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Here are 20+ CERAWeek 2025 events featuring Houston energy leaders

where to be

Here are all the events on CERAWeek's Agora track you can't miss if learning more about Houston energy innovation is your goal. Staff photo

CERAWeek 2025 will host more than 1,400 speakers at its annual energy-focused conference taking place March 10-14, with many hailing from Houston.

Under this year's theme, "Moving Ahead: Energy strategies for a complex world,” panels will tackle topics ranging from policy and regulation, geopolitics, power, grid, and electrification, AI and digital, managing emissions, and more.

Most of the innovation-themed events are organized under the Agora track and will feature many Houston-area startups, universities, companies, and scientists. Here are all the events on the Agora track you can't miss if you want to learn more about Houston energy innovation.

Transition in Action: Energy giants shaping a sustainable future

ExxonMobil's Senior Director, Climate Strategy & Technology Vijay Swarup will examine how major energy companies are driving energy transition goals along with panelists from S&P Global, Aramco Ventures and Gentari Sdn Bhd.

This panel is from 12:30-1 p.m. on Monday, March 10. More info here.

Syzygy Plasmonics | Deploying the World’s Most Economic Biogas to SAF Technology

Hear from Syzygy Plasmonics CEO Trevor Best about how the cleantech company's catalyst and reactor work and how the tools can dramatically reduce the cost of producing SAF from biogas from landfills, wastewater, and dairy farms.

This panel is from 2-2:30 p.m. on Monday, March 10. More info here.

Cemvita | The Future of Bioengineered Feedstocks: A Foresight Perspective

Cemvita CEO Moji Karimi will lead this panel.

This panel is from 4:30-5:15 p.m. on Monday, March 10. More info here.

Innovating with Purpose: Strengthening industrial-academic partnerships

David Dankworth, ExxonMobil's Hydrogen Technology Portfolio Manager, and Brian Korgel, the University of Texas Energy Institute Director, will be joined by leaders from MIT and S&P Global to discuss the crucial relationship between universities and industry in fostering purpose-driven innovation.

This panel is from 8:30–9 a.m. on Tuesday, March 11. More info here.

Solidec | Low-cost, Low-carbon Chemicals from Air

Solidec co-founder and CEO Ryan DuChanois will discuss how the company's approach to producing hydrogen peroxide and other key chemicals can be low-cost and low-carbon, creating a scalable path for a more sustainable chemical industry.

This panel is from 9-9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 11. More information here.

Collaboration Spotlight: The Carbon Hub: A public-private partnership leading the way to a sustainable carbon economy

Panelists from Rice University, Huntsman Advanced Materials, CERAWeek, The Kavli Foundation, and SABIC will discuss Rice's Carbon Hub's transformative power and what the future looks like for those creating this new carbon economy. Matteo Pasquali, the founding Director of the Carbon Hub, will be featured on the panel.

This panel is from 9:30-10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 11. More information here.

Rice University | Next-generation Electrolyzers and Electrolysis

Haotian Wang, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University and co-founder of Solidec, will discuss the development of next-generation electrolyzers that enable lower-cost and more energy-efficient carbon capture, chemical manufacturing and critical metal recovery.

This panel is from 9:30–10:15 a.m. on Tuesday, March 11. More information here.

ExxonMobil | Real-world Progress on Building a Low-carbon Business

Schuyler Evans, ExxonMobil's CCS commerical and business development manager low carbon solutions, will speak on how the energy giant is navigating a complex energy transition and share insights into the strategic thinking behind building a new business that helps reduce emissions.

This panel is from 10-10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 11. More information here.

Enovate.AI | AI-driven Advantage: Automate. Optimize. Decarbonize.

Enovate.AI Chief Experience Officer Rebecca Nye, joined by Last Mile Production, will show how its 3-clicks digital strategy empowers operators to make faster, smarter decisions—reducing emissions, enhancing productivity and unlocking new levels of profitability.

This panel is from 10:30–11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 11. More information here.

Financing the Future: Scaling clean energy through innovative investment strategies

Jim Gable, president of Chevron Technology Ventures and vice president of innovation, along with Greentown Lab's new CEO Georgina Campbell Flatter, will discuss the bankability of technologies in different geographies, investment opportunities in emerging markets, sources of funding and risk management strategies investors are using. Panelists also include leaders from Siemens Energy, Energy Impact Partners, and S&P Global Commodity Insights.

This panel is from 12:30–1:10 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11. More information here.

Sage Geosystems | Geothermal at the Speed of Need: How Sage Geosystems is meeting growing energy demand

Learn from Jason Peart, general manager of strategy and development, how Sage's approach to geothermal technology is tackling the fast-growing energy demands of critical sectors, including data centers, utilities, energy storage, and US Department of Defense projects.

This panel is from 1:30–2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11. More information here.

Rice University | Valuing Nature-based Solutions for CO2 Removal

Carrie Masiello, director of the Rice Sustainability Institute, will introduce to the breadth of nature-based solutions possible, explore some of the most exciting opportunities and give guidance on how to think rigorously about matching individual NBS opportunities to specific portfolio needs.

This panel is from 1:30–2:15 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11. More information here.

Square Robot | Bridging the Divide: How Square Robot's tank inspections align corporate strategy with on-the-ground reality

Square Robot CEO David Lamont will discuss how companies can keep their tank assets online by adopting new technology and navigating the challenges of aligning corporate objectives with site-level realities.

This panel is from 3–3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11. More information here.

The Green Gold Rush: A multi-trillion dollar opportunity?

Bobby Tutor, chairman of Houston Energy Transition Initiative and CEO of Artemis Energy Partners, will be joined by leaders from Accenture, S&P Global, and BeyondNetZero to discuss the immense economic potential of climate solutions and highlight the business opportunities created by the transition to a low-carbon economy.

This panel is from 4–4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11. More information here.

ExxonMobil | Applying Technology to Maximize Value in the Permian Basin

James Ritchie, Exxon's vice president upstream technology portfolio, will share the latest technologies being developed and deployed to improve recovery and capital efficiency in the Permian Basin and demonstrate how these technologies and innovations maximize overall value while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water usage.

This panel is from 2:30–3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12. More information here.

Rice University | Plasma Foundry for Scalable Industrial Decarbonization

Aditya Mohite, a Rice professor and the faculty director of the Rice Engineering Initiative for Energy Transition and Sustainability (REINVENTS), will share how The Plasma Foundry, a 1:1 customized accelerator at Rice, is using cold plasma technology and its accelerator model to provide disruptive solutions at scale.

This panel is from 9:30–10:15 a.m. on Thursday, March 13. More information here.

Fervo Energy | Speed and Scale: The Geothermal Decade Is Now

Quinn Woodard Jr., Fervo Energy's senior director, power generation and surface facilities, will discuss how the company is pioneering transformative EGS technology to power data centers, homes and beyond.

This panel is from 10:30–11 a.m. on Thursday, March 13. More information here.

Corrolytics | Digitizing and Revolutionizing Corrosion Detection and Monitoring for Industrial Assets

Anwar Sadek, Corrolytics co-founder and CEO, will share how the company is revolutionizing corrosion detection and monitoring with patented technology to proactively enhance safety, reduce costs and extend asset lifespan.

This panel is from 10:30–11 a.m. on Thursday, March 13. More information here.

Zeta Energy | The Rise of Lithium-Sulfur Batteries: A solution to critical metal constraints

Rodrigo Salvatierra, Zeta's chief science officer, will introduce Zeta Energy’s lithium-sulfurized carbon technology, which effectively addresses the key limitations of lithium-sulfur batteries.

This panel is from 3–3:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 13. More information here.

Future Cities on the Move: Innovative pathways for sustainable urban mobility

Lisa Lin, Harris County's director of sustainability, will speak on this panel on successful public-private partnerships driving innovation in sustainable transport by leveraging technology and data analytics. She'll be joined by Aberdeen's council co-lead and leaders from S&P Global and GreenCap, based in Cape Town, South Africa.

This panel is from 3:30–4 p.m. on Thursday, March 13. More information here.

Collaboration Spotlight: Building a resilient Gulf Coast energy and chemical sector

Greater Houston Partnership and HETI's Jane Stricker will join Ramanan Krishnamoorti from the University of Houston and leaders from Argonne National Laboratory and SABIC to explore opportunities and pathways to strengthen the US Gulf Coast’s global leadership position in base chemical manufacturing and the national security and economic opportunities that innovation and process integration create.

This panel is from 4:30–5 p.m. on Thursday, March 13. More information here.

From Your Site Articles
An inspection is no longer required to renew registration, but an emission evaluation is. Photo by Manuel Velasquez/Unsplash

What to know about the new emission inspection to register your car in Texas

keep it clean

Beginning January 1, 2025, Texas vehicle owners will no longer need to obtain a safety inspection prior to vehicle registration. House Bill 3297, passed during the 88th Legislature in 2023, eliminates the safety inspection program for non-commercial vehicles.

Under the new law, the $7.50 fee that drivers had to pay as a safety inspection fee has not gone away. It now appears on your registration notice under a new name: "Inspection Program Replacement Fee."

This name change comes courtesy of the legislature, who want to keep collecting this fee because the funds go to state programs such as construction and expansion of state highways — funds they previously collected from the Safety Inspection Fee.

And while the safety inspection is gone, state law will still require that drivers in 17 counties must pass an "emission inspection" on vehicles that are 2 to 24 years old, in order to get your vehicle registered.

But what does an "emissions inspection" mean?

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) details the following changes:

Safety inspection out, emissions testing in
Until December 31, 2024, safety inspections are required for vehicle registration in all 254 counties. Beginning January 1, 2025, noncommercial vehicles in Texas will no longer be required to have an annual safety inspection. Instead, vehicles will have to get an emissions inspection on gasoline-powered vehicles that are 2 to 24 years old.

What is no longer going to be "inspected"?
Texas Transportation Code §548.051 specifies the list of old-school inspection items which will no longer be checked. Moving forward, they will no longer be checking: tires, wheel assembly, safety guards, safety flaps, brakes, steering, lighting, horns, mirrors, windshield wipers, sunscreening devices, and front seat belts in vehicles on which seat belt anchorages were part of the manufacturer's original equipment.

What will still be inspected are listed as "Items 12–15": exhaust system, exhaust emissions system, fuel tank cap, and emissions control equipment. These will be part of the emissions inspection process in 17 counties.

Those 17 counties where this is relevant include:

  • DFW: Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, and Tarrant
  • Houston: Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, and Montgomery
  • Austin: Travis and Williamson
  • El Paso County

Beginning on November 1, 2026, emissions inspections will be required for vehicles registered in Bexar County.

Where will emissions inspections be obtained?
Emissions inspections can be obtained at DPS-certified vehicle inspection stations in the 17 emissions counties. These will be the exact same inspection locations we've been going to all along, when it was called a safety inspection. Emissions inspections are not available in the other 237 Texas counties.

DPS offers an inspection station locator online.

What is the estimated cost of an emissions inspection?
Vehicle owners will pay an emissions inspection fee of $2.50 annually to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) at the time of registration. The actual fee you'll pay at the inspection station (as listed on TCEQ’s website) will be $25.50. Just like the former "safety inspection" fee.

In short: There is little that's changing about the entire inspection process, except they won't bother making you honk your horn.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

METRO Board Chair Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock and Mayor John Whitmire pose with a microtransit shuttle. Courtesy of METRO

METRO rolls out electric shuttles for downtown Houston commuters

seeing green

The innovative METRO microtransit program will be expanding to the downtown area, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County announced on Monday.

“Microtransit is a proven solution to get more people where they need to go safely and efficiently,” Houston Mayor John Whitmire said in a statement. “Connected communities are safer communities, and bringing microtransit to Houston builds on my promise for smart, fiscally-sound infrastructure growth.”

The program started in June 2023 when the city’s nonprofit Evolve Houston partnered with the for-profit Ryde company to offer free shuttle service to residents of Second and Third Ward. The shuttles are all-electric and take riders to bus stops, medical buildings, and grocery stores. Essentially, it works as a traditional ride-share service but focuses on multiple passengers in areas where bus access may involve hazards or other obstacles. Riders access the system through the Ride Circuit app.

So far, the microtransit system has made a positive impact in the wards according to METRO. This has led to the current expansion into the downtown area. The system is not designed to replace the standard bus service, but to help riders navigate to it through areas where bus service is more difficult.

“Integrating microtransit into METRO’s public transit system demonstrates a commitment to finding innovative solutions that meet our customers where they are,” said METRO Board Chair Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock. “This on-demand service provides a flexible, easier way to reach METRO buses and rail lines and will grow ridership by solving the first- and last-mile challenges that have hindered people’s ability to choose METRO.”

