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50+ teams announced for CERAWeek's annual clean tech pitch competition

CERA pitches

Houston-based Solidec took home the top TEX-E price and $25,000 at last year's Energy Venture Day and Pitch Competition. Photo courtesy of HETI

The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, the Houston Energy Transition Initiative and the Texas Entrepreneurship Exchange for Energy announced the 30-plus energy ventures and five student teams that will pitch at the 2025 Energy Venture Day and Pitch Competition during CERAWeek next month.

The ventures are focused on driving efficiency and advancements toward the energy transition and will each present a 3.5-minute pitch before a network of investors and industry partners during CERAWeek's Agora program.

The pitch competition is divided up into the TEX-E university track, in which Texas student-led energy startups compete for $50,000 in cash prizes, and the industry ventures track.

Teams competing in the TEX-E Prize track include:

  • ECHO
  • HEXAspec
  • HydroStor Analytics
  • Nanoborne
  • Pattern Materials

The industry track is subdivided into three additional tracks, spanning materials to clean energy and will feature 36 companies. The top three companies from each industry track will be named. The winner of the CERAWeek competition will also have the chance to advance and compete for the $1 million investment prize at the Startup World Cup in October 2025.

Teams come from around the world, including several notable Houston-based ventures, such as Corrolytics, Rheom Materials, AtmoSpark Technologies, and others. Click here to see the full list of companies and investor groups that will participate.

The pitch competition will be held Wednesday, March 12, at CERAWeek from 1-4:30 pm. An Agora pass is required to attend.

Those without passes can catch more than 50 companies at a free pitch preview at the Ion. Pitches will be followed by private meetings with venture capitalists, corporate innovation groups, industry leaders, and tech scouts. The preview will be held Tuesday, March 11, from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm at the Ion. It's free to attend, but registration is required. Click here to register.

Last year, Houston-based Solidec took home the top TEX-E price and $25,000 cash awards. The startup extracts molecules from water and air, then transforms them into pure chemicals and fuels that are free of carbon emissions. Its co-founder and Rice University professor Haotian Wang was recently awarded the 2025 Norman Hackerman Award in Chemical Research.

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At an event celebrating Houston innovation, these four energy transition leaders were recognized. Photos courtesy

Local energy innovators recognized at annual Houston Innovation Awards

the big winners

This week, the Houston innovation ecosystem celebrated big wins from the year, and members of the energy transition community were recognized alongside other innovators.

The Houston Innovation Awards honored over 40 finalists across categories, naming the 12 winners and honoring the two Trailblazer Legacy Awards at the event. The event, hosted at TMC Helix Park on November 14 named and celebrated the winners, which included four energy transition innovators.

Here's what energy leaders secured wins during the evening.

Corrolytics is a technology startup founded to solve microbiologically influenced corrosion problems for industrial assets. Co-founder and CEO Anwar Sadek says he's collected over $1 million in dilutive and non-dilutive funding from grants and other opportunities thanks to help from mentors. The company won both the Minority-Founded Business category and the People's Choice: Startup of the Year category.

"As a founder, I am always eager to assist and support fellow entrepreneurs, especially those navigating the unique challenges that come with being a BIPOC founder," he says. "With the guidance of mentors, I learned to master the complexities of the application process for grants and other funding opportunities. In turn, I actively share my experiences with other founders, helping them navigate similar paths."

Founded by CEO Cindy Taff, SageGeosystems is an energy company focused on developing and deploying advanced geothermal technologies to provide reliable power and sustainable energy storage solutions regardless of geography. The company secured the win in the Energy Transition Business category, alongside finalists Amperon, ARIX Technologies, Elementium Materials, InnoVent Renewables, and Tierra Climate.

"Sage Geosystems sets itself apart from competitors with its Geopressured Geothermal Systems, which can be deployed almost anywhere, unlike traditional geothermal technologies that require specific geographic conditions," Taff says. "This flexibility enables Sage to provide a reliable and virtually limitless power supply, making it ideal for energy-intensive applications like data centers."

A finalist in both the Investor of the Year and Ecosystem Builder categories, Juliana Garaizar is the founding partner of Energy Tech Nexus, invests with groups — such as Portfolia, Houston Angel Network, Business Angel Minority Association, and more — locally and beyond.

"I'm a hands on investor," she says. "I offer mentorship and industry and other investor connections. I take advisory roles and board observer seats."

This year, the Houston innovation community suffered the loss of two business leaders who left a significant impact on the ecosystem. Both individuals' careers were recognized with Trailblazer Legacy Awards.

One of the recipients was Scott Gale, executive director of Halliburton Labs, who received the award posthumously. He died on September 24. The award was decided on by the 2024 judges and InnovationMap. Gale was honored alongside Paul Frison, founder of the Houston Technology Center.

“I am immensely proud to honor these two remarkable individuals with the Trailblazer Award this year. It is fitting, as they represent two generations of building Houston’s ecosystem," 2023 Trailblazer Award recipient Brad Burke, managing director of the Rice Alliance and the associate vice president for industry and new ventures within Rice University's Office of Innovation, tells InnovationMap.

"Paul Frison was a pioneering leader who helped establish the Houston Technology Center and fostered the city’s tech ecosystem during the initial technology boom around the year 2000. Scott Gale, through his work at Halliburton Labs over the past five years, has been instrumental in launching Houston’s energy transition ecosystem," he continues. "Both have played pivotal roles in championing technology innovators.”

In honor of his son, Andrew Gale accepted the award with his daughter-in-law, Nicole, during the event.

Last month, the inaugural Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week 2024 successfully highlighted the GHP and HETI's mission. Photo via GHP

Highlights from the inaugural Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week

the view from heti

Houston has become the hub for startups and companies looking to scale innovative technologies that are transforming the energy industry and advancing a sustainable, low-carbon future. Last month, the inaugural Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week 2024 successfully highlighted this mission.

Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, Halliburton Labs, Greentown Labs, Digital Wildcatters launched the inaugural startup week in collaboration with the Partnership’s Houston Energy Transition Initiative. The week brought together leading energy and climate venture capital investors, industry leaders, and startups from around the world.

Over 30 events took place from September 9-13, featuring more than 100 speakers and 125 startups. Attendance numbers came in at over 1,400 people across the week’s anchor events, and additional events were individually organized by organizations and startups in Houston’s ecosystem.

“By hosting the Houston Energy & Climate Startup Week, we're not just showcasing our city's strengths - we're actively shaping its future. This event is a critical catalyst for fostering collaboration, investment and talent development within the burgeoning energy and climate tech ecosystem. This week is about demonstrating our commitment to that future and inspiring the next generation of energy innovators,” says Janice Tran, Kanin Energy CEO & Co-Founder

The Kickoff event, sponsored by Repsol, Microsoft and BBVA, hosted fireside chats by several of Houston’s leading startups, including Solugen, Cemvita, Kanin Energy and Syzygy.

“Houston is at the forefront of not just energy innovation, but industrial innovation more broadly. With the momentum that's built over the last few years, it's the perfect time to showcase our progress and drive further advancements in climate solutions,” says Gaurab Chakrabarti, Solugen CEO and co-founder.

Houston is home to more than 65 incubators and accelerators and over 260 cleantech and climate tech startups. The region continues to build momentum and is focused on attracting investment for this growing sector, seeing a 577 percent growth since 2019. According to Partnership data, there has been over $1.95 billion and 175 deals with cleantech and climate tech startups.

"Houston is uniquely positioned to tackle the greatest challenge of our time - producing more energy with fewer emissions. This city is where energy innovation scales and opportunity thrives. As a natural hub for startups and investors, Houston brought this to life during Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week. Years in the making, this event was launched to answer the question: Can the whole be greater than the sum of its parts? This past week proved it can. We look forward to continue building on this successful week,” says Jane Stricker, senior vice president at Greater Houston Partnership and executive director of the Houston Energy Transition Initiative.

