EnergyTech Nexus has named 19 companies as Global Founding Partners. Photo via Unsplash.

EnergyTech Nexus, a Houston-based hub for clean energy startups, announced its coalition of Global Founding Partners last month at its Pilotathon event during Houston Energy and Climate Week.

The group of international companies will contribute financial and technical resources, as well as share their expertise with startup founders, according to a news release from EnergyTech Nexus.

“Our Global Founding Partners represent the highest standards of industrial leadership, technical expertise and commitment to innovation,” Juliana Garaizar, co-founding partner of EnergyTech Nexus, added in the release. “Their collaboration enables us to connect groundbreaking technologies with the resources, infrastructure, and markets needed to achieve global scale.”

Houston-based partners include:

  • Cemvita Inc.
  • Chevron Technology Ventures
  • Collide
  • Greentown Labs
  • Kauel
  • Oxy Technology Ventures
  • Revterra
  • Sunipro

“At Collide, we believe progress happens when the right people, data, and ideas come together. Partnering with EnergyTech Nexus allows us to support innovators with the insights and community they need to accelerate deployment at scale,” Collin McLelland, co-founder and CEO of Collide, a provider of generative artificial intelligence for the energy sector, said in the release.

"Revterra is thrilled to be a founding member of the EnergyTech Nexus community," Ben Jawdat, founder and CEO of kinetic battery technology company Revterra, added. "Building a strong network of collaborators, customers, and investors is critical for any startup — particularly when you're building novel hardware. The Energytech Nexus community has been incredible at bringing all of the right stakeholders together."

Other partners, many of which have a strong presence in Houston, include:

  • BBVA
  • EarthX
  • Endress+Hauser
  • Goodwin
  • Greenbackers Investment Capital
  • ISR Energy
  • Latham & Watkins LLP
  • Ormazabal
  • Repsol
  • STX Next
  • XGS Energy

Jason Ethier, co-founding partner of EnergyTech Nexus, said that partnerships with these companies will be "pivotal" in supporting the organization's community of founders and Houston's broader energy transition sector.

“The Energy and Climate industry deploys over $1.5 trillion in capital every year to meet our growing energy demands. Our global founding partners recognize that this energy must be delivered reliably, cost effectively, and sustainably, and have committed to ensuring that technology developed without our ecosystem can find a path to market through testing and piloting in real-world conditions," Ethier said. "The ecosystem they support here solidifies Houston as the global nexus for the energy transition.”

EnergyTech Nexus also recently announced a "strategic ecosystem partnership" with Greentown Labs, aimed at accelerating growth for clean energy startups. Read more here.

Meet the new arrivals at Greentown Houston. Photo courtesy of Greentown Labs

9 startups join Houston climatech accelerator to tackle carbon capture, energy efficiency, and more

FRESH CROP

Greentown Labs closed out the second quarter with the addition of 17 startups, and just over half are collaborating with the Houston location.

The technology represented by the new additions span the industries of energy, agriculture, and manufacturing, with a focus on carbon capture, electrical usage efficiency, and resource accessibility.

Carbon capture

Two of the newest Houston members, Capture6 and C-Quester, are also part of the Carbon2Value Initiative, a global partnership between the Greentown Labs, Urban Future Lab in New York, and Fraunhofer, headquartered in Michigan. C2V focuses on accelerating technology solutions that capture carbon dioxide for conversion into value-adding products and services.

Similar to the way a sponge is moistened and later wrung out, C-Quester pulls CO2 from flue gas into a temperature-sensitive material that can be heated later to release carbon, making the storage and transport of CO2 easier to manage.

Capture6 uses CO2 pulled from the atmosphere through their Direct Air Capture technology in combination with water treatment methodologies to remove excess salinity from saltwater and brine, resulting in greater freshwater recovery, usable elements for a variety of industries, and carbonates transformed into mineralized form to prevent continued carbon emissions.

Energy efficiency

The Helix MICRA filters created by Helix Earth Technologies can remove CO2 from power plants and other pollutants commonly encountered in the shipping industry. The filtering technology, initially developed for NASA, also dehumidifies air conditioning systems for more efficient energy use.

H2PRO uses its water-splitting technology, E-TAC, to produce green hydrogen in a two-step process that requires less energy to perform than the more common process of electrolysis with improved safety aspects.

Steam production and distribution get an upgrade with Imperium Technologies, the first electromechanical solution that enables previously unseen systems monitoring for reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 20%, on average.

With a keen focus on predictive insights, eologix deploys smart sensors to give operators advance warning of situations that could cause rotor imbalances to keep wind turbines – and the energy they produce – optimized.

Resource accessibility

NW NA supports the goals of stability, predictability, and accessibility of electric-powered vehicle use with its high-power EV-charging station, mobile electricity storage units, and renewable energy measurement and forecasting tool.

From the Metaversity under development, to its oil and gas line leak detection systems, Kauel goes all-in on AI for its clients, even helping children with kinesthetic rehabilitation through augmented and virtual reality programs.

Finally, SkyH2O brings fresh, clean water to areas with limited access to existing infrastructure or natural water resources for commercial, military, and industrial use.

Another eight startups join the cohort named above as members of the Greentown Labs Boston location: Capro-X, Carbon2Stone, Cottage, Dioxycle, enaDyne, Global Algae Innovations, Terrafixing, and Thola.

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Electric truck charging network expands to Houston-Dallas freight corridor

electric trucking

Greenlane Infrastructure, an electric public charging station developer and operator, is expanding outside of its home state of California and into Texas.

The Santa Monica-based company plans to launch its high-power charging sites along the Dallas–Houston I-45 corridor, which is one of the highest-volume commercial trucking routes in the country, according to a news release from Greenlane.

The sites will feature 6-8 pull-through lanes with chargers supporting combined charging system (CCS) and megawatt charging system (MCS) connectors that allow electric truck drivers to recharge their vehicles during standard rest periods. They will also offer tractor parking and charging, as well as operations that will allow for overnight stops.

Drivers can reserve chargers in advance, monitor charging activity in real time, and manage billing from the Greenlane Edge platform.

“Our customers are making commitments to electrify their fleets, and they need a charging network that can grow alongside them,” Patrick Macdonald-King, CEO of Greenlane, said in the release. “This is the first leg of the Texas triangle, one of the more important freight arteries in the country, so bringing high-power charging there is the next logical step in building a network that serves how freight moves across America.”

Greenlane is also expanding across the West Coast, with five locations under development in California and Nevada. It opened its flagship Greenlane Center in Colton, California, in April 2025. The company plans to open locations in Blythe, California, and Port of Long Beach this year.

Greelane was founded in 2023 as a joint venture between Daimler Truck North America, NextEra Energy Resources and BlackRock. It has secured partnerships with electric long-haul truck developer Windrose Technology, Velocity Truck Centers and Volvo Trucks North America.

Houston startup lands $1B from Blackstone and Halliburton, plans acquisition

power deal

Houston-based power generation startup VoltaGrid has nailed down a $1 billion equity investment from asset management heavyweight Blackstone and Houston-based oilfield services provider Halliburton.

The investment comes in two forms:

  • A $775 million primary capital raise
  • A $225 million secondary capital purchase from existing investors

VoltaGrid, founded in 2020, provides behind-the-meter mobile power generation equipment for data centers, microgrids and industrial customers.

Aside from the $1 billion investment, VoltaGrid has agreed to buy Propell Energy Technology, a VoltaGrid supplier, for an undisclosed amount. Propell offers a natural gas power generation platform for AI data centers. VoltaGrid plans to add two manufacturing plants at Propell’s facilities in Granbury, a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb.

The investment and acquisition deals are expected to close in mid-2026.

Funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities are contributing to the $1 billion investment. William Nicholson, managing director of Blackstone, called VoltaGrid “a highly differentiated platform addressing one of the most important infrastructure needs of the AI era: reliable, rapidly deployable power. This investment is a strong example of Tac Opps’ focus on providing flexible, scaled capital to exceptional entrepreneurs and businesses operating in Blackstone’s highest-conviction investment themes.”

Nathan Ough, founder and CEO of VoltaGrid, said in a release that the Blackstone investment “is a powerful endorsement of the platform we have built and the role VoltaGrid is playing in delivering the energy infrastructure of the AI era.”

Last October, VoltaGrid and Halliburton said they had forged a partnership to supply power for data centers around the world, with the Middle East picked as the initial target. Two months later, the companies said they had arranged the manufacturing of 400 megawatts of natural gas power systems that’ll be delivered in 2028 to support new data centers in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Jeff Miller, president and CEO of Halliburton, said his company’s investment in VoltaGrid “reflects our shared focus on long-term solutions for the world’s most demanding power environments, and advances VoltaGrid’s ability to deliver reliable, distributed power at scale.”