Houston energy data software platform expands into Europe, hires new execs

now live

Amperon has grown its global footprint. Photo via Getty Images

It's official. Houston-based, AI-powered electricity forecasting and analytics services company Amperon Holdings is live in Europe.

The expansion, which Co-Founder and CEO Sean Kelly previously told InnovationMap about, is official, the company announced this month. In addition to the expansion, Amperon announced Jon Ecker as general manager, Europe, and Kelsey Hultberg as executive vice president, communications, and chief of staff.

Now, European companies that buy and sell energy in the renewable energy producers, financial institutions, and utilities markets can leverage Amperon's platform of AI and machine learning technologies to access short- and long-term forecasts for their individual meters and generation assets.

“As a warmer-than-expected June ushers in a hot summer, and increasing uncertainty looms for the calmer fall months due to the influx of wind and solar generation, we are eager to assist our European customers in navigating the power market volatility caused by heat waves, extreme weather events, and shifts in power usage across the region,” Kelly says in a news release.

“Our cutting-edge AI models are enabling our North American customers to benefit from data and asset optimization, on-site solar to commercial load management, and backup generation and we’re excited to bring these tools to our European customers,” he continues.

Leading the new initiative for Amperon is Ecker , who previously served as an executive at energy market simulation software company Energy Exemplar and as CEO of real-time energy data provider Genscape, which is now owned by Wood Mackenzie. He also co-founded at Energy Velocity, an energy data and software company now owned by Hitachi Energy.

“Amperon is providing North American, and now European renewable energy markets, with the critical tools they need to optimize their clean energy operations and support grid reliability,” Ecker says in the release. “As Europe faces high temperatures and rising power demand this summer, power market participants will need precise energy forecasting, and Amperon is looking forward to delivering these critical tools to help participants succeed.”

Hultberg joins Amperon from Houston-based Sunnova Energy International, where she was executive vice president of corporate communications and sustainability.

Founded in 2018, Amperon closed its series B round at $20 million last fall. This year, the company Amperon announced that it replatformed its AI-powered energy analytics technology onto Microsoft Azure. The partnership with the tech giant allows Amperon's energy sector clients to use Microsoft's analytics stack with Amperon data.

"For Amperon, 2024 is the year of partnerships," Kelly shares on the Houston Innovators Podcast. "I think you'll see partnership announcements here in the next couple of quarters."

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This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

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Here were the top energy transition interviews on EnergyCapital — according to its readers. Photos courtesy

Who's who: These were the top 5 Houston energy transition interviews of 2023

Editor's note: As the year comes to a close, EnergyCapital is looking back at the year's top stories in Houston energy transition. EnergyCapital launched specifically to cover the energy transition community — and that includes the people who power it. With weekly interviews, we spoke to dozens of these individuals and some resonated more than others to readers. Be sure to click through to read the full interviews or stream the podcast episode.

Kelsey Hultberg, executive vice president of corporate communications and sustainability at Sunnova Energy

Kelsey Hultberg, executive vice president of corporate communications and sustainability at Sunnova Energy, joins the Houston Innovators Podcast. Photo courtesy of Sunnova

Several years ago, Kelsey Hultberg decided to make a pivot. Looking for a role with career growth opportunities, the communications professional thought she'd find something at an oil and gas company, but then she met John Berger, founder and CEO of Sunnova, who was looking for someone to stand up their communications team amidst the solar energy company's growth.

"He hooked me," Hultberg shares on the Houston Innovators Podcast. "He said, 'I've got big plans for this company. I see where this energy industry is going, I see that we're prime for a transition, and I want to take this company public.' And I started a few weeks later."

Hultberg has been telling the story for Sunnova — which equips customers with solar and storage technology, providing them with energy independence — ever since, through scaling, new technologies, and its IPO in 2019.

Continue reading the interview from October.

PJ Popovic, CEO and founder of Rhythm Energy

Houston-based Rhythm Energy CEO and founder, PJ Popovic, discusses the landscape of Texas' energy market and how renewables should be incorporated. Photo courtesy of Rhythm

After experiencing the hottest day on record this past Fourth of July, PJ Popovic — CEO and founder of green energy retailer Rhythm Energy — explained what extreme temperatures like these mean for Texas’ energy market and the role renewables will play in addressing increased demand response.

Headquartered in Houston, Rhythm Energy launched two years ago and offers a variety of 100 percent renewable energy backed plans, from wind to solar. Popovic discussed with EnergyCapital where he thinks renewables fit into Texas’ energy consumption and grid reliability issues in an interview.