———

This article originally ran on the Greater Houston Partnership's Houston Energy Transition Initiative blog. HETI exists to support Houston's future as an energy leader. For more information about the Houston Energy Transition Initiative, EnergyCapitalHTX's presenting sponsor, visit htxenergytransition.org.

Over 500 people attended the 21st annual Energy Tech Venture Forum hosted by the Rice Alliance. Photo courtesy of Rice

Investors name most-promising energy tech startups at annual Houston event

big winners

Investors from around the world again identified the most-promising energy tech startups at the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship's annual event.

"The recognition that Houston is the epicenter of energy transition is growing. It's something we are championing as much as possible so that the world can know exactly what we're doing," Paul Cherukuri, chief innovation officer at Rice University says at the 21st annual Energy Tech Venture Forum.

The event took place during the inaugural Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week, and nearly 100 startups from 23 states and seven countries pitched investors Wednesday, September 11, and Thursday, September 12. At the conclusion of the event, the investors decided on 10 companies deemed "most promising" from the presentations.

This year's selected companies are:

  • Revterra, a Houston-based company innovating within kinetic battery technology to enable faster and cleaner electric vehicle charging.
  • From Austin, 360 Mining is a modular data center provider for the oil and gas producers.
  • New York company Andium is a centralized and optimized operations platform for large energy companies.
  • Elementium Materials, a local Katy-based company, created its battery technology that originated out of MIT.
  • Splight is a San Mateo, California-based technology platform that provides real-time operational data based on inverter-based resources assets.
  • Los Angeles-based Mitico, one of the Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator's class 4 participants, provides services and equipment for carbon capture through its granulated metal carbonate sorption technology.
  • From Cambridge, Massachusetts, Osmoses is changing the way molecular gas separations are performed within the chemical, petrochemical, and energy industries.
  • Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator class 4 participant CORROLYTICS, based in Houston, has a corrosion detection and monitoring technology. The company also won over the crowd and secured the People's Choice win too.
  • Ardent, based in New Castle, Delaware, has developed a membrane technology for point-source carbon capture.
  • New Haven, Connecticut-based Oxylus Energy produces an alternative fuel from converting CO2 into green methanol.

Last year, investors named its selection of most-promising companies at Rice.

"We have a responsibility as a city to lead energy transition," Cherukuri continues. "A lot of the investments we're making at Rice are going to change the world."

———

This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

Houston is playing host to a ton of energy and climate-focused events next month. Photo courtesy of the Ion

Roundup: Navigating Houston's two September climate-focused weeks

where to be

Two separate weeks of climate and energy-focused weeks are organizing events and programming during the second week of September — here's what all to consider attending.

Find out more information about each week online:

Kickoff events

Both groups will host kickoff events on Monday, September 9:

  • Houston Energy and Climate Week's morning opening ceremonies at the University of Houston begins at 7 am with a breakfast and, following a handful of panels and keynotes, will conclude at 1 pm after a luncheon. More details.
  • The Ion is hosting Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week's kickoff panel and block party, which begins at 3:30 pm and concludes at 8 pm. More details.

Thought leadership

Every day of the week has tons of programming to chose from on each organization's sites. Here's a few that you shouldn't miss:

Prime networking

Attending just to make the right connections — perhaps over a beverage or two? Here's where to do it.

The event "will showcase energy tech innovations to shift towards a more sustainable, reliable and lower carbon future across interactive panels, inspiring keynotes and over 50 dynamic venture pitches." Photo via Rice.edu

Houston organization calls for startup submissions to pitch at inaugural climatetech week

Apply now

Calling all energy tech startups — you don't want to miss the opportunity to pitch at the inaugural Energy and Climate Startup Week in Houston.

Applications are open now for Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship's Energy Tech Venture Forum, which will take place on September 12 as a part of the first Energy and Climate Startup Week in Houston that is taking place September 9 to 13. While ETVF has been hosted by Rice every year for over 20 years, this will be the first time startups will be pitching as a part of the bigger, citywide event.

