week, with a select few taking home top prizes and bragging rights.
Here's who won at two of the week's anchor events and competitions.
Rice Alliance Energy Tech Venture Forum
The 23nd annual event was held Thursday, Sept. 17, at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business. The most-promising companies were selected by industry experts and participating investors attending the event.
The 10 most-promising companies included:
Australia-based Aquafortus, which has developed a non-thermal liquid to liquid desalination technology for resource recovery from wastewater brine
Houston-based Focis AI, which converts industrial laser scans into a queryable digital twin of refineries and plants
Houston-based ironlattice, a semiconductor manufacturing company
Houston-based Licube, which has developed technology to produce ultra-high-purity lithium compounds for the fusion energy, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and high-performance solid-state battery sectors
Houston-based Mars Materials, a clean chemical manufacturing business that is working to convert captured carbon into resources, such as carbon fiber and wastewater treatment chemicals
Dallas-based MCatalysis, which has developed a suite of proprietary microwave-driven catalysts to produce high-quality, ready-to-use fuels compatible with existing infrastructure
Oslo, Norway-based OTee, an automation machinery manufacturer
Houston-based Pike Robotics, which deploys its Wall-Eye robot to inspect hazardous tanks without taking assets offline
New Mexico-based Spiritus, a direct-air-capture (DAC) technology company
San Francisco-based UptimeAI Inc., which develops AI reasoning agents for industrial operations teams
Stellai won the People's Choice Award. The Norwegian company develops AI products for the waste management industry.
The energy technology ventures selected to participate in the forum were named earlier this year. See the full list here, and read about last year's winners here.
Greentown Lab's Climatetech Summit
The annual summit was held Wednesday, Sept. 16, featured a number of Houston startups in its pitch competition and lighting pitch round. Judges included Dave Dreessen,, Jon Greene, Naval Preet Singh, Philip Llewellyn, Erin Madro, Justin Yeung, Jay Kim, Rawand Rasheed and Moji Karimi.
Pitch winners included:
First place: Elementium Materials' CEO Matthew Dawson, winning a $10,000 cash prize sponsored by TotalEnergies plus another $10,000 in legal services sponsored by Foley Hoag. The company develops advanced battery electrolytes. It is a Greentown Boston member; though Dawson is based in Houston.
Second place: Houston-based Solidec CEO and co-founder Ryan DuChanois, winning $5,000 in legal services sponsored by Foley Hoag. The company electrolyzes air, water and electricity into onsite hydrogen peroxide.
Lightening pitch winners included:
First place: Montana-based MagDrive Technologies, winning a $1,000 cash prize sponsored by Energy Transition Ventures. The company develops magnetically actuated, zero-emission valve systems that eliminate fugitive emissions and improve reliability.
Second place: Houston-based HEXASpec, winning a $500 cash prize sponsored by Foley Hoag. The company has created a new material to improve heat management for the semiconductor industry.
Kanin Energy, a member of the Greentown Labs climatech and energy incubator in Houston, recently raised as much as $100 million in capital to grow its energy-as-a-service platform.
S2G Investments led a round of up to $50 million, and the Canada Growth Fund chipped in an additional $50 million. The money will primarily support Kanin’s development and operation of waste-heat-to-power projects.
Kanin—founded in 2020 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada—builds and runs onsite power assets for large-scale energy users. The startup says its energy-as-a-service offering lowers power costs, boosts power reliability and decreases emissions.
The company operates a waste-heat-to-power project at Ohio’s University of Dayton. The project supplies zero-emission electricity.
Kanin has a pipeline of projects totaling about 50 megawatts of capacity. This includes a waste-heat-to-power plant at the Phillips 66 Mewbourn gas-processing plant near Greeley, Colorado.
“Kanin was built on the belief that industrial facilities already hold the solution to their own energy challenges, they just need the right partner to execute,” Janice Tran, CEO of Kanin, who is based in Houston, said in a release. “At a time when power costs continue to rise, [our] solutions are an important tool for our industrial customers to manage their costs, operations, and emissions.”
Marisa Sweeney, principal at S2G, says waste heat is a largely underused resource for lowering power costs, alleviating grid congestion and improving power reliability.
The waste-heat-to-power process captures thermal energy from industrial activities and converts it to electricity. This happens without using extra fuel or generating more emissions.
Kanin says up to 58 percent of energy consumed by industrial processes is lost as waste heat. This heat winds up in the atmosphere at thousands of facilities in North America, including oil-and-gas operations, cement plants, and steel mills, the startup says.
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.
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
Startups from around the world will pitch during Houston Energy and Climate Week. Photo via the Ion
One of the highlights from Houston Energy and Climate Week is hearing directly from the up-and-coming founders working to reshape the energy landscape.
This year, dozens of startups from Brazil to Berkeley and from right here in the Bayou City will compete for cash prizes and bragging rights while showcasing their concepts at HECW pitch events. Here's who's pitching at some of the week's signature competitions. Check back after the week wraps to see who takes home the top prizes.
Cypher Pilotathon and Startup Showcase — Sept. 15 at POST Houston
At the Cypher Pilotathon, founders will give their best 7-minute pilot pitches to industry experts and a live audience, followed by Q&A. This year's event will center around the theme, "The NEW Energy Industrial Revolution." Here's who's pitching:
Houston-based Aeromine Technologies, a distributed wind turbine company
San Francisco-based Ammobia, which develops low-carbon, energy source-agnostic ammonia
Birmingham, Alabama-based Ashipa Electric, a renewable energy semiconductor and microgrid manufacturer
Houston-based BigMachine AI, an AI engineer for industrial projects
Houston-based Corrolytics, which has developed corrosion detection technology
São Paulo, Brazil-based GLR Tech, which has developed a compact, scalable, low-cost platform for industrial emissions control
Monreal-based Green Graphite Technologies, which produces battery-grade graphite in a cost-effective and sustainable manner
Boston-based KIRA, which converts industrial wastewater into ultrapure water and solids
Edinburgh-based Mocean Energy, which works to deliver renewable ocean energy to power offshore industry
Los Angeles-based Mote, which works to convert agricultural and forestry waste into clean energy
Berkeley-based Oleo, which is developing a biomanufacturing platform to transform biomass waste into carbon-negative, cost-competitive oil feedstocks for advanced fuels
Oslo, Norway-based OTee, an automation machinery manufacturer
Houston-based Resollant, which is working to produce battery-grade graphite and ultra-low-cost hydrogen
Tulsa-based RyuGen Energy Solutions Inc., which works to turn underused commercial power into distributed AI infrastructure
Berkeley-based Sunchem, which provides precision separation of critical metals from sources including e-waste, evaporator scrap, solar panels, and mining ores and concentrates
Twenty-two other startups will participate in the startup showcase. See the full list here.
Greentown Climatetech Summit — Sept. 16 at the Continental Club
Ten Greentown startups will compete for $25,000 in prizes at Greentown Climatetech Summit's signature pitch event. Judges include Dave Dreessen, of Chevron Technology Ventures’ Future Energy Fund, and Jon Greene, of New Climate Ventures. Here's who's pitching:
Houston-based AMPeers, which manufactures high-temperature superconducting wire for high-power electrification infrastructure
Detroit-based AmHyTech, which enables ambient-condition liquid ammonia handling for fertilizer and fuel applications
Houston- and Zurich-based Biosimo, which converts biomass-based ethanol into lower-carbon acetic acid and acetyls
Houston-based Capwell Services Inc., which captures methane from low-flow oil and gas vents and returns it to market
Cleveland- and Ghana-based Cocoa Potash, which extracts potassium carbonate and fertilizer from cocoa, coconut, and palm-nut waste
Houston-based Solidec, which electrolyzes air, water, and electricity into onsite hydrogen peroxide.
Houston-based Focis AI, which converts industrial laser scans into a queryable digital twin of refineries and plants
Calgary-based Kanin Energy, which develops and finances waste heat to power projects for industrial clients
San Francisco-based FelixFusion, which models grid connection points so developers can validate interconnection in minutes
Houston-based Pike Robotics, which deploys its Wall-Eye robot to inspect hazardous tanks without taking assets offline
TEX-E Student Innovators will also pitch earlier in the day-long event, and an additional five Greentown startups will compete for $1,000 during the Lightning Pitch Competition. Find more information here.
Rice Alliance Energy Tech Venture Forum — Sept. 17 at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business
Houston-based companies Aquanta Vision, Capwell Services and Deep Anchor Solutions will be joined by startups from around the world to compete to be named one of the 10 Most Promising Companies at the 23rd Energy Tech Venture Forum. Additional companies will participate in office hours.
See the full list of nearly 50 companies pitching here.
Halliburton Labs Pitch Day — Sept. 18 at the Ion
Halliburton Labs Pitch Day brings together a curated group of early‑stage energy technology investors and 16 participating companies. The event is invitation‑only. Here's who's pitching:
Australia-based Aquafortus, which has developed a non-thermal liquid to liquid desalination technology for resource recovery from wastewater brine
Calgary-based Ayrton Energy, which has developed a proprietary technology that enables hydrogen to be stored within an organic liquid, which can be handled and transported like gasoline
Illinois-based Cache Energy, which is developing electrified heat and long-term energy storage
New York-based Cella, which is working to advance subsurface mineralization of CO2
Miami-based Chemergy, which has developed a patented process to convert wet organic and plastic wastes into green hydrogen
Tennessee-based Enexor BioEnergy, which is developing on-site waste-to-bioenergy conversion systems
Reno-based Espiku, which focuses on water and minerals recovery from industrially produced water
UK-based LiNa Energy, which is developing low-cost, solid-state sodium battery technology
Michigan-based Marel Power Solutions, which is developing advanced cooling technology to redefine power-stacks
California-based Mitico, which is developing technology to collect and purify carbon dioxide at the source, post-combustion, before it enters the atmosphere
Singapore-based Nandina REM, which turns end-of-life assets into new, reliable, high-performance carbon fiber materials for the aviation, aerospace and defense industries
California-based Noon Energy, which is developing a 100-plus-hour ultra-long-duration battery storage
Silicon Valley-based Proof Energy, which is commercializing next-generation metallic solid oxide fuel cell (M-SOFC) technology.
Berkeley-based Sunchem, which provides precision separation of critical metals from sources including e-waste, evaporator scrap, solar panels, and mining ores and concentrates
Singapore-based Sungreen, an advanced materials company pioneering nanotechnology-based coatings for high-efficiency, low-cost electrodes
Minneapolis-based Syncris, which is developing next-generation modular power systems designed for the most demanding environments
Despite being home to a booming energy sector, Texas ranks below average on a new list of the country’s most and least energy-efficient states.
The list, compiled by personal finance website WalletHub, puts Texas at No. 34 for energy efficiency. It ranked 27th for energy efficiency of homes and 41st for energy efficiency of cars. Texas improved by one spot on the 2026 report, after coming in at No. 35 last year and No. 36 in 2024.
California took the top spot on the list this year, beating out Vermont, which claimed the No. 1 rank in 2025. South Carolina ranked No. 48. Due to data limitations, Alaska and Hawaii were excluded from WalletHub’s analysis.
In the WalletHub study, California had the lowest residential energy consumption per capita and the third-highest efficiency for home energy. At the bottom of the list, South Carolina ranked 48th for energy efficiency of homes and 35th for energy efficiency of cars.
Here’s who joined California in the top 5:
No. 2 Vermont
No. 3 New York
No. 4 Washington
No. 5 Massachusetts
WalletHub notes the average U.S. family spends at least $2,000 per year on utilities, and the average consumer spent $2,411 on gasoline in 2024.
The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that adopting energy-efficient measures in the home could reduce a family’s utility costs by as much as 25 percent. As for gas, the agency found a more fuel-efficient vehicle could save the average driver more than $1,000 per year.
“Energy efficiency doesn’t just help save the planet — it also helps save you money by lowering the amount of electricity, gas, oil, or other types of energy you need to consume,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo says.
“While there are some steps you can take to become more energy-efficient on your own, living in the right area can give you a big boost,” he adds. “For example, certain states have much better public transportation systems that minimize your need to drive, at least in big cities. Some places also have better-constructed buildings that retain heat better during the winter or stay cooler during the summer.”
WalletHub compiled the listing using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Climatic Data Center, U.S. Energy Information Administration, and Federal Highway Administration.
One of the year's most buzzworthy innovations comes from a Houston-based leader in the energy transition. Utility Global's H2Gen recentlymade Time magazine’s list of the 300 best inventions of 2026.
The H2Gen is an innovative system that produces low-cost clean hydrogen from water and industrial off-gases. The company says the process doesn’t require electricity, a notable claim since hydrogen production typically consumes a lot of power.
"Using a tubular electrochemical cell containing a proprietary electrolyte and water, the company can turn industrial off-gases into hydrogen at scale—no extra electricity required," writes Time. "Bonus: the process also pulls out carbon dioxide as a separate stream, where it can be captured and kept out of the atmosphere.
CEO Parker Meeks tells Time, it's “a practical pathway to decarbonize existing industrial assets."
The startup is on a roll. It has raised $100 million so far in an ongoing Series D round to offer its decarbonization technology at industrial scale around the world.
H2Gen is joined by 10 other inventions with Texas connections onTime's list, as well as one "special mention."
In North Texas, they are:
Samsung Plano-based Samsung Electronics America pulled off a hat trick this year, with three products making Time’s list. First up is the Galaxy S26 Ultrasmartphone. It packs a more powerful camera, Galaxy AI features, and pro-level content creation tools. But Time singled out its new built-in privacy display as the phone’s “biggest selling point.”
Samsung’s Bespoke AI Family Hub refrigerator also got smarter. When AI first came to the Family Hub in 2024, it could recognize some fresh foods, but you still had to log packaged items by hand, Time noted. Now, with Google Gemini built in, the fridge can identify more than 2,000 packaged foods, read handwritten labels, and warn you when food is about to expire. It then uses what’s inside to build grocery lists and suggest recipes.
And for gamers, there’s the Odyssey G8 monitor. Its 6K resolution leapfrogs the 4K standard, delivering what Samsung calls “exceptional visual clarity and detail” on a screen big enough for gaming and multitasking.
OxeFit Plano-based OxeFit’s XS1 Peak is about the size of a treadmill but works like an entire gym. It can be set up for strength training, simulated skiing or kayaking, Pilates, or rowing. What makes it stand out is a built-in virtual spotter. According to Time, the machine “uses AI, computer vision and sensors to correct the user’s form, change resistance in the middle of a rep and reduce the weight when the user is struggling, much like a human spotter.”
EssilorLuxottica EssilorLuxottica, the French eyewear giant whose U.S. headquarters is in Farmers Branch, makes Essilor Stellest lenses. The lenses correct nearsightedness while also slowing the eye growth that makes it worse over time. Stellest is the first and only eyeglass lens authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to control myopia, Time said. The lenses look like regular glasses but contain 1,021 tiny lenslets. In a U.S. trial of kids ages 6-12, myopia progression slowed by an average of 71 percent over two years compared with standard lenses.
Helpany Helpany, a startup based in Phoenix that manufactures its devices in DFW, makes Paul, a ceiling-mounted gadget that uses radar and AI to spot subtle changes in how residents move and flag those at higher risk of falling. Helpany says the technology can cut falls by as much as 72 percent.
