Why this entrepreneur believes Houston should lead resilience technology alongside the energy transition

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Ali Mostafavi, founder of Resilitix.AI, joins the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss how he pivoted to provide important data amid Hurricane Beryl. Photo via tamu.edu

When it comes to developing resilience technology, Houston startup founder Ali Mostafavi knows he's in the right place.

Mostafavi, a civil and environmental engineering professor at Texas A&M University, co-founded Resilitix.AI two years ago, and with the help of his lab at A&M, has created a platform that brings publicly available data into AI algorithms to provide its partners near-real time information in storm settings.

"We are very excited that our company is Houston based," he says on the Houston Innovators Podcast. "We should not be just ground zero of disasters. We have to also be ground zero for solutions as well. I believe Houston should be the hub for resilience tech innovation as it is for energy transition.

"I think energy transition, climatetech, energy tech, and disaster tech go hand in hand," Mostafavi continues. "I feel that we are in the right place."

Earlier this month, Mostafavi got an unexpected chance to pilot his company's data-backed and artificial intelligence-powered platform — all while weathering one of Houston's most impactful storms.

As Hurricane Beryl came ashore with Houston on its path, Mostafavi says he had the opportunity to both test his technology and provide valuable information to his community during the storm.

"We were in the process of fine tuning some of our methods and algorithms behind our technology," Mostafavi says. "When disasters happen, you go to activation mode. We put our technology development and R&D efforts on hold and try to test our technology in an operational setting."

The platform provides its partners — right now, those include local and state organizations and emergency response teams — information on evacuation reports, street flooding, and even damage sustained based on satellite imagery. Mostafavi says that during Beryl, users were wondering how citizens were faring amid rising temperatures and power outages. The Resilitix team quickly pivoted to apply algorithms to hospital data to see which neighborhoods were experiencing high volumes of patients.

"We had the ability to innovate on the spot," Mostafavi says, adding that his own lack of power and internet was an additional challenge for the company. "When an event happens, we start receiving requests and questions. ... We had to be agile and adapt our methods to be responsive. Then at the same time, because we haven't tested it, we have to verify that we are confident (in the information we provide)."

On the episode, Mostafavi shares how Hurricane Harvey — which occurred shortly after Mostafavi moved to Houston — inspired the foundation of Resilitix, and he also explains how he plans to grow and scale the business.

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This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner celebrated the opening of the renovated City Hall basement that was damaged in Hurricane Harvey. Photo via houstontx.gov

Photos: City of Houston makes $4.4M facilities upgrades with sustainability, resiliency in mind

built for the future

Where some might see just a basement, Mayor Sylvester Turner sees an opportunity to tell a story of Houston's resiliency and dedication to sustainability.

When Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, it left 18 to 20 inches of floodwaters in the basement of Houston City Hall. The city received funding from FEMA to support the $4.4 million renovation project that commenced in 2020. After facing challenges — including a defaulted contractor — the city revealed the new space this week, which was completed by contractor Dunhill Construction.

The basement includes 18 works of art that each are an "ode to Houston." Photo via houstontx.gov

"The City Hall Basement renovation is a testament to the resilient spirit of Houston," says Turner in the news release. "We encountered some challenges, but we've revitalized this space while preserving our history and embracing innovation. This space truly embodies our commitment to a sustainable future."

The new basement holds conference rooms, training facilities, and a wellness center that was donated by Cigna. The project was focused on implementing sustainability and efficiency and included replacing aging air handling units with more efficient technology, LED lighting equipped with sensors to avoid energy waste, and a sliding floodgate to prevent history from repeating itself should another storm hit Houston.

The new space includes training facilities.Photo via houstontx.gov

The project also incorporated 18 pieces of Houston-focused art by artists including Mark Chen, Syd Moen, Nancy Newberry, and David Reinfeld. The 49 Houston mayor portraits, which were rescued by a staffer during the storm, were conserved, reframed, and rehung.

The space will also be the home to Houston's first walk-in 311 center, per the release, and the 311’s Continuity of Operations Plan, or COOP, and will be a secondary location in case the main call center fails.

With the completion of the project, the city has a few more upgrades — including additional training facilities, the mayor's dining room, and kitchen — coming soon and set to be completed in November.

Cigna donated a wellness center as a part of the renovation. Photo via houstontx.gov

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Houston’s Fervo Energy amasses $12B backlog of orders

q3 results

Houston-based geothermal power company Fervo Energy saw a 65 percent spike in purchase orders during the third quarter.

During Fervo’s third-quarter earnings call, Tim Latimer, co-founder, chair, president and CEO, said the company had a $11.9 billion backlog of orders, up from $7.2 billion in the previous quarter.

Those numbers didn’t translate to robust financial results in the third quarter, though. It closed the quarter with an operating loss of $43 million on revenue of just $116,000.

Beyond the billions of dollars in signed purchase agreements, Fervo is in talks with prospective customers in the utility, industrial data-center sectors, Latimer said. About half the potential customers are in the data-center sector, 35 percent in the utility sector and 15 percent in the industrial sector.

Latimer said the broad-based demand reflected by the backlog and the discussions with potential customers reinforces the critical need for reliable, readily available power.

“Our approach to power delivery will continue to blend front-of-the-meter and behind-the-meter development,” he said. “Grid-connected assets remain the foundation, though behind-the-meter gives customers a faster path to power when transmission time lines lag their need.”

