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CenterPoint names 40-year industry veteran as exec for emergency response

onboarding

Don Daigler will be tasked to lead CenterPoint Energy's yearly work in preparation for, response to and recovery from all emergencies, which includes both natural disasters and man-made events. Photo via CenterPoint Energy/LinkedIn

CenterPoint Energy announced the hiring of industry veteran Don Daigler as the new senior vice president of CenterPoint’s Emergency Preparedness and Response.

Daigler will be tasked to lead the company’s yearly work in preparation for, response to and recovery from all emergencies, which includes both natural disasters and man-made events. Daigler and his team will coordinate with all public safety partners.

“I’m pleased to join CenterPoint Energy and lead its Emergency Preparedness and Response team to transform how we prepare, mitigate and respond to the impacts of hurricanes, extreme weather and other emergencies,” Daigler says in a news release. ”The year-round work of our team will help position CenterPoint to deliver the service our customers expect and deserve before, during and after emergencies when the need is greatest.”

He brings over 40 years of experience across private and public sectors in emergency management, and national security and business resiliency. Daigler most recently was the CEO and founder of Resilience Advisory Services, which specialized in advancing resilience efforts across critical infrastructure sectors. He also served as director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Response Planning Division and chief of FEMA’s Tactical Incident Support Branch. Daigler also had leadership roles for the Environmental Protection Agency , National Nuclear Security Administration, and Reynolds Electrical and Engineering Company.

This leadership position “underscores CenterPoint’s commitment to improving its emergency response and coordination following Hurricane Beryl, and represents completing another of the more than 40 commitments CenterPoint made as part of the Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative (GHRI) in August,” according to CenterPoint. CenterPoint completed 41 of the 42 overall commitments. The last commitment is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024.

“After Hurricane Beryl, we heard loud and clear the calls to improve our preparedness for storms and other emergencies,” President and CEO of CenterPoint Energy Jason Wells adds. “Don will play a leading role in enhancing these operations ahead of the 2025 hurricane season and making CenterPoint a model for other utilities in emergency management and preparedness. His hiring underscores our commitment to better serve our customers in the energy capital of the world and building the most resilient coastal grid in the country.”

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Jenny Speck joined Vinson & Elkins as a Houston-based partner in its Energy Transition and Tax Practices. Photo via velaw.com

Law firm expands energy transition-focused, Houston-based team

new hire

An energy transition-focused legal team has on boarded its newest member.

Jenny Speck joined Vinson & Elkins as a Houston-based partner in its Energy Transition and Tax Practices. According to V&E, she will advise clients on energy transition tax incentives. Her experience includes working on renewable projects from onshore and offshore wind, solar, combined heat and power to biogas property, carbon capture, hydrogen, and more.

“Jenny has a commercial sensibility that our clients will value. She knows how to get deals done and is adept at calibrating tax advice to a company’s strategic objectives,” Vinson & Elkins Partner Sean Moran, one of the leaders of the firm’s Energy Transition Practice, says in a news release. “She is another phenomenal addition to our Renewable Energy and Tax Practices, which are booming as the Inflation Reduction Act continues to drive unprecedented investment and development in renewable energy.”

Joining V&E from Bracewell, Speck previously served as the senior manager of tax and regulatory compliance at Navigator CO2 Ventures LLC and also worked in the National Tax practice of Deloitte Tax LLP in Washington, D.C. She earned her undergraduate degree from Northeastern State University and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Tulsa College of Law. She's been ranked by Legal 500 U.S. and included in the Lawdragon 500 Leading US Energy Lawyers guide for “Energy Transition Incentives.”

“I have worked across from Vinson & Elkins on transactions and have seen the depth of their experience, along with the efficiency and camaraderie they bring to projects,” Speck adds. “I look forward to joining my new colleagues and strengthening their tax and energy powerhouse.”

She will work with partners Moran and Lauren Collins, who joined V&E along with four renewable energy and tax lawyers in 2021, as well as Jorge Medina, who was on boarded to the team earlier this year.