The City of Houston approved a renewal of the microtransit program in July, authorizing Evolve Houston to spend $1.3 million on it. Some, like council member Letitia Plummer, have questioned whether microtransit is really the future for METRO as the service cuts lines such as the University Corridor.

However, the microtransit system serves clear and longstanding needs in Houston. Getting to and from bus stops in the city with its long blocks, spread-out communities, and fickle pedestrian ways can be difficult, especially for poor or disabled riders. While the bus and rail work fine for longer distances, shorter ones can be underserved.

Even in places like downtown where stops are plentiful, movement between them can still involve walks of a mile or more, and may not serve for short trips.

“Our microtransit service is a game-changer for connecting people, and we are thrilled to launch it in downtown Houston,” said Evolve executive director Casey Brown. “The all-electric, on-demand service complements METRO’s existing fixed-route systems while offering a new solution for short trips. This launch marks an important milestone for our service, and we look forward to introducing additional zones in the new year — improving access to public transit and local destinations.”

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

Small Places grows a variety of vegetables at their East End based farm, selling them at a weekly farm stand. Photo courtesy Small Places

Nonprofit looks to grow Houston’s urban farming movement from the East End

seeing green

Small Places, a Houston-based urban agricultural nonprofit, is looking forward to putting down roots beyond the fresh vegetables they grow in the East End.

After securing a 40-year land agreement with Harris County, the organization, which provides produce to families facing food insecurity in the Second Ward, is expecting to open their new farm in February 2025. Small Places’ founders hope the 1.5 acres of land named Finca Tres Robles, located at 5715 Canal Street, will be the beginning of Houston’s urban farming movement.

Founded in 2014 by brothers Daniel, Mark, and Thomas Garcia-Prats, Small Places was born out of the latter brother’s desire to work on an organic farm in his hometown of Houston. After farming in Maine, Iowa, and Nicaragua, Thomas had hoped to manage an urban farm but was unable to find a place. He then roped his brothers, who had no agricultural background at the time, into creating one.

“I joke that my journey in agriculture started the day we started out there. We didn’t grow up gardening or farming or anything of the sort,” says Daniel, Small Places’ director of operations. “It was a big learning curve, but how we approached it to our benefit was through our diverse set of backgrounds.”

Brothers Mark, Daniel, and Thomas Garcia-Prats are the co-founders of Small Places, a Houston-based urban agricultural nonprofit growing fresh produce for families in the East End. Photo courtesy Small Places

Small Places began their need-based produce distribution programs through a partnership with nearby pre-school, Ninfa Lorenzo Early Childhood Center, providing food insecure families with fresh produce and later cooking lessons in 2017. When COVID-19 hit Houston in 2020, Daniel says Small Places pivoted towards becoming a redistribution center for their farming contacts who needed to offload produce as restaurants shut down, selling their crops through the organization. Their neighborhood produce program was then born, providing free boxes of produce to nearly 200 families in the East End at the pandemic’s peak.

“We found ourselves in the middle of two communities who were in need, one being people in our community who were losing jobs and were in need of food as well as our farming connections who were losing restaurant accounts,” Daniel explains.

Small Places currently assists 65 families living predominantly within two miles of their original location and they recently restarted their programming with Ninfa Lorenzo Early Childhood Center, and accepts Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (SNAP) at their farm stand. Daniel says once Finca Tres Robles opens, Small Places plans to bring back cooking classes and educational seminars on healthy eating for which his brother Mark, a former teacher, created the original curriculum. The farm will also have a grocery store stocked with Finca Tres Robles' produce and eventually food staples from local vendors.

“Being social and preparing a meal can be fun, interesting, and delicious. Being able to pull all of that into a program was really important for us,” Daniel explains.

Farming successfully in the middle of Houston for their subsidized programs and produce market requires Small Places’ team to be strategic in their operations. Using his background in engineering and manufacturing, Daniel says they’ve closely monitored trends in which crops perform the best in Houston’s varied, humid climate over the past decade.

They also follow Thomas’s philosophy of allowing nature to work for them, planting crops at times when specific pests are minimal or integrating natural predators into their environment. And lots of composting. Daniel says they accept compostable materials from community members, before burying the raw organic matter in the earth in between their plant beds, allowing it to mature, then later using it to nourish their crops. Daniel says he and his co-founders hope to see more community-focused, sustainable operations like theirs spring up across Houston.

“Small Places is about hopefully more than one farm and really trying to turn urban agriculture and a farm like ours from a novel thing into something that’s just a part of communities and the fabric of Houston for generations to come,” Daniel says.

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This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

Experts from the University of Houston are teaming up with the city on key sustainability efforts.

University of Houston collaborates with county on future-facing sustainability efforts

dream team

Researchers at the University of Houston are partnering with the Harris County Office of County Administration’s Sustainability Office, the Harris County Energy Management Team, and other county staff in an effort to develop a comprehensive baseline of energy use and energy-use intensity that will aim to reduce energy costs and emissions in county facilities.

Once fully established, the team will work on tracking progress and evaluating the effectiveness of energy-saving measures over time. They will begin to build the foundation for future programs aimed at maximizing savings, reducing energy consumption, and increasing the use of renewable energy sources in county operations.

Harris County energy managers, Glen Rhoden and Yas Ahmadi, will work with UH professionals, including:

  • Jian Shi, UH Cullen College of Engineering associate professor of engineering technology and electrical and computer engineering
  • Zhu Han, Moores professor of electrical and computer engineering
  • Xidan "Delia" Zhang, UH research intern

The group began collaborating a year ago, and analyzed energy consumption data from county facilities.They were able to successfully identify key summertime energy-saving opportunities and completed retro-commissioning of four county buildings. Those efforts saved over $230,000 annually in electricity costs.

“This project is a prime example of how impactful research at UH can be when applied to real-world challenges, delivering tangible benefits to both the environment and the communities we serve,” Shi says in a news release.

The team will plan to do additional building projects, which includes the development of solar energy and heat pump initiatives, building automation system upgrades, and LED lighting installations. The goal is to reduce electricity usage by at least 5 percent per year for county facilities by 2030 and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent over the next 5 years for county buildings.

“Addressing climate change and the energy transition requires a collaborative effort that is not only data-driven and action-oriented but also human-centric,” Shi adds. “It’s about more than just technology—it’s about improving the quality of life for Texans.”

Before the fire went out, its reduced size meant police finally had access to the area around the pipeline. Photo via Getty Images

A fire that burned for 4 days after Texas pipeline explosion has finally gone out

recovery mode

A pipeline fire that burned in a Houston suburb for four days finally went out Thursday as authorities announced a criminal investigation into the blaze that had roared into a towering flame, forcing neighborhoods to evacuate and melting parts of nearby cars.

Before the fire fully stopped Thursday evening, officials announced that human remains were found in an SUV that had been next to the flame since the explosion happened Monday. Investigators say the fire began after the driver of that car went through a fence alongside a Walmart parking lot and struck an above-ground valve.

Officials in Deer Park, where the explosion occurred, described the crash as an accident, and said police and local FBI agents have not found evidence of a coordinated or terrorist attack.

“This has developed into a criminal investigation and will be actively ongoing until more information is available,” the city said in a statement late Thursday.

As authorities worked to identify who had driven the vehicle, residents who were forced to flee the towering blaze returned to assess the damage on Thursday. They found mailboxes and vehicles partially melted by the intense heat, a neighborhood park charred and destroyed and fences burned to the ground.

“Devastated, upset, scared. We don’t know what we’re going to do now,” said Diane Hutto, 51, after finding her home severely damaged by water that firefighters poured on it to keep it from catching fire. Hutto’s home is located only a few hundred feet from the pipeline.

Before the fire went out, its reduced size meant police finally had access to the area around the pipeline. Investigators removed the white SUV and towed it away Thursday morning.

While medical examiners with Harris County were processing the vehicle, they recovered and removed human remains found inside, Deer Park officials said in a statement.

Officials say the underground pipeline, which runs under high-voltage power lines in a grassy corridor between the Walmart and a residential neighborhood, was damaged when the SUV driver left the store’s parking lot, entered the wide grassy area and went through a fence surrounding the valve equipment.

But authorities have offered few details on what caused the vehicle to crash through the fence and hit the pipeline valve.