The event "will showcase energy tech innovations to shift towards a more sustainable, reliable and lower carbon future across interactive panels, inspiring keynotes and over 50 dynamic venture pitches," according to Rice Alliance.

Ninety selected startups will get one-on-one time with the 75 investors who attend the event — each company will have around four to 10 meetings set up for them — and then 40 companies will continue on to pitch to the attendees of the event. Additionally, the Class 4 of the Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator, which was recently announced on EnergyCapital, will also be featured for 10 Demo Day pitches.

Startup founders have until July 12 to apply online.

In addition to the pitches, the September 12 event will feature keynote addresses, panels, and investor-only office hours.

Learn more about the event from last year:

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9 must-attend Houston energy events for March 2025

WHERE TO BE

Editor's note: March is a busy month for energy industry professionals in Houston, with a full calendar of meetups, summits, and, of course, CERAWeek. Below, we've rounded up the energy transition events you won't want to miss this month. Mark your calendars and register accordingly.

March 3-4 — Industrial Immersive

The Industrial Immersive community connects industrial, energy, engineering tech professionals making investment, strategy and tactical decisions, or building, scaling, and executing pioneering XR/ 3D/ simulations, digital twin, reality capture, edge/ spatial computing, AI/ ML, connected workforce & IIoT projects within their enterprise. This forum will bring together industry professionals to share first-hand experience, insight and advice for implementing and scaling immersive tech programs in enterprise operations.

This event begins Monday, March 3, at Westin Memorial City. Click here to register.

March 3-5 — Global Energy Meet 2025

The aim of this conference is to bring together all the key stakeholders interested in Fossil and Renewable Energy Sources to share and discuss advances and developments in these fields. It is a three-day event which features energy experts, academicians, business executives and engineers to showcase recent trends, strategies and challenges of energy systems. It creates a platform to focus on advancing new energy paradigms for energy systems and global energy issues.

This event begins Monday, March 3, at the Doubletree by Hilton. Click here to register.

March 4 — Low Carbon Investment Summit

The Low Carbon Investment Summit 2025, hosted by Flathead Forge, Energy Tech Nexus, and MetroNational, connects investors with breakthrough decarbonization technologies.The event will showcase innovative companies in decarbonization including water treatment, critical minerals, and energy transition sectors while connecting innovative companies with corporate VCs, family offices, and HNW investors. Space is limited.

This event begins Tuesday, March 4, at 11 am at MetroNational's Innovation District. Click here to register.

March 4-6 — THRIVE Energy Conference

The Thrive Energy Conference by Daniel Energy Partners is for key energy professionals collaborating on research-driven insights and trends key to developing a pathway to a “thriving” energy future. This unique event combines leadership from public and private global energy companies as well as investors under a professional yet fun atmosphere.

This event begins Tuesday, March 4, at Minute Maid Park. Click here to register.

March 10-14 — CERAWeek 2025

The foremost annual gathering in the energy sector returns to Houston March 10-14, 2025. Themed "Moving Ahead: Energy strategies for a complex world," CERAWeek 2025 will focus on the challenges ahead for energy security, supply, and climate ambitions. More than 10,000 participants from over 2,050 companies across 80 countries will convene in Houston for this ambitious event. CERAWeek comprises three platforms: the Executive Conference, the Innovation Agora, and Partner Programs. We'll dive into comprehensive CERAWeek recommendations in future articles.

This event begins Monday, March 10. Click here to register.

March 13: Energy Tech Market

Energy Tech Market features founders and industry experts sharing cutting-edge innovations, trends, and insights in energy technology. Organized by Energy Tech Nexus in collaboration with the Scale Up Hub Houston program and TechNL, this event brings together thought leaders and innovators to explore the latest developments across various sectors of the energy industry.

This event begins Thursday, March 13, at 10 am at GreenStreet. Click here to register.

March 18-20 — The Connected Worker: Energy Summit

The Connected Worker: Energy Summit provides the opportunity for you to get hands-on with the essential solutions you need to empower your frontline workforce, hear real-word case studies from energy and utility leaders, and network with your industry peers. Learn how to: create a safer work environment, boost compliance and improve efficiencies through automation, make your data mobile and reduce rework, downtime and time to decision; improve workforce mobility and maximize the use of data to continuously enhance process and asset performance; and much more.

This event begins Tuesday, March 18, at 8:45 am at The Westin Galleria. Click here to register.

March 26 — Bots And Brews Spring 2025

Bots & Brews is the H-town robotics, drones, geospatial, data & AI meetup, hosted by the Energy Drone & Robotics Coalition and the co-hosts: Industrial Digital Twin Forum, Industrial Reality Capture Forum & Industrial AI Nexus: Automate. Everyone in the energy and industrial robotics/drone/data & AI community are invited to come together to catch up and talk about real-world solutions and deployments.

This event is Wednesday, March 26, from 5 to 7:45 pm at The Cannon West. Click here to register.

March 31-April 2 — World Hydrogen North America 2025

The U.S. Department of Energy announced the Hydrogen Energy Earthshot initiative to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen by 80% within a decade. Canada has also released its Hydrogen Strategy, which aims to make the country a global leader in hydrogen production, use, and exports. Seize the opportunity to connect with industry leaders from across the hydrogen value chain, fostering long-term business partnerships and exploring potential collaborations. Engage with prominent off-takers, both nationally and internationally, and gain first-hand insights into the latest projects shaping the future of hydrogen in the USA and Canada.

This event begins Monday, March 31, at the Marriott Marquis. Click here to register.

Texas grid report and more Houston energy transition news to know

Trending news

Editor's note: It's time to look back on the top energy transition news for the second half of February. The five most-read EnergyCapital stories feature a prestigious prize for a Rice professor, an Austin startup powering up in Houston, solar news, and more. Get the details below.

1. Houston clean energy pioneer earns prestigious Welch Foundation award

Rice professor and Solidec co-founder Haotian Wang's research enables CO2 to be converted into valuable chemicals and fuels. Photo courtesy Welch Foundation.

A Rice University professor has earned a prestigious award from the Houston-based Welch Foundation, which supports chemistry research.

The foundation gave its 2025 Norman Hackerman Award in Chemical Research to Haotian Wang for his “exceptionally creative” research involving carbon dioxide electrochemistry. His research enables CO2 to be converted into valuable chemicals and fuels.

The award included $100,000 and a bronze sculpture. Continue reading.

2. Austin energy startup expands to Houston, offering electricity with backup batteries

Justin Lopas and Zach Dell founded Base Power in 2023 and are now expanding the company's electricity and backup battery offerings to Houston. Photo courtesy Base Power.

An Austin startup that sells electricity and couples it with backup power has entered the Houston market.

Base Power, which claims to be the first and only electricity provider to offer a backup battery, now serves the Houston-area territory served by Houston-based CenterPoint Energy. No solar equipment is required for Base Power’s backup batteries.

The company is initially serving customers in the Cy-Fair, Spring, Cinco Ranch and Mission Bend communities, and will expand to other Houston-area places in the future. Continue reading.

3. Solar farms are booming and putting thousands of hungry sheep to work

A photo of BP's new solar farm in Texas. Photo via bp.com

On rural Texas farmland, beneath hundreds of rows of solar panels, a troop of stocky sheep rummage through pasture, casually bumping into one another as they remain committed to a single task: chewing grass.

The booming solar industry has found an unlikely mascot in sheep as large-scale solar farms crop up across the U.S. and in the plain fields of Texas. In Milam County, outside Austin, SB Energy operates the fifth-largest solar project in the country, capable of generating 900 megawatts of power across 4,000 acres.

How do they manage all that grass? With the help of about 3,000 sheep, which are better suited than lawnmowers to fit between small crevices and chew away rain or shine.

The proliferation of sheep on solar farms is part of a broader trend — solar grazing — that has exploded alongside the solar industry.Continue reading.

4. Houston venture firm invests in Virginia fusion power plant company in collaboration with TAMU

NearStar Fusion team Andrew Case, Chris Faranetta, Douglas Witherspoon, Amit Singh and Marco Luna. Photo courtesy NearStar Fusion.

Houston-based climate tech venture firm Ecosphere Ventures has partnered with Virginia Venture Partners and Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation’s venture capital program to invest in Virginia-based NearStar Fusion Inc., which develops fusion energy power plants.

NearStar aims to use its proprietary plasma railgun technology to safely and affordably power baseload electricity on and off the power grid through a Magnetized Target Impact Fusion (MTIF) approach, according to a news release from the company.

NearStar’s power plants are designed to retrofit traditional fossil fuel power plants and are expected to serve heavy industry, data centers and military installations. Continue reading.

5. Report: Texas solar power, battery storage helped stabilize grid in summer 2024, but challenges remain

Solar power met nearly 25 percent of midday electricity demand within the ERCOT grid during some of 2024's hottest summer days. Photo by Red Zeppelin/Pexels

Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas shows that solar power and battery storage capacity helped stabilize Texas’ electric grid last summer.

Between June 1 and Aug. 31, solar power met nearly 25 percent of midday electricity demand within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) power grid. Rising solar and battery output in ERCOT assisted Texans during a summer of triple-digit heat and record load demands, but the report fears that the state’s power load will be “pushed to its limits” soon.

The report examined how the grid performed during more demanding hours. At peak times, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the summer of 2024, solar output averaged nearly 17,000 megawatts compared with 12,000 megawatts during those hours in the previous year. Between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., discharge from battery facilities averaged 714 megawatts in 2024 after averaging 238 megawatts for those hours in 2023. Solar and battery output have continued to grow since then, according to the report. Continue reading.

Pioneering Houston professor earns prestigious 2025 Franklin Institute Award

medal winner

Rice University professor and nanoscience pioneer Naomi Halas has received the 2025 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry.

In addition to her role at Rice, Halas is co-founder and technical advisor of Syzygy Plasmonics, a Houston startup that relies on light instead of combustion as an energy source. This enables efficient, sustainable transformation of low-carbon ammonia into hydrogen when powered by renewable electricity.

Halas earned the Franklin Medal “for the creation and development of nanoshells — metal-coated nanoscale particles that can capture light energy — for use in many biomedical and chemical applications,” according to a release from Rice.

Halas’ work has pioneered insights into how light and matter interact at small scales, according to Rice. She joined Rice in 1989 to support the late Richard Smalley’s advancements in nanoscale science and technology.

“A lot of people were talking about nano like it was something completely new,” Halas said in the release. “But I realized it was really just chemistry viewed in a different way, and that really got me thinking about how I can combine the worlds of laser science and nanoscience.”

That shift in perspective led to the development of nanoparticles that spawned innovations in fields such as cancer therapy, water purification, and renewable energy.

“Naomi’s contributions to nanoscience have not only expanded the boundaries of our understanding but also transformed real-world applications in medicine, energy and beyond,” Rice President Reginald DesRoches added. “Her pioneering work on nanoshells exemplifies the spirit of innovation that defines Rice.”

One of Halas’ projects led to the founding of Syzygy, which develops light-driven, all-electric chemical reactors for inexpensive, sustainable production of hydrogen fuel. The company was named to was named to Fast Company's energy innovation list last year.

Halas is the first Rice faculty member to be elected to both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering for research carried out at the university. She also has been elected to the National Academy of Inventors, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters. Halas holds 30 patents in the fields of medicine, chemistry, physics and engineering.

The Franklin Medal is awarded by the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia. Many scientists who have received the award have gone on to win Nobel prizes.

As a recipient of the Franklin honor, Halas will receive a $10,000 honorarium and a 14-karat gold medal during an award ceremony May 1 in Philadelphia.

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