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Houston experts: Amplifying startup success is key in the energy transition era

Guest column

The future energy system will be made up of countless new technologies that are actively being developed and scaled by climate and energy startups around the world. Photo via Getty Images

The global energy landscape is undergoing unprecedented challenges, influenced by post-pandemic work trends, geopolitical events like the Ukraine crisis, and the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions.

To achieve net-zero goals by 2050 and address climate change, a significant investment of $5 trillion by 2030 to USD $4.5 trillion by 2050 is required, necessitating a rapid transformation in traditional energy production, distribution, storage, and consumption methods.

High-tech energy and climate startups are pivotal for a robust economy, driving innovation, economic growth, and enhanced productivity. These startups foster healthy competition, attract crucial investments, and contribute significantly to job creation, outpacing larger companies in terms of employment generation. The U.S., a startup leader, generated over 3.7 million new jobs in 2022, showcasing the adaptability of startups to market trends. Globally, India, with the third-largest startup ecosystem, has contributed to the creation of 860,000 jobs since the stand-up of Startup India, emphasizing the importance of nurturing startups for sustained economic dynamism and innovation.

The future energy system will be made up of countless new technologies that are actively being developed and scaled by climate and energy startups around the world. These founding teams require access to scaling resources to accelerate and amplify their impact. Human talent, financial investment, demonstration opportunities and physical facilities are scaling resources that often require significant time and capital to build from scratch. This inefficient resource deployment can be particularly pronounced for hard-tech entrepreneurs. Startup community participants are organized around providing entrepreneurs with the needed access to these resources.

"Our mission is to enable hydrogen adoption by solving the key challenges in hydrogen storage and transportation," says Ayrton CEO, Natasha Kostenuk. "With Halliburton's strategic engineering and manufacturing support, we can scale our technology, execute pilot demonstrations and accelerate towards commercialization."

Halliburton Labs, