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11 clean energy-focused startups join Greentown Houston

ready to grow

Meet the newest additions to Greentown Houston. Photo via Greentown Houston

There are some new faces at Houston's Greentown Labs location.

The climatetech incubator announced 22 new startup members between its two locations in Boston and Houston joining the facilities this quarter, and 11 have a local presence. Here are the new Houston additions, according to Greentown Labs:

  • A digital tech company, eVillage.io’s software manages the lifecycle of a clean energy project from the very beginning.
  • With its power-to-heat and power-to-power solutions, NOC Energy is focused on decarbonizing industrial heat to reduce emissions and cost.
  • AI company Pix Force uses computer vision, using machine learning, and deep learning techniques to automate the inspection of assets more safely, remotely, and efficiently.
  • Ardent is a process technology company that is developing membrane-based solutions for point-source carbon capture and other chemical separations. The startup is participating in Year 4 of the Carbon to Value Initiative.
  • Also a C2V Initiative Year 4 cohort member, CarbonBlue develops a chemical process that mineralizes and extracts CO2 from water, which then reabsorbs more atmospheric CO2.
  • Maple Materials develops an electrolysis process to convert CO2 into graphite and oxygen. The startup is a Greentown Go alum that’s returning for Year 4 of the C2V Initiative.
  • A C2V Initiative cohort member, Secant Fuel develops a one-step electrocatalytic process that converts flue gas into syngas.
  • Deep Anchor Solutions accelerates renewable energy project adoption, especially in floating offshore wind and other offshore sectors, with its innovative deeply embedded ring anchor.
  • Thiozen’s proprietary chemical waste-to-hydrogen cycle removes hydrogen sulfide from gas streams and generates zero-emission hydrogen.
  • TS-Nano is an energy technology company focused on reducing methane emissions from abandoned wellbores using its patented sealants, monitoring technologies, and blockchain carbon offsets—enabling its partners to achieve their ESG and decarbonization goals.
  • Seabound builds carbon-capture equipment for new and existing ships. The startup is participating in Year 4 of the C2V Initiative.
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The cohort was selected from over 100 applications, and experts from Shell worked to support the cohort as they navigated the program. Photo via Greentown Labs

Greentown accelerator in partnership with Shell wraps up with startup milestones met

that's a wrap

After six months of incubating with Shell through Greentown Labs, the 2023 Greentown Go Make startup cohort has completed with its recent showcase.

The six participating startups — Caravel Bio, Circularise, Corumat, Lydian, Maple Materials, and Universal Matter — were originally announced in October. The cohort was selected from over 100 applications, and experts from Shell worked to support the cohort as they navigated the program.

Universal Matter, headquartered in Burlington, Ontario, Canada, with a Houston office, is developing a proprietary flash Joule heating process that converts carbon waste into high-value and high-performance graphene materials to efficiently create sustainable, circular economies.

During the program, Universal Matter worked with Shell to identify eight potential collaboration areas across upstream carbon feedstocks, downstream end-use applications for the startup’s graphene, and more, according to a news release from Greentown.

“Go Make 2023 was run with exceptional efficiency to ensure that all startup members were able to gain maximum benefit from exchanges with the corporate partner,” says Universal Matter’s VP of Strategic Planning Peter van Ballegooie.

“The one-on-one exchanges were extremely useful to startups, as they facilitated the connections to the relevant business units within Shell that could potentially benefit from the novel technologies being developed," he continues. "Establishing the connectivity to the right discussion partners within those various business units was absolutely key to the successful outcome of the program.”

Greentown shared more about each of the company's progress throughout the program in a blog post.

Meet the six startups that will be working with Shell and Greentown Labs for the next six months. Photo via Greentown

Greentown Labs names 6 energy tech startups to Shell-backed accelerator

ready to go make

Greentown Labs has named the six participating climatetech startups for an accelerator for a global energy leader.

Shell and Greentown Labs announced the cohort for Greentown Go Make 2023 — a program designed to accelerate partnerships between startups and corporates to advance carbon utilization, storage, and traceability solutions. Shell, which invests in net-zero and carbon-removal technologies, is hoping to strategically align with startups within carbon utilization, storage, and traceability across the energy transition spectrum.

“At Greentown Labs we recognize and appreciate the role energy incumbents must play in the energy transition, and we’re eager to facilitate meaningful partnerships between these impressive startups and Shell—not only to advance these technologies but also to help Shell achieve its sustainability goals,” Kevin Knobloch, CEO and President of Greentown Labs, says in a news release. “We know carbon utilization, storage, and traceability will play a critical role in our collective efforts to reach net-zero, and we’re enthusiastic about the potential impact these companies can have in that work.”

The cohort, selected from 110 applications, is co-located at Greentown's Houston and Somerville, Massachusetts, locations and includes:

  • Portland-based Caravel Bio is developing a novel synthetic biology platform that uses microbial spores and enzymes to create catalysts that are long-lasting and can withstand extreme conditions and environments.
  • Circularise, which is based in the Netherlands, is developing a blockchain platform that provides digital product passports for end-to-end traceability and secure data exchange for industrial supply chains.
  • Corumat, based in Washington, converts organic waste into high-performance, insulating, greaseproof, and biodegradable packaging materials.
  • Cambridge, Massachusetts-headquartered Lydian develops a fully electrified reactor that can convert a variety of gaseous, non-fossil feedstocks into pure syngas with high efficiency.
  • Maple Materials from Richmond, California is developing a low-cost electrolysis process to split carbon dioxide into graphite and oxygen.
  • Ontario, Canada-founded Universal Matter develops a proprietary Flash Joule Heating process that converts carbon waste into high-value and high-performance graphene materials to efficiently create sustainable circular economies.

The program, which includes $15,000 in non-dilutive stipend funding for each company, will work closely with Shell and Greentown over six months via mentorship, networking opportunities, educational workshops, and partnership-focused programming to support collaboration. Go Make 2023 concludes with a showcase event on March 27 at Greentown Labs’ Houston location.

This week, Shell announced another accelerator cohort it's participating in. The Shell GameChanger Accelerator, a partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), named four West Coast climatetech companies: DTE Materials, Hexas Biomass, Invizyne Technologies, and ZILA BioWorks. The program provides early-stage cleantech startups with access to experts and facilities to reduce technology development risk and accelerate commercialization of new cleaner technologies.

“Tackling the climate challenge requires multifaceted solutions. At Shell, we believe technology that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere will be essential for lowering emissions from energy and chemical products,” Yesim Jonsson, Shell’s GCxN program manager, says in a statement. “The companies in GCxN's sixth cohort embody these objectives and have the potential to usher in a more sustainable future.”

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Woodlands company licenses free patents to ERCOT to boost grid reliability

grid deal

Lancium, a company based in The Woodlands that specializes in infrastructure for connecting large-scale data centers to power grids, is licensing a portfolio of patents to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) at no cost.

In a news release, Lancium says the intellectual property agreement “ensures ERCOT can sublicense these patents freely, thereby expanding market participation opportunities without risk of patent infringement disputes.”

“This agreement exemplifies Lancium’s dedication to supporting grid stability and innovation across the ERCOT region,” Michael McNamara, CEO of Lancium, said in a news release. “While these patents represent significant technological advancements, we believe that enabling ERCOT and its market participants to operate freely is more valuable for the long-term reliability and resilience of the Texas grid.”

The licensed patents encompass Lancium technologies that support load resources in ERCOT’s market, which covers about 90 percent of Texas. Specifically, the patents deal with controllable load resources. A controlled load resource allows ERCOT and other grids to increase or decrease power consumption during peak periods or emergencies.

ERCOT predicts power demand in Texas will nearly double by 2030, “in part due to more requests to plug into the grid from large users like data centers, crypto mining facilities, hydrogen production plants, and oil and gas companies,” The Texas Tribune reported.

Harris County looks to future with new Climate Justice Plan

progress plan

Harris County commissioners approved a five-point Climate Justice Plan last month with a 3-1 vote by Harris County commissioners. The plan was created by the Office of County Administration’s Office of Sustainability and the nonprofit Coalition for Environment, Equity and Resilience.

“Climate action planning that centers on justice has the potential to spark innovative thinking and transformative actions that will lead to meaningful and just transitions in communities, policies, funding mechanisms, and implementation strategies,” the 59-page report reads.

The plan seeks to address issues relating to ecology, infrastructure, economy, community and culture. Here’s a breakdown:

Ecology

The plan will work towards clean air, water, and soil efforts that support the health of the environment, renewable energy that reduces greenhouse gases and pollution, and conservation and protection of our natural resources. Some action items include:

  • Increasing resources for local government agencies
  • Developing a free native seed bank at all libraries
  • Identifying partners and funding streams to reduce the costs of solar power for area households
  • Producing renewable energy on large tracts of land
  • Expanding tree planting by 20 percent
  • Providing tree maintenance and restoration efforts
  • Incentivizing gray water systems and filtration to conserve fresh water

Economy

In terms of the economy, the Climate Justice Plan wants the basic needs of the community met and wants to also incentivize resilience, sustainability, and climate solutions, and recycling and reuse methods. Specific actions include:

  • Quantifying the rising costs associated with climate change
  • Expanding resources and partnering with organizations to support programs that provide food, utility, housing, and direct cash assistance
  • Supporting a coalition of area non-profit organizations and county offices to strengthen social service support infrastructure
  • Supporting home repair, solar installation, and weatherization programs
  • Identify methods to expand free and efficient recycling and composting services
  • Creating a climate tax levied on greenhouse gas emissions to develop a climate fund to offset the impacts of pollution

Infrastructure

As Houston has been prone to hurricanes and flooding damage, the infrastructure portion of the plan aims to protect the region from risks through preventative floodplain and watershed management. Highlights include:

  • Investing in generators and solar power, plus battery backup and bidirectional EV charging for all county libraries
  • Providing more heating and cooling centers with charging stations
  • Coordinating and deploying community microgrids, especially in neighborhoods prone to losing power
  • Seeking partnerships and funding for low- or no-cost water purifiers for areas with the highest needs
  • Protecting the electric grid through regular maintenance and upgrading, and advocating for greater accountability and responsiveness among appointed officials
  • Developing regulations to require resilient power line infrastructure to prevent outages and failures in new developments

Community and Culture

Housing, a strong economy and access to affordable and healthy food will be achieved under the community aspect of the plan. Under culture, the plan seeks to share knowledge and build trust. Key goals include:

  • Developing a campaign to promote the use of the Harris County 311 system to identify critical community concerns
  • Supporting the development of a Community Housing Plan that ensures stable and safe housing
  • Advocating for revisions to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster funding to account for renters’ losses and unmet housing needs
  • Developing and funding a whole-home program for repairs, weatherization, and solar energy
  • Developing culturally relevant public relations campaigns to increase knowledge of health, environment and biodiversity across generations
Read the full plan here.

Houston company completes orphan well decommission project in the Gulf

temporary abandonment

Houston-based Promethean Energy announced this month that it has successfully decommissioned offshore orphaned wells in the Matagorda Island lease area.

Around this time last year, the company shared that it would work on the temporary abandonment of nine orphan wells on behalf of the Department of Interior's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, or BSEE, in the area. Promethean is known for decommissioning mature assets in a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable manner.

“Our team is incredibly proud to have completed this critical work efficiently, safely, and ahead of budget,” Steve Louis, SVP of decommissioning at Promethean Energy, said in a news release. “By integrating our expertise, technologies and strategic partnerships, we have demonstrated that decommissioning can be both cost-effective and environmentally responsible.”

The company plans to use the Matagora Island project as a replicable model to guide similar projects worldwide. The project used comprehensive drone inspections, visual intelligence tools for safety preparations and detailed well diagnostics to plug the wells.

Next up, Promethean is looking to decommission more of the estimated 14,000 unplugged wells in the Gulf.

"Building on our strong execution performance, our strategy is to continue identifying synergies with other asset owners, fostering collaboration, and developing sustainable decommissioning campaigns that drive efficiency across the industry," Ernest Hui, chief strategy officer of Promethean Energy, added in the release.

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