Energy Transfer, the Dallas-based company that owns the pipeline, on Wednesday called it an accident. Deer Park officials said preliminary investigations by police and FBI agents found no evidence of a terrorist attack.

The pipeline is a 20-inch-wide (50-centimeter-wide) conduit that runs for miles through the Houston area. It carries natural gas liquids through Deer Park and La Porte, both of which are southeast of Houston.

Authorities evacuated nearly 1,000 homes at one point and ordered people in nearby schools to shelter in place. Officials began letting residents return to their homes on Wednesday evening.

Hutto said Thursday the fire incinerated her home’s backyard fence and partially melted a small shed where her husband stored his lawnmower. Inside the home, mold and mildew were starting to set in from the water damage, and part of the ceiling in her daughter's bedroom had collapsed.

“Everything is just soaking wet,” she said. “It smells bad. I don’t think there’s really anything we can salvage at this point.”

Across the street, Robert Blair found minor damage when he returned to his home Thursday morning. It included broken and cracked windows and a window screen and irrigation system pipes that had been melted by the heat.

“We were very lucky here. It could have been worse,” said Blair, 67.

The pipeline’s valve equipment appears to have been protected by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. Energy Transfer has not responded to questions about any other safety protections that were in place.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the county’s top elected official, said Thursday that officials will look at whether they can require companies like Energy Transfer to install better security measures, including concrete structures around pipelines and their aboveground valves.

“If they had that around it, I don’t think this would have happened,” Blair said.

Energy Transfer and Harris County officials have said that air quality monitoring showed no immediate risk to individuals, despite the huge tower of billowing flame that shot hundreds of feet into the air when the fire first began, creating thick black smoke that hovered over the area.

Houston, Texas’ largest city, is the nation’s petrochemical heartland and is home to a cluster of refineries and plants and thousands of miles of pipelines. Explosions and fires are a familiar sight in the area, including some that have been deadly, raising recurring questions about the adequacy of industry efforts to protect the public and the environment.

Hidalgo said some residents she spoke with told her they don’t feel safe living in the area after this week’s fire.

Hutto, whose husband works in a petrochemical plant, said living near such facilities has always been a concern, but this week’s fire has changed things for her.

“I don’t think I want to live here anymore. I’m just too scared to stay here,” Hutto said.

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Here are 10+ must-attend Houston energy transition events for Q2 2025

On the Agenda

Editor's note: Spring is here, and this quarter is packed with must-attend events for those in the energy transition sector. Houston plays host to myriad summits, conferences, and expos that you won't want to miss. Mark your calendars and begin registering today. Please note: this article may be updated to include additional events.

March 31-April 2 — World Hydrogen North America 2025

Seize the opportunity to connect with industry leaders from across the hydrogen value chain, fostering long-term business partnerships and exploring potential collaborations. Engage with prominent off-takers, both nationally and internationally, and gain first-hand insights into the latest projects shaping the future of hydrogen in the USA and Canada.

This event begins March 31 at the Marriott Marquis. Click here to register.

April 1-2 — 8th Annual LNG Summit USA

The LNG Summit USA brings together leaders in the LNG sector, who in turn bring solutions to glaring industry challenges. The event addresses key challenges and opportunities within the LNG industry and the broader energy landscape. The conference will also provide insights into alternative energy options that could potentially replace or complement LNG.

This event begins April 1. Click here to register.

April 17 — 2025 UH Energy Symposium Series on Plastics Circularity

Celebrating its 12th year, the UH Energy Symposium Series tackles critical issues impacting the energy sector. This year’s focus on plastics circularity will bring together industry leaders, researchers, and visionaries to explore the intersection of plastics, sustainability, and energy.

This event begins at 8 am on April 17 at UH Student Center South. Click here to register.

April 28-30 — PPDM Energy Data Convention Houston 2025

This flagship conference is dedicated to exploring the latest advancements and trends in energy data, offering opportunities for networking, knowledge exchange, and collaboration. Gain insights into cutting-edge data management practices and how they can enhance operational efficiency, support strategic decision-making, and contribute to achieving long-term objectives. Highlights include keynote presentations from renowned experts, interactive panel discussions, hands-on workshops, and an exhibitor showcase.

This event begins April 28 at Norris Conference Center. Click here to register.

May 12-15 — Enverus Evolve Conference

Staying ahead of the curve in the energy sector is critical. This conference is designed to equip energy leaders with foresight in the energy market, providing cutting-edge technological know-how, sessions and networking opportunities industry leaders, and offering practical guidance on how to apply technology to solve big problems.

This event begins May 12 at Hilton Americas Houston. Click here to register.

May 27-28 — 6th American LNG Forum

Join LNG industry professionals, innovators, and policymakers to discover groundbreaking technologies that are driving the future of liquified natural gas. Topics will include market dynamics and decarbonization strategies, offering attendees the chance to connect, learn, and become part of the LNG revolution.

This event begins May 27 at the Westin Galleria Houston. Click here to register.

May 28-30 — CHARGE North America

This intimate, immersive experience is tailored to forward-thinking energy professionals. The conference includes hands-on interactive workshops led by top strategists; real-world case studies; and insights from leading speakers on resilient branding, consumer expectations, and climate action. Attendees will engage in panel discussions on sustainability and energy diversification and enjoy exclusive networking opportunities with global executives and innovators.

This event begins May 28 at The Ion. Click here to register.

May 29-30 — 5th Annual American Hydrogen Forum

Connect with hydrogen industry leaders, innovators, and policymakers at the American Hydrogen Forum. Discover groundbreaking technologies and strategies focusing on hydrogen fuel cell technology, hydrogen energy, and low-carbon hydrogen solutions.

This event begins May 29 at the Westin Galleria Houston. Click here to register.

June 4-5 — 2025 AWS Energy Symposium

The fourth annual AWS Energy Symposium is the premier AWS event for the energy industry. Hear from leading energy and utility customers, partners, and startups about how they're using AWS to scale innovation and transform their organizations. The event is invitation only and is geared toward senior leaders and director-level executives from across the energy value chain. Click here to submit a registration request.

June 11-12 — Energy Projects Conference & Expo

The Energy Projects Conference & Expo (EPC Show) is the largest event in North America for professionals working at the heart of major energy projects. The show will bring together five leading conferences under one roof for the first time, uniting 3,000-plus engineering, construction, commissioning, supply chain, operations, and maintenance professionals. Conference subjects span LNG exporting, hydrogen and ammonia, midstream, petrochem and refining, and sustainable aviation fuels.

This event begins June 11 at the George R Brown Convention Center. Click here to register.

June 25-26 — Carbon Capture Technology Expo

Tackling climate change is one of the biggest global challenges that requires immediate action, and many industrial sectors are now looking to new technology to help meet net-zero emission targets. The Carbon Capture Technology Expo is North America's leading event for carbon capture, utilization, and storage. The expo offers opportunities to network with industry frontrunners and best-in-class solution providers.

This event begins June 25 at NRG Center. Click here to register. It is co-located with the Hydrogen Technology Conference & Expo North America. Expo passes are free.


8 Houston energy companies land on Time's top greentech list for 2025

top honor

The accolades keep rolling in for Houston-based Fervo Energy, a producer of geothermal power.

Fervo lands at No. 6 on Time magazine and Statista’s new list of America’s Top GreenTech Companies of 2025. The ranking recognizes sustainability-focused companies based on factors such as impact, financial strength, and innovation.

Time notes that Fervo broke ground in 2023 in Utah on what the company claims will be the world’s largest geothermal plant. The plant is scheduled to start supplying carbon-free electricity to the grid next year and to reach its 400-megawatt capacity in three years.

“Technologies like this only make a difference if we deploy them at large-scale in a way that can reduce carbon emissions and increase the reliability of the grid,” Fervo CEO Tim Latimer told Time in 2023.

The startup was named North American Company of the Year by research and consulting firm Cleantech Group for 2025. Fervo topped the Global Cleantech 100, Cleantech Group’s annual list of the world’s most innovative and promising cleantech companies.

Last year, Fervo also made Time’s list of the 200 Best Inventions of 2024. Fervo was recognized in the green energy category for its FervoFlex geothermal power system.

Founded in 2017, Fervo is now a unicorn, meaning its valuation as a private company exceeds $1 billion. The startup’s valuation is estimated at $1.4 billion. According to PitchBook data, the company raised $634 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.

In all, eight Houston-area companies appear among the top 250 greentech companies ranked by Time and Statista. Other than Fervo, they are:

  • No. 43 Lancium Technologies, an energy storage and distribution company
  • No. 50 Solugen, a producer of sustainable chemicals.
  • No. 56 Quaise Energy, which specializes in terawatt-scale geothermal power.
  • No. 129 Plus Power, a developer, owner and operator of battery storage projects.
  • No. 218 Dream Harvest, which promotes sustainable vertical farming.
  • No. 225 Cemvita, which uses synthetic biology to convert carbon emissions into bio-based chemicals.
  • No. 226 Syzygy Plasmonics, which decarbonizes chemical production.
Vermont-based BETA Technologies claimed the No. 1 spot. The company manufactures electric aircraft.

Top takeaways from CERAWeek and more energy transition news to know

Trending News

Editor's note: As we approach the end of March, it's time to look back at the hottest energy transition news from the second half of the month. Here are the top five trending EnergyCapital stories from March 14-28, from CERAWeek key takeaways to a look at the Texas grid vs. extreme weather.

1. Houston energy expert shares key takeaways from CERAWeek 2025

Environmental services firm names Houston energy leader to board

Barbara Burger shares her CERAWEEK takeaways with EnergyCapital. Courtesy photo

What a difference a year makes. I have been coming to CERAWeek for as long as I can remember and the Agora track within CERAWeek since it originated. Although freshness likely distorts my thinking, I cannot remember a CERAWeek that seemed so different from the previous year's than this one.

This certainly isn’t a comprehensive summary of the conference, but some of my key take forwards from last week's events. Continue reading Barbara J. Burger's takeaways.

2. Houston-led project earns $1 million in federal funding for flood research

A team of Texas researchers has landed a nearly $1 million NSF grant to address rural flood management challenges with community input. Photo via Getty Images.

A team from Rice University, the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University has been awarded a National Science Foundation grant under the CHIRRP—or Confronting Hazards, Impacts and Risks for a Resilient Planet—program to combat flooding hazards in rural Texas.

The grant totals just under $1 million, according to a CHIRRP abstract. The proposal includes work that introduces a “stakeholder-centered framework” to help address rural flood management challenges with community input. Continue reading.

3. Can the Texas grid handle extreme weather conditions across regions?

Texans are facing extreme weather at every turn — can the grid withstand these events? Photo via heimdallpower.com

From raging wildfires to dangerous dust storms and fierce tornadoes, Texans are facing extreme weather conditions at every turn across the state. Recently, thousands in the Texas Panhandle-South Plains lost power as strong winds ranging from 35 to 45 mph with gusts upwards of 65 mph blew through. Meanwhile, many North Texas communities are still reeling from tornadoes, thunderstorms, and damaging winds that occurred earlier this month.

With the extreme weather conditions increasing in Texas and nationally, recovering from these disasters will only become harder and costlier. When it comes to examining the grid’s capacity to withstand these volatile changes, we’re past due. As of now, the grid likely isn’t resilient enough to make do, but there is hope. Continue reading Sam Luna's column here.

4. CERAWeek announces winners of annual clean tech pitch competition

The teams at this year's Energy Venture Day and Pitch Competition have collectively raised $435 million in funding. Photo courtesy of CERAWeek

Teams from around the world and right here in Houston took home prizes at the fourth annual Energy Venture Day and Pitch Competition at CERAWeek on March 12. The fast-paced event, put on by Rice Alliance, Houston Energy Transition Initiative and TEX-E, invited 36 industry startups and five Texas-based student teams focused on driving efficiency and advancements toward the energy transition to present at 3.5-minute pitch before investors and industry partners during CERAWeek's Agora program. The competition is a qualifying event for the Startup World Cup, powered by Pegasus Venture, where teams compete for a $1 million investment prize.

The teams at this year's Energy Venture Day have collectively raised $435 million in funding. Rice University student teams took home two of the three top prizes in the competition.Continue reading.

5. New report shows Texas led nation in solar and battery growth in 2024

Texas outpaced all other states in various categories of power generation in 2024, according to a new report from Ember, an energy think tank. File photo

The winds of change in power generation are sweeping through Texas.

Texas outpaced all other states in various categories of power generation in 2024, according to a new report from Ember, an energy think tank. The report shows that Texas contributed more (12 terawatt-hours) to the country’s 64 terawatt-hour rise in solar generation last year than any other state. Continue reading.

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