Houston Auto Show returns this month as part of new innovative coalition

auto allies

The Houston Auto Show and Houston Boat Show (Houston AutoBoative) run from Jan. 2–Feb. 2. Photo via Houston Auto Show/Facebook

The Houston Auto Show and Houston Boat Show (Houston AutoBoative) have returned to NRG Center this month, and for the first time, the popular events are part of the Automotive Experience Alliance (AEA).

Launched in October, the AEA is a coalition of about 30 auto shows that aim to drive innovation and standardization throughout the auto show industry, according to a news release.

“Formed out of a year-long strategic planning project, the Automotive Experience Alliance unites industry leaders committed to pushing the boundaries of automotive innovation while driving interest in and education of the latest vehicles and technology via an exciting and interactive event designed for the consumer,” AEA Chairman Kevin Mazzucola said in a release. “The AEA will initially focus on defining a set of standards that all associated members will adopt, including transparency with third-party audited attendance numbers and expanded demographic and purchase intent data.”

Clean energy coalition Evolve Houston is sponsoring the Houston Auto Show and providing attendees with the opportunity to test drive the latest electric vehicle offerings during its outdoor ride and drive.

Additionally, the show promises sports cars, trucks, and boats, and it includes attractions like sightings of three space rovers from NASA.

From the auto industry, vehicles from Nissan, Rolls Royce, Subaru, Toyota, Bentley, BMW, Bugatti, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Ineos, Infiniti, Jeep, Kia, Lexus, Lincoln, Lotus, Mazda, and Volkswagen are on display.

While forming the AEA, 10 U.S. auto shows conducted the Auto Show Insights Initiative to gain feedback from 14,908 auto show attendees about the events to help strengthen shows for members in the coalition and streamline processes for the industry.

Other AEA members include the Austin Auto Show, North Texas Auto Expo and the San Antonio Auto Show, as well as others around the country.

“We’re thrilled to join the Automotive Experience Alliance and contribute to a more innovative future for automotive shows nationwide,” Wyatt Wainwright, President of the Houston Auto Show and AEA Vice President, said in a news release. “Leading as an example, we’ve created the AutoBoative Show, a first-of-its-kind event designed to bring like minded individuals together, broadening our reach to include both auto and boating enthusiasts. The past three years of this collaboration showcases our commitment to evolving with consumer interests and providing a unique, immersive experience that resonates with a wider audience.”

Evolve Houston, which was launched as part of Houston’s Climate Action Plan and is one of the organizations leading the way in the EV space. The nonprofit set out to have 30 percent of the vehicles in Houston be electric by 2030 while improving regional air quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the Greater Houston area.

Houston AutoBoative runs from Jan. 2–Feb 2. Find more tickets and more information here.

From Your Site Articles

Buckle up for the 2024 Houston Auto Show this week, which will prominently feature EV tech. Photo via Houston Auto Show/Facebook

Electric vehicles to take center stage at annual Houston event

vroom, vroom

Houston Auto Show, which is a long running event for auto enthusiasts, will feature its largest electronic vehicle representation to date this year.

The event will feature an EV Pavillion and Evolve Houston’s electronic showroom at the January 24 to 28 event at NRG Center. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about what it means to go the EV route from environmental impact, performance, cost effectiveness, and other factors.

This year, vehicles like Nissan's Ariya Platinum+ AWD, Chevrolet’s Bolt EV, Ford’s F-150 Lightning and others will be on display at the EV Pavillion. CenterPoint Energy, Reliant, and the University of Houston were part of Evolve's 2023 showroom.

A recent study from SmartAsset ranked states with the most electric vehicle chargers by looking at the closest equivalent to a trip to the gas station, in terms of “refueling” – per capita. Texas is behind other similarly-sized states.

“Houston maintains some of the lowest population density and longest commute distances of major U.S. cities, and we have an immense amount of business and goods that flow through Houston,” Casey Brown, executive director and president of EVOLVE, previously told EnergyCapital. “We see a landscape that can uniquely achieve larger financial and environmental benefits of EV technologies. One way that we share these benefits is being the Presenting Sponsor of the Houston Auto Show.”

Houston Automobile Dealers Association Executive Vice President and event organizer RoShelle Salinas has noted there has been an uptick in EV demand for these events since the first one debuted at the 2020 show.

Evolve Houston, which was founded in 2018 through Houston’s Climate Action Plan, is one of the organizations leading the way in the EV space, as the company still aims for its goal to have half of the vehicles in the city be electric by 2030. Evolve assists and funds those looking to make the transition to electric with the Grant Tracker, which aims to make it easier to find funding opportunities, and assist with current grants available to organizations and individuals that are committed to a goal of zero emissions. The tracker serves as a tool to assist with purchasing an EV and charging equipment.

The Biden administration recently announced it is awarding $623 million in grants to help build an electric vehicle charging network across the nation. Grants will fund 47 EV charging stations and related projects in 22 states and Puerto Rico, including 7,500 EV charging ports according to officials. Texas is expected to see a chunk of that funding. Last year, the city of Houston approved $281,000 funding for the expansion of free electric vehicle rideshare services in communities that are considered underserved by utilizing services like RYDE and Evolve Houston.

“Evolve Houston has been a sponsor for 2 years and their display has been a great addition to the show because it is not only educational, but there is also a chance for people to test drive vehicles,” Salinas says.

Ad Placement 300x100

Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

Houston startup strikes deal to develop hydrogen production plant in Canada

hydrogen partnership

Houston-based cleantech startup Vema Hydrogen has reached a tentative agreement with Canada-based CHARBONE Corp. to develop a hydrogen production and processing plant in Québec.

The deal would couple Vema’s production of engineered mineral hydrogen with CHARBONE’s purification, compression and distribution capabilities.

Engineered mineral hydrogen, also known as orange hydrogen, is produced underground by accelerating naturally occurring geochemical reactions in iron-rich rock formations, according to the journal Energy & Environmental Science.

“Across high-value markets — from aviation and maritime fuels to industrial gases — there is incredible demand for Vema’s low-carbon [hydrogen]. Now, more than ever, we need a pathway to deliver these low-carbon fuels,” Pierre Levin, CEO of Vema, said in a news release.

The project would enable Vema to expand into emerging markets like low-carbon maritime and aviation fuel, e-fuels and power generation. Incorporating CHARBONE’s capabilities, the agreement would also support Québec’s hydrogen supply chain.

“The market is demanding high-value industrial gases, and our customers need cleaner, more reliable supply. By pairing Vema’s [hydrogen] feedstock with our purification and distribution capabilities, we’re strengthening Québec’s position as a regional hub for next-generation hydrogen,” Dave Gagnon, CEO of CHARBONE, added in the release.

Vema said in February that it had completed drilling of its first two pilot wells in Québec, making them the world’s first pilot well for orange hydrogen. It’s the first time Vema’s technology has been used outside a lab.

“This pilot will provide the critical data needed to validate [our hydrogen] at commercial scale and demonstrate that Quebec can lead the world in this emerging clean energy category,” Levin said. “The quality of the rock within our core samples is exactly what we expected and is very promising for hydrogen yields.”

Shortly before Vema carried out the pilot drilling, it signed a 10-year deal with California-based energy technology company Verne Power to supply clean hydrogen for California data centers. Over the course of the 10-year agreement, Vema will boost annual production of orange hydrogen to more than 36,000 metric tons.

“There is a robust market for baseload power generation across the U.S., where data centers are straining the grid,” Levin said. “As we power California’s fastest-growing markets with clean hydrogen, we look toward expanding our hydrogen to markets globally and supporting AI-driven power hubs.”

Vema, founded two years ago, raised $13 million in seed funding in 2025.

“The energy transition and emerging uses of hydrogen have spurred demand for clean hydrogen,” Levin said in its funding announcement. “However, existing decarbonized hydrogen production methods simply don’t work — they are too costly and energy-intensive. Vema is here to change that. It’s time to unlock a new era of scalable, low-carbon hydrogen.”

5 must-read Houston energy headlines: Veriten venture fund, ERock IPO + more

Trending News

Editor's note: The month of May brought big news for the Houston energy sector, including a flagship energy venture fund and IPO updates. Here are the five most-read EnergyCapital stories published May 14-29, 2026:

1. Houston investment firm closes $105M energy venture fund

Houston-based investment firm Veriten has announced the initial close of its second flagship energy venture fund with more than $105 million in capital commitments. Fund II will build on Veriten’s initial fund and aim to support “scalable technology solutions for energy, power and industrial applications.” Veriten is supported by over 50 strategic partnerships in the energy, power, industrial and technology sectors, including major players like Halliburton and Phillips 66.

2. Buoyed by $1.3B sales backlog, microgrid company ERock files for IPO

Another energy company in Houston is going public amid a flurry of energy IPOs. Houston-based ERock Inc., which specializes in utility-grade onsite microgrid systems for data centers and other customers, has filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to sell its shares on the New York Stock Exchange. The ERock filing follows the recent $1.9 billion IPO of Houston-based Fervo Energy, a provider of geothermal power that’s now valued at $7.7 billion.

3. Houston renewables developer signs agreement with Meta for new solar project

Houston-based EDP Renewables North America has signed a long-term power purchase agreement with Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, for its forthcoming Cypress Knee Solar project. The 250‑megawatt solar project will be built in Arkansas and is expected to come online by 2028. The company says the project will generate approximately $25 million in new revenue for Chicot County once operational.

4. Houston energy expert asks: Who pays when AI outruns the power grid?

For most of the past 20 years, U.S. electricity policy relied on predictable trends in demand. Electricity use, in most regions, increased gradually, forecasts were stable, and utilities adjusted the system in small steps. Power plants, transmission lines, and substations were generally added to reflect shifts in load, rather than growth, and costs were recovered through modest adjustments to customer bills. Growth in AI data centers has disrupted this model. A single facility can add as much electricity demand as a small town. That demand comes all at once, runs continuously, and has little tolerance for outages. If electricity service drops even briefly, computation stops, and services shut down. Ironically, data centers need reliable service, a point that their emergence is driving concern around for the rest of the grid.

5. Report shows geoscientists earn largest salary premium in Texas

A move to Texas bolsters earnings for some, and a new SmartAsset study has revealed the top professions where the median annual earnings in the Lone Star State exceed the national median. According to the report's findings, geoscientists have the biggest "Texas premium" and make a $159,903 median annual salary. Texas' salary for geoscientists is 61 percent higher than the national median for the same position (after adjusting for regional price parity).

Greentown names 5 climatech startups to manufacturing accelerator

Catalyst Cohort

Greentown Labs has named five climatech startups to its Go Make 2026 cohort, including one from Houston.

Greentown Go Make 2026 is in partnership with Shell Catalysts & Technologies and Technip Energies. Startups will be able to collaborate with leadership from Shell and Technip and have opportunities to work directly with their process engineering teams and develop potential partnerships, pilots and demonstrations, according to Greentown.

This year's manufacturing cohort focuses specifically on process technology and catalytic innovations, which, according to Greentown, have the potential to be a "critical enabler of the global energy transition." Greentown shares that 90 percent of chemical processes depend on catalysis, but traditional methods rely on fossil fuels and consume significant amounts of energy.

“Catalysis underpins the majority of industrial chemical processes, which together account for a significant share of global emissions, making it a critical lever for reducing carbon intensity while improving performance,” Georgina Campbell Flatter, CEO of Greentown, said in a news release. “Greentown Go Make 2026 is designed to close the gap between breakthrough innovation and industrial deployment. By connecting startups with Shell and Technip Energies’ technical expertise and global scale, we’re helping accelerate solutions that improve efficiency and drive industrial decarbonization.”

The five Greentown Go Make 2026 companies include:

Houston-based Biosimo, which makes scalable biochemicals from ethanol
Missouri-based Catalyxx, which transforms bioethanol into drop-in, cost-competitive, carbon-negative chemicals
Sydney, Australia-based HydGene Renewables, which produces low-carbon hydrogen and industrial chemicals from waste biomass
Switzerland-based TreaTech, which turns waste into renewable gas, water and minerals through catalytic hydrothermal gasification
California-based Unifuel, which has developed a chemical technology platform to make sustainable aviation fuel, renewable gasoline and other renewable chemicals

The cohort will be celebrated at a kickoff event in Houston at The Ion on June 9.

In addition to Greentown Go Make, Greentown also runs its Go Move (transportation), Go Energize (energy and electricity), Go Build (buildings), and Go Grow (food and agriculture) cohort-based programs. The climatech incubator announced its Go Build 2026 cohort in March. Read more here.

View All Listings

ENERGYCAPITALHTX EMAILS ARE AWESOME