Aurora Innovation Aurora, based in Pittsburgh with a corporate and operations hub in Coppell, rolled out its second-generation Driver 2 system in July. By September, Driver 2 trucks had logged more than 500,000 driverless miles without a single at-fault crash, Time reported, and the company expects 200 of them on the road by the end of 2026.
Colossal Biosciences Dallas-based Colossal Biosciences built an artificial egg by placing an ultra-thin, transparent silicone membrane inside a rigid 3D-printed cup, letting scientists watch the embryo develop. Twenty-six chickens have already been hatched.
In Austin, they are: Cedar Park-based Hyliion landed on Time’s list with its Karno Power Module, a modular generator designed to produce power wherever it’s needed. The Karno represents a big pivot for the company. Hyliion got its start building electrified powertrains for 18-wheelers before shifting into power generation after acquiring the Karno generator technology from GE Aerospace. Founded in Pittsburgh in 2015, the company relocated to Cedar Park in 2018.
The other Austin-associated honoree is Moment Energy. As more electric vehicles hit the road, a growing number of their batteries are nearing retirement, while demand for power keeps climbing. Moment Energy found a way to tackle both problems at once. The company’s Megafactory 1, which opened in Vancouver, Canada, in June, turns old EV batteries into modular energy storage systems for hospitals, factories, data centers, and other big power users. “Our goal is to make sure these batteries don’t end up in landfills,” founder Edward Chiang told Time.
In the “Special Mentions” category, Austin-based Renzoe Box gained notice for its refillable custom makeup palette for on-the-go people. Licensed architect René Graham designed the box. She graduated from Houston's Rice University, and was born and raised in Dallas.
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A version of this article first appeared on CultureMap.com.
Researchers at Rice University have developed a new technique to efficiently recycle electronic waste and harvest critical minerals using rapid heating.
Most electronic devices use flame-retardant plastic. The plastic is formulated from a critical metal called antimony.
However, recapturing antimony is typically a challenging task since it first has to be released from the plastic. As it is released, other compounds can form, such as organic bromides, which are toxic and difficult to capture. However, the organic bromides can also be reused and have applications in industrial chemicals when safely captured.
“Conventionally heating the plastic releases the antimony in a volatile and difficult-to-collect form as well as creating and releasing hazardous organic bromide compounds,” Leo Haoxin Ye, first author of the paper and a graduate student at Rice, said in a news release. “Other options are risky or more impractical, such as using strong acids, organic solvents or multistep treatment options.”
To address this issue, leading Rice chemistry professor James Tour, Ye and their team adapted Tour’s flash Joule heating technique, which heats materials to hundreds of degrees Celsius in milliseconds, according to Rice.
The team ground up flame-retardant plastic waste and placed it between two sheets of electrically heated carbon paper before using what’s known as isothermal-clamped flash Joule heating to release and collect the antimony.
The team found that limiting the time the plastic spent in the high temperature range dramatically reduced the production of the hazardous organic bromide compounds. The plastic remained between 200 degrees and 500 degrees Celsius for only 9.4 milliseconds, according to Rice.
Through the process, the team recovered 90 percent of antimony from tested materials and converted 83 percent of the bromide into hydrogen bromide. Their findings were published this month in the journal Nature Chemical Engineering.
“Isothermal-clamped flash Joule heating could improve the speed, safety and practicality of antimony recovery from discarded flame-retardant plastics,” Tour added in the release. “This represents an important step forward to conserving and reusing our critical antimony supply while also regenerating bromide salts for reuse.”
The study noted that the world is currently trending toward producing 82 million metric tons of flame-retardant plastic waste by 2030, which adds to the fact that e-waste is the fastest-growing solid waste stream in the world.
The research was funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The HTX Tech Tours included a visit to the Erthos Project Bravo in Matagorda County. Photo courtesy