Stafford-based Microvast named Yaser Ali as CFO. Photo via LinkedIn

Houston area battery company names new C-level leader

new hire

Houston-based battery technology innovation company, Microvast Holdings, announced the appointment of Yaser Ali as CFO. This is part of Microvast's efforts to strengthen its executive leadership team.

Ali most recently served as CFO of Vision Technologies since August 2022. He also previously held leadership finance roles at companies such as BayWa-R.E Solar and GreenFox Services. He was also a Regional Finance Controller at Amazon.

“I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Chief Financial Officer at Microvast,” Ali said on his LinkedIn. ”Renowned for its cutting-edge cell technology and vertical integration capabilities, Microvast covers core battery chemistry to modules and packs, serving markets such as electric vehicles, energy storage, and battery components.”

Microvast considers itself a leader in the innovation and technology of lithium-ion batteries through the design, development, and manufacture of premier battery cells, modules, and packs for transportation, heavy equipment, and utility-scale energy storage systems.

The Staffford-based Microvast has also recently drawn $12 million from a $25 million secured debt facility provided by the company's founder, chairman, and CEO Yang Wu. The move helps streamline operations, including workforce reductions and consolidations within its U.S. battery division.

Recently, Microvast celebrated four years supplying its high-performance battery packs to eversum mobility solutions GmbH ("eVersum”), which helps support the company’s goals of electrification of next-generation autonomous eShuttle buses from eVersum. The batteries helped enhance “the accessibility and convenience of eShuttle buses while maintaining high performance and efficiency” according to a news release.

Microvast, which is headquartered just southwest of Houston in Stafford, has a market capitalization of $125.16 million, according to InvestingPro.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges announced infrastructure lawyer Jacqui Bogucki has returned to the firm. Photo via weil.com

Global law firm names partner to build growing infrastructure, energy transition business

new hire

An international law firm has named a new partner in the Houston office to help build its growing infrastructure and energy transition capabilities

Weil, Gotshal & Manges announced infrastructure lawyer Jacqui Bogucki has returned to the firm.

"Jacqui will be an extremely valuable addition to our growing Houston team,” says Weil Executive Partner Barry Wolf in a news release. “Her significant infrastructure experience – including in the digital sector – and strong relationships with leading investment professionals will help to advance our fast-growing infrastructure and energy transition capabilities, and will be an immediate value-add to our clients globally.”

She will advise private equity sponsors and strategic clients on a wide range of corporate transactions. Her focus will include infrastructure, digital, technology, energy transition, and oil and gas sectors. Previously, Bogucki was a partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions practice at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. Her previous stint at Weil was from 2014 through 2018.

“I am so pleased to have the opportunity to return to Weil, where I began my legal career,” says Bogucki in a news release. “It is an incredibly exciting time to be joining the Firm as it further builds out its infrastructure and energy transition capabilities. I look forward to reconnecting with former colleagues and leveraging my experience to provide the highest quality service to our clients.”

Since 2023, notable energy partners Omar Samji, Chris Bennett, Cody Carper, and Irina Tsveklova have joined Weil in Houston – with Steven Lorch joining in New York just last month.

Pulakesh Mukherjee, partner at Imperative Ventures, which specializes in hard tech decarbonization startups, will bring his unique experience to Halliburton Labs' network. Photo via LinkedIn

Halliburton Labs names Bay Area investor to advisory board

all aboard

Halliburton Labs has announced its newest advisory board member — a San Francisco-based venture capital investor.

Pulakesh Mukherjee, partner at Imperative Ventures, which specializes in hard tech decarbonization startups, will bring his unique experience to Halliburton Labs' network.

"We are pleased to welcome Pulakesh as we help emerging companies achieve scale and growth. Pulakesh brings strong expertise and an expansive network throughout the early-stage energy and climate tech ecosystem. We look forward to his guidance to catalyze increased collaboration among innovators, investors, and industry," Managing Director Dale Winger says in a news release.

Mukherjee, who co-founded his firm, previously worked on energy, agriculture, chemical, and industrial deals for BASF Venture Capital

Mukherjee joins Jeff Miller, Reggie DesRoches, John Grotzinger, Jennifer Holmgren, Maynard Holt, Walter Isaacson, and Dale Winger on the Advisory Board, according to Halliburton's news release.

Halliburton Labs, a wholly owned subsidiary of Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL), has supported energy tech startups since its inception in 2020. Its next pitch day is March 14 in New Orleans, which will also be streamed live.

Scott Gale, executive director of Halliburton Labs, recently joined the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss Halliburton Labs' mission and commitment to the community.

Top Houston banker Stephen Trauber has joined publicly traded investment bank Moelis & Co. Image via Shutterstock

Firm hires top Houston-based energy banker to grow energy transition team

new hire

Houston energy dealmaker Stephen Trauber has been tapped as chairman and global head of the energy and clean technology business at publicly traded investment bank Moelis & Co.

In 2010, The Wall Street Journal called Trauber “one of the best-connected energy bankers in Houston.”

Trauber comes to New York City-based Moelis from Citi, where he recently retired as vice chairman and global co-head of natural resources and clean energy transition. Before that, he was vice chairman and global head of energy at UBS Investment Bank, where he worked with Ken Moelis, who’s now chairman and CEO of Moelis.

“The global energy ecosystem is undergoing major consolidation and change,” Trauber says in a Moelis news release. “I look forward to actively participating in its strategic evolution and working with so many of our clients that are evaluating how best to create value during this period of transformation.”

In conjunction with Trauber’s hiring, Guggenheim Securities executives Muhammad Laghari and Alexander Burpee are joining Moelis as managing directors in Houston. They’ll work with upstream and midstream oil and gas clients. Laghari and Burpee previously were colleagues of Trauber at Citi.

During his career, Trauber has advised on more than $700 billion in energy deals, including mergers, acquisitions, and IPOs. Among the industry heavyweights involved in those deals were BP, Halliburton, Kinder Morgan, Nabors, Occidental Petroleum, Schlumberger, Shell, and Weatherford International.

“Steve is a recognized leader in the industry who has played a key role in many of the energy sector’s landmark transactions,” says Navid Mahmoodzadegan, co-founder and co-president of Moelis.

Three years ago, Trauber made waves when Spring-based ExxonMobil

rejected his pitch “to commit to a target for net-zero emissions even after shareholders staged a revolt over the company’s climate policy,” Bloomberg reported at the time.

Last year, Trauber joined the board of directors of Houston-based NEXT Renewable Fuels, the board of directors of Houston-based ASEAN Energy, and the M&A and transactions advisory board of London-based professional services giant Aon.

The three new hires at Moelis follow the September 2023 launch of its Clean Technology Group. Arash Nazhad of Houston is co-leader of the group.

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Houston scientists unveil faster, low-energy method to recycle lithium-ion batteries

Battery breakthrough

Rice University researchers have uncovered a more energy-efficient and faster way to recycle critical minerals from used lithium-ion batteries.

Traditional methods rely on high heat, long processing times and harsh chemicals to recover a small fraction of critical materials from batteries used in everything from smartphones to electric vehicles. However, the team from Rice's Department of Materials Science and Nanoengineering developed a process that uses a water-based solution containing amino chlorides to extract more metals in less time

The team published the findings in a recent edition of the scientific journal Small.

Simon King, a sophomore studying chemical and biomolecular engineering who completed this work as a summer research fellow at the Rice Advanced Materials Institute, served as first author of the study. He worked with corresponding authors Pulickel Ajayan, the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor of Engineering, and Sohini Bhattacharyya, a research scientist in Ajayan’s lab.

By using a hydroxylammonium chloride (HACI) solution, the team achieved roughly 65 percent extraction of key battery metals in just one minute at room temperature, according to the study. The efficiencies grew to roughly 75 percent for several metals under longer processing times.

“We were surprised by just how fast the reaction occurs, especially without the involvement of high temperatures,” King said in a news release. “Within the first minute, we’re already seeing the majority of the metal extraction take place.”

By not requiring high temperatures or long reaction times, Rice predicts the process could have a major impact on cost and the environmental impact of lithium battery recycling. Additionally, the water-based HACI solution makes waste handling easier and lowers certain environmental risks.

In addition to extracting the materials, the team went on to demonstrate that the recovered metals could be recycled and reprocessed into new battery materials.

“A big advantage of this system is that it works under relatively mild conditions,” Ajayan added in the release. “That opens the door to more sustainable and scalable recycling technologies.”

Fervo IPO leads Houston energy transition headlines for April

Hot Topics

Editor's note: The top Houston energy transition news of the month includes Fervo's official steps towards an IPO and Houston universities teaming up for recycling innovation. Below are the five most-read EnergyCapital stories published April 16-30, 2026:

Fervo Energy officially files for initial public offering

Fervo Energy has officially filed for IPO. The Houston-based geothermal unicorn filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 17 to list its Class A common stock on the Nasdaq exchange. Fervo intends to be listed under the ticker symbol "FRVO." Continue reading.

Fervo Energy adds former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, other leaders to board

As it prepares for a highly anticipated IPO, Houston-based geothermal power provider Fervo Energy has added four heavyweights to its board of directors. The most notable new board member is Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay, Hewlett-Packard, and Spring-based HPE, and former U.S. ambassador to Kenya. She joined the Fervo board as lead independent director. Continue reading.

Tesla's EV Robotaxis officially launch in Texas' largest metros

Tesla’s Robotaxi service has taken to the streets of Houston. In a brief statement Saturday, April 18 on its X social media account, Tesla Robotaxi says the autonomous rideshare service just launched in Texas’ two biggest metro areas — Houston and Dallas. Continue reading.

Halliburton Labs names 4 new clean energy startups to incubator

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. Continue reading.

Rice, UH launch joint effort to accelerate plastics recycling solutions

Institutes at two Houston universities are joining forces to help position the city as a global leader in plastics recycling innovation. The Center for Energy Studies (CES) at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and the University of Houston’s Energy Transition Institute (UH-ETI) have announced a strategic partnership that aims to develop real-world solutions for plastic recycling. Continue reading.

Houston-area plastics company debuts state-of-the-art headquarters

new hq

Ultra-high-performance plastics company Drake Plastics officially opened its new state-of-the-art, 140,000-square-foot manufacturing center and corporate office in Cypress last month.

Dubbed “Drake HQ, ” the new facility was built to align with Harris County’s clean energy goals and features a 1.3-megawatt solar generation plant designed to offset 50 percent of the plant’s power consumption.

The facility is designed as a “factory ranch,” and is intended to blend in with its natural surroundings. With the expanded campus, Drake says it looks to serve existing and new customers in the semiconductor, aerospace, energy and defense industries.

The new headquarters is designed as a "factory ranch" and features a solar generation plant to offset half of its power consumption. Photo via LinkedIn

“We are thrilled to open the doors of our new headquarters in the area where it all began,” Drake Plastics President Steven Quance said in a news release. “We are honored to have reinvested in the community that has supported our growth and success over the past three decades.”

Drake Plastics cut the ribbon on March 26 at the new facility, which also marked the company’s 30th anniversary in the Cypress area. The company launched in 1996 with four employees and has grown to employ more than 100 staff members, according to a LinkedIn post.

Drake Plastics is a globally recognized leader in ultra-high-performance polymer manufacturing and specializes in extrusion, injection molding, precision machining, machine building, engineering and distribution. According to the company, its new Cypress facilty is one of the largest in the world that processes these high-performance polymers.

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