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Greentown and partners name 10 startups to carbontech accelerator

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The Carbon to Value Initiative has named its fifth cohort of global startups. Photo courtesy of Greentown Labs

The Carbon to Value Initiative (C2V Initiative)—a collaboration between Greentown Labs, NYU Tandon School of Engineering's Urban Future Lab and Fraunhofer USA—has announced 10 startup participants to join the fifth cohort of its carbontech accelerator.

The six-month accelerator aims to help cleantech startups advance their commercialization efforts through access to the C2V Initiative’s Carbontech Leadership Council (CLC). The invitation-only council consists of corporate and nonprofit leaders from organizations like Shell, TotalEnergies, XPRIZE, L’Oréal and others who “foster commercialization opportunities and identify avenues for technology validation, testing, and demonstration,” according to a release from Greentown

“The No. 1 reason startups engage with Greentown is to find customers, grow their businesses, and accelerate impact—and the Carbon to Value Initiative delivers exactly that,” Georgina Campbell Flatter, CEO of Greentown, said in a news release. “It’s a powerful example of how meaningful engagement between entrepreneurs and industry turns innovation into commercial traction.”

The C2V Initiative received more than 100 applications from 33 countries, representing a variety of carbontech innovations. The 10 startups chosen for the 2025 fifth cohort include:

  • Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Sora Fuel, which integrates direct-air capture with direct conversion of the captured carbon into syngas for production of sustainable aviation fuel
  • Brooklyn-based Arbon, which develops a humidity-swing carbon-capture solution by capturing CO₂ from the air or point-source without heat or pressure
  • New York-based Cella Mineral Storage, which works to develop subsurface mineralization technology with integrated software, enabling new ways to sequester CO2 underground
  • Germany-based ICODOS, which helps transform emissions into value through a point-source carbon capture and methanol synthesis process in a single, modularized system
  • Vancouver-based Lite-1, which uses advanced biomanufacturing processes to produce circular colourants for use in textiles, cosmetics and food
  • London-based Mission Zero Technologies, which has developed and deployed an electrified, direct-air carbon capture solution that employs both liquid-adsorption and electrochemical technologies
  • Kenya-based Octavia Carbon, which develops a solid-adsorption-based, direct-air carbon capture solution that utilizes geothermal heat
  • California-based Rushnu, which combines point-source carbon capture with chemical production, turning salt and CO2 into chlorine-based chemicals and minerals
  • Brooklyn-based Turnover Labs, which develops modular electrolyzers that transform raw, industrial CO2 emissions into chemical building blocks, without capture or purification
  • Ontario-based Universal Matter, which develops a Flash Joule Heating process that converts carbon waste such as end-of-life plastics, tires or industrial waste into graphene

The C2V Initiative is based on Greentown Go, Greentown’s open-innovation program. The C2V Initiative has supported 35 startups that have raised over $600 million in follow-on funding.

Read about the 2024 cohort here.
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Eight startups were given awards at Energy Tech Nexus' Pilotathon. Photo via Getty Images.

Energy Tech Nexus names 8 startup winners from Pilotathon pitch event

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Energy Tech Nexus held its Pilotathon and Showcase during the second annual Houston Energy & Climate Startup Week last month and granted awards to eight startups.

This year's event, focused on the theme "Energy Access and Resilience," offered 24 startups an opportunity to pitch their pilot projects.

"At Energy Tech Nexus, we recognize that scaling breakthrough energy technologies requires more than just capital—it demands strategic pilot partnerships," Nada Ahmed, founding Partner of Energy Tech Nexus, said in a release. "The Pilotathon serves as that critical bridge, creating a dynamic platform where established industry leaders and emerging startups collaborate to accelerate the deployment of solutions that will define our energy future."

Companies selected to participate in the Pilotathon and others from Energy Tech Nexus' COPILOT accelerator pitched at the event.

The Pilotathon winners included:

  • Best Overall Pilot Pitch: New Jersey-based Metal Light Inc., which is building a circular, solid metal fuel that will serve as a replacement for diesel fuel
  • Best Commercial Readiness Award: Oregon-based Espiku Inc. and Calgary-based Serenity Power. Espiku designs and develops water treatment and mineral extraction technologies that rely on low-pressure evaporative cycles. Serenity Power has developed a cutting-edge solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology.
  • Corporate Partners Choice Award: California-based Rushnu, which has developed its modular CarbonCatalyze™ units that generate carbon-negative feedstock and is producing valuable chemicals from CO2 and salt at wastewater treatment sites.
  • People’s Choice Award for Best Startup Showcase: Houston-based Resin8, an AI-powered marketplace for industrial assets and heavy equipment

The COPILOT winners included:

  • Best Overall Pilot Pitch: Wisconsin-based V-Glass, which has developed a next-generation, vacuum-insulated glass
  • Energy Resilience Champion Award: Phoenix-based EnKoat, which is creating advanced material solutions to decarbonize buildings
  • Energy Access Award: Dallas-based Janta Power, which is developing 3D solar towers
  • Most Impactful Pilot: Houston-based PolyQor, which converts plastic waste into high-performing construction materials
COPILOT partners with Browning the Green Space, a nonprofit that promotes diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the clean energy and climatetech sectors. The Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN²) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory backs the COPILOT accelerator, where companies are tasked with developing pilot projects for their innovations. Read more about the inaugural cohort here.
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Fervo taps into its hottest-ever geothermal reservoir

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Things are heating up at Houston-based geothermal power company Fervo Energy.

Fervo recently drilled its hottest well so far at a new geothermal site in western Utah. Fewer than 11 days of drilling more than 11,000 feet deep at Project Blanford showed temperatures above 555 degrees Fahrenheit, which exceeds requirements for commercial viability. Fervo used proprietary AI-driven analytics for the test.