Front-of-the-meter refers to power plants, utility-scale solar and wind farms, large grid batteries, and transmission and distribution infrastructure. Behind-the-meter assets sit on the customer side of the meter, such as backup generators and EV chargers at homes, businesses, factories and other everyday places.

The order backlog isn’t Fervo’s only recent milestone. In late September, the company’s Cape Station geothermal plant in Utah started delivering its first utility-scale geothermal power to the grid. The plant is producing about 33 megawatts of power.

Earlier in September, Fervo signed a 15-year deal to supply about 396 megawatts of power for Google data centers. The power will be delivered in four 99-megawatt batches. The company filed its $1.89 billion IPO this spring.

3 Houston incubators supporting hard tech, energy transition, and beyond

Meet The Finalists

It takes a village to launch a business. That's where Houston's network of incubators and accelerators can step in, providing the resources, mentorship and community needed to push a fledgling company forward.

As part of InnovationMap's 2026 Houston Innovation Awards, the Incubator/Accelerator of the Year category honors a local organization that is championing and fueling the growth of Houston startups.

Three incubators and accelerators have been named finalists for the 2026 award. They support startups ranging from hard tech companies to food and youth concepts.

Read more about these organizations below. The 2026 winners will be announced on InnovationMap.com in mid-November.

Activate

Hard tech incubator Activate supports scientists in "the outset of their entrepreneurial journey." The Houston hub was introduced in 2024, and joins others in Boston, New York, and Berkley, California—where Activate is headquartered. It named its third Houston cohort this summer.

The two-year program graduated its first class of Houston fellows in 2026 and saw its first alumni IPO from Houston-based Fervo Energy, which previously participated in a Berkley cohort. Nationally, it has supported 346 fellows and 276 companies since 2015. Those companies have raised more than $6 billion in follow-on funding, according to Activate. In Houston, it has supported Houston startups like energy transition leaders Solidec and FlowCellutions. Activate Houston is led by managing director Jeremy Pitts, who co-founded Greentown Labs in Boston. It is based out of the Ion.

Impact Hub Houston

Impact Hub Houston supports early-stage ventures at various stages of development through innovative programs that address pressing societal issues. The nonprofit organization supports social impact startups through mentorship, connections and training opportunities.

There are more than 110 Impact Hubs globally with members spanning 72 countries. Launched in 2018, Impact Hub Houston says its membership tripled by the beginning of 2026. This year brought major milestones for the community, including the launch of its Ideas to Impact Accelerator, which supported 11 founders across the health, education, food systems, civic technology and workforce development sectors. It also received funding from more than 20 international Impact Hubs to develop SYNC, a collaboration platform that 25 Impact Hubs across five continents have committed to pilot. The organization has worked with local startups including Myoviva Health, The Change Lab and INNERVERSE Inc.

MarMo Innovation

Galveston-based business incubator MarMo Innovation is focused on removing barriers to entrepreneurship. It aims to provide affordable space, education, mentorship, market access, connections and real-world opportunities that help entrepreneurs move from idea to launch to sustainable growth. The "industry-agnostic" incubator was founded in 2022 and is led by Executive Director Erica Delgadillo.

This year, the organization moved from primarily serving as a coworking and community space into a more comprehensive entrepreneurial incubator by expanding its MarMo Market, MarMo Market Jr. and Lunch LineUp programs. A major focus for MarMo is food entrepreneurship. It is developing an Incubator Kitchen, which MarMo says will support programs like its Cottage to Commercial Bootcamp and Food Biz 101. The organization also expanded its board this year and says it is diversifying its revenue through memberships, events, markets, equipment and space rentals, sponsorships, grants and new entrepreneurial programming.

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This article first appeared on InnovationMap.com.

Sage Geosystems taps Halliburton to advance Nevada geothermal project

power partnership

Houston-based Sage Geosystems has selected oil and gas powerhouse Halliburton to provide cementing and stimulation services at its enhanced geothermal project in Nevada known as Project Vector.

“Our technology and experience will support Sage as it advances its geopressured geothermal technology,” Shawn Skobel, vice president at Halliburton, said in a news release.

Halliburton will provide Sage with technical modeling, engineering design, and field execution support as part of its specialized cementing and stimulation services at Project Vector at Ormat Technologies' Blue Mountain geothermal power plant. Sage announced the location of the geothermal project in September.

At the time, Sage said it expected to begin drilling the first well at Project Vector this year, with the first electricity to be generated in 2027 and full-scale production to start in 2028.

The project will use Sage’s enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) method in a two-well system to convert geothermal heat into electricity. The project aims to help meet industrial and residential demand, especially as data centers strain energy grids.

Founded in 2020, Sage has raised $159 million across three funding rounds. Its technology aims to reach Earth’s natural heat source deep underground for more consistent power generation and utilizes engineered subsurface reservoirs to minimize water and energy losses and increase net power output. Through the process, Sage says it can enable reliable, 24/7 power generation.

“One of the keys to scaling next-generation geothermal is combining innovative subsurface technology with the proven capabilities and execution of the oil and gas industry,” Jason Peart, Chief Operating Officer of Sage Geosystems, added in the news release. “Halliburton brings decades of experience in well integrity and reservoir stimulation, two critical components of our development approach. By selecting an established industry leader, we are strengthening our ability to execute Project Vector and demonstrate that Sage’s technology can be replicated and deployed commercially across a broad range of geologies.”

Sage is building off prior success of its South Texas SMECI facility, which began operations in August. Project Vector supports Sage’s growing commercial pipeline, which includes a 150-megawatt geothermal power agreement with Meta.

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