Continue reading the interview from July.

Aniruddha Sharma, co-founder and CEO of Carbon Clean

Aniruddha Sharma of Carbon Clean weighs in on his North American expansion, the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act, and more. Photo via carbonclean.com

Earlier this year, a growing carbon capture company announced its new North American headquarters in Houston. Now, the company is focused on doubling it's headcount before the end of 2023 to meet demand.

Carbon Clean, which has a technology that has captured nearly two million tons of carbon dioxide at almost 50 sites around the world, opened its new office in the Ion earlier this year. The company is now building out its local supply chain with plans to rapidly expand.

In an interview with EnergyCapital, Co-Founder, Chair, and CEO Aniruddha Sharma weighs in on the new office, how pivotal the Inflation Reduction Act has been for his company's growth, and the future of Carbon Clean.

Continue reading the interview from August.

Vibhu Sharma, founder of InnoVent Renewables

Vibhu Sharma founded InnoVent Renewables to make a sustainable impact on tire waste. Photo courtesy

With over a billion cars currently on the road — each with four tires that will eventually end up discarded, one Houstonian is hoping to create the infrastructure to sustainably dispose of tire waste now and into the future.

Announced earlier this month, Vibhu Sharma founded InnoVent Renewables to establish production facilities that utilize a proprietary continuous pyrolysis technology that is able to convert waste tires, plastics, and biomass into fuels and chemicals.

In a Q&A with EnergyCapital, Sharma explains his plans to sustainably impact the tire waste space and his vision for his company.

Continue reading the interview from September.

Cindy Taff, founder and CEO of Sage Geosystems

In a Q&A with EnergyCapital, Cindy Taff of Sage Geosystems explains why she's so optimistic about geothermal and her company's technology. Photo courtesy of Sage

Geothermal energy is an integral part of decarbonizing the energy industry, and Sage Geosystems CEO Cindy Taff believes her company's tech has what it takes to lead the way.

Founded in Houston in 2020, Sage Geosystems is focused on two business lines — energy storage and geothermal. In addition to developing these technologies, Taff says Sage has "cracked the code" on both reducing costs and maximizing electricity output. Sage has customers ranging from Nabors, the world’s largest land-based drilling company, and Virya LLC, an investor in climate ventures with high impact of eliminating global greenhouse gas emissions or sequestering CO2

In a Q&A with EnergyCapital, she explains why she's so optimistic about geothermal and her company's technology.

Continue reading the interview from December.

Kelsey Hultberg, executive vice president of corporate communications and sustainability at Sunnova Energy, joins the Houston Innovators Podcast. Photo courtesy of Sunnova

Houston expert on importance of messaging when scaling an energy transition company

comms 101

Each phase of the company represented different challenges for Hultberg and her communications team. As she explains on the podcast, consistently conveying a strong message is key in any industry, but especially energy.

"Communication is critical," Hultberg says, "having a strategy and really being able to articulate who you are, what you stand for, what is your mission, what is your vision — and really beyond that, what is your strategy for how you move forward. ... You can never say the same thing to the same people too many times, especially when you're a company that some people have never heard of before."

And while there's a unique challenge to communications for energy transition companies, Hultberg says she views it as a huge opportunity as long as you have the right structure in place.

"Of course communications and being as strategic as possible with the story that you're telling and the narrative that you're weaving for your different audiences, but then you layer on an industry that's rapidly changing and is tumultuous at times," she says. "Being able to come back to the core mission and values is really incredible."

Hultberg says that when she originally joined the team in 2017, she thought a solar energy company in Houston was an interesting choice — and it was. Texas was not one of Sunnova's biggest markets at the time, Hultberg explains, but things are different now.

"Over the last couple of years, especially after Winter Storm Uri, where you saw a lot of people go without power. ... We had a lot of customers say, 'That can't happen again,'" she says. "You're seeing the adoption and uptick in solar in storage because they are looking for grid reliability and affordability and they aren't getting it from their utility providers."

———

This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

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Houston climatech startup raises $29M funding round

fresh funding

Houston-based NanoTech Materials has closed a $29.4 million Series A.

The round was led by Austin-based HPI Real Estate & Investments. Houston-based Goose Capital and Austin-based Milliken & Company also participated.

Nanotech has developed its patented Insulative Ceramic Particle (ICP) technology, which reduces heat transfer in buildings and outdoor infrastructure, improving efficiency and safety. It's known for its Cool Roof Coat, Wildfire Shield and Insulative Coat: Cool Touch product lines.

With the new funding, Nanotech plans to scale operations and expand its market reach for its products.

“We’re addressing one of the pressing and urgent challenges facing infrastructure owners today: controlling energy costs and extending asset life,” Mike Francis, CEO and co-founder of NanoTech Materials, said in a news release. “This financing marks a transformative moment for us. It allows us to rapidly scale production and bring our high-performance materials to market faster, while delivering measurable cost savings and redefining what resilience looks like in today’s built environment.”

Nanotech launched in 2020 and was the first company selected for Halliburton Labs. It moved into a 43,000-square-foot space in Katy in 2023. It brought on new partners that expanded the company's reach in the Middle East and Singapore the following year. Its technology was recognized as one of Time magazine's 200 Best Inventions of 2024.

“We were early investors in Nanotech Materials and are pleased to continue supporting the company as it becomes a leader in breakthrough materials science and technology,” John Chaney, investor at Goose Capital and board member at NanoTech, added in the release. “NanoTech’s ability to elevate fire resilience and energy efficiency in the built environment is critical for strengthening and hardening infrastructure. Its pioneered approach is transforming current building standards and making our lives safer.”

The company has secured $34.4 million in total to date, according to the release. It raised an oversubscribed funding round in 2023 and a $5 million seed round in 2020.

Houston clean energy startup acquired by battery storage company FlexGen

m&a activity

A North Carolina company has acquired Houston-based Clean Energy Services, a provider of services for battery energy storage systems and utility-scale solar, for an undisclosed amount.

The buyer is Durham, North Carolina-based FlexGen Power Systems, a provider of battery energy storage software and services.

Clean Energy Services (CES), whose offices are at the Ion, will operate as a subsidiary of FlexGen. Existing CES customers will continue to receive services from CES without disruption or change, FlexGen says.

“Demand for reliable, high-performance power is accelerating, and customers need partners who can deliver at scale,” Kelcy Pegler, CEO of FlexGen, said in a news release. “The addition of CES strengthens our service platform and reinforces our leadership in energy storage technology.”

Ahmad Atwan and Constantine Triantafyllides co-founded CES in 2022. As a startup, CES had raised $8 million in venture capital, according to PitchBook.

“CES has achieved a market leadership position in battery storage services by focusing on reliable speed of service delivery and optimizing asset performance,” Atwan, the company’s CEO, added the release. “FlexGen and CES have been strong partners for years, and this transaction enables us to deliver more robust solutions across a complementary set of customers and markets.”

CES will continue to operate its remote operations center in Houston for over 1 gigawatt of solar assets and 4.5 gigawatt-hours of battery assets, while FlexGen will maintain its remote operations center in Durham.

Halliburton Labs names 4 new clean energy startups to incubator

green team

Four new companies have joined Halliburton Labs, the incubator for early-stage energy and climate startups run by Houston energy giant Halliburton.

Halliburton Labs provides the emerging companies with mentorship, industry connections, laboratory access and other resources as they work toward commercialization, according to a news release.

The four new members include:

Nandina REM, a Singapore-based company that delivers carbon fiber thermoplastics. It turns end-of-life assets into new, reliable, high-performance materials for the aviation, aerospace and defense industries in a fraction of the time of standard supply chains.
Noon Energy, a California-based company that delivers clean, reliable electricity with ultra-long duration energy storage. Its system uses solid oxide electrochemical cells and stores energy as abundant, flexible industrial gases.
Proof Energy, a Silicon Valley-based company developed by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that is commercializing next-generation metallic solid oxide fuel cell (M-SOFC) technology. Its system uses widely available fuels such as ethanol, methanol, ammonia, and natural gas as hydrogen carriers to enable lower-cost, low-emission commercial transportation, and also offers a zero-emission heating solution to preserve battery range in electric vehicles.
Tidal Metals, a New Jersey-based company that has developed technology to economically make decarbonized magnesium metal from seawater and electricity.

"Halliburton Labs exemplifies our commitment to advance a secure and pragmatic energy future," Jeff Miller, chairman, president and CEO of Halliburton, said in the news release. "We welcome these companies into our ecosystem, where they will gain access to the tools, expertise, and connections needed to scale their technologies."

Auckland-based Aquafortus Technologies and California-based Sunchem joined Halliburton Labs in September. With the addition of the four new members, the incubator currently supports six early-stage companies.

Read more about the incubator's 2025 cohort here.

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