Hotter geothermal reservoirs produce more energy and improve what’s known as energy conversion efficiency, which is the ratio of useful energy output to total energy input.

“Fervo’s exploration strategy has always been underpinned by the seamless integration of cutting-edge data acquisition and advanced analytics,” Jack Norbeck, Fervo’s co-founder and chief technology officer, said in a news release. “This latest ultra-high temperature discovery highlights our team’s ability to detect and develop EGS sweet spots using AI-enhanced geophysical techniques.”

Fervo says an independent review confirms the site’s multigigawatt potential.

The company has increasingly tapped into hotter and hotter geothermal reservoirs, going from 365 degrees at Project Red to 400 degrees at Cape Station and now more than 555 degrees at Blanford.

The new site expands Fervo’s geologic footprint. The Blanford reservoir consists of sedimentary formations such as sandstones, claystones and carbonates, which can be drilled more easily and cost-effectively than more commonly targeted granite formations.

Fervo ranks among the top-funded startups in the Houston area. Since its founding in 2017, the company has raised about $1.5 billion. In January, Fervo filed for an IPO that would value the company at $2 billion to $3 billion, according to Axios Pro.

Acquisitions and agreements fuel Houston energy news to know right now

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Editor's note: The top Houston energy news for the first half of February includes acquisitions, agreements, and must-attend events. Below are the five most-read EnergyCapitalHTX stories from Feb. 1-15, 2026:

Here are 5 must-attend Houston energy events for February 2026

Acquisitions and agreements fuel the top Houston energy news to knowCatch up on our top news for the first half of February. Courtesy photo

The second half of February is buzzing with must-attend events for those in the Houston energy sector. We've rounded up a host of events to put on your calendar for the month, with topics ranging from AI in energy to emissions management for a sustainable future. Continue reading.

ERCOT to capture big share of U.S. solar power growth through 2027

A new report predicts solar power supplied to the ERCOT grid will jump by 89 percent by the end of 2027. Photo by Red Zeppelin/Pexels

Much of the country’s growth in utility-scale solar power generation will happen in the grid operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), according to a new forecast. Continue reading.

Syzygy inks long-term offtake agreement for first commercial SAF plant

Syzygy Plasmonics has secured an offtake agreement for 100% of the production from its first commercial SAF plant. Photo courtesy of Syzygy.

Houston-based Syzygy Plasmonics has secured a six-year official offtake agreement for the entire production volume of its first commercial-scale biogas-to-sustainable aviation fuel project in Uruguay, known as NovaSAF-1. Continue reading.

Spring-based private equity firm acquires West Texas wind farm

Spring-based Arroyo Investors has purchased Whirlwind Energy Center in Amarillo, Texas. Photo by Sam LaRussa on Unsplash.

Spring-based private equity firm Arroyo Investors has teamed up with ONCEnergy, a Portland, Oregon-based developer of clean energy projects, to buy a 60-megawatt wind farm southeast of Amarillo. Continue reading.

$21.5 billion merger will create Houston-based energy powerhouse

Devon Energy will buy Houston-based Coterra Energy. Photo via Coterra Energy

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma-based Devon Energy has agreed to buy Houston-based Coterra Energy in a $21.5 billion all-stock deal, forming an energy powerhouse that will be headquartered in Houston. The combined company, boasting an enterprise value of $58 billion, will adopt the Devon brand name. Continue reading.

Texas claims No. 1 spot on new energy resilience report

A new report by mineral group Texas Royalty Brokers ranks Texas as the No. 1 most energy-resilient state.

The study focused on four main sources of electricity in hydroelectric dams, natural gas plants, nuclear reactors and petroleum facilities. Each state was given an Energy Resilience Score based on size and diversity of its power infrastructure, energy production and affordability for residents.

Texas earned a score of 71.3 on the report, outpacing much of the rest of the country. Pennsylvania came in at No. 2 with a score of 55.8, followed by New York (49.1) and California (48.4).

According to the report, Texas produces 11.7 percent of the country’s total energy, made possible by the state’s 141,000-megawatt power infrastructure—the largest in America.

Other key stats in the report for Texas included:

  • Per-capita consumption: 165,300 kWh per year
  • Per-capita expenditures: $5,130 annually
  • Total summer capacity: 141,200 megawatts

Despite recent failures in the ERCOT grid, including the 2021 power grid failure during Winter Storm Uri and continued power outages with climate events like 2024’s Hurricane Beryl that left 2.7 million without power, Texas still was able to land No. 1 on an energy resilience list. Texas has had the most weather-related power outages in the country in recent years, with 210 events from 2000 to 2023, according to an analysis by the nonprofit Climate Central. It's also the only state in the lower 48 with no major connections to neighboring states' power grids.

Still, the report argues that “(Texas’ infrastructure) is enough to provide energy to 140 million homes. In total, Texas operates 732 power facilities with over 3,000 generators spread across the state, so a single failure can’t knock out the entire grid here.”

The report acknowledges that a potential problem for Texas will be meeting the demands of AI data centers. Eric Winegar, managing partner at Texas Royalty Brokers, warns that these projects consume large amounts of energy and water.

According to another Texas Royalty Brokers report, Texas has 17 GPU cluster sites across the state, which is more than any other region in the United States. GPUs are specialized chips that run AI models and perform calculations.

"Energy resilience is especially important in the age of AI. The data centers that these technologies use are popping up across America, and they consume huge amounts of electricity. Some estimates even suggest that AI could account for 8% of total U.S. power consumption by 2030,” Winegar commented in the report. “We see that Texas is attracting most of these new facilities because it already has the infrastructure to support them. But we think the state needs to keep expanding capacity to meet growing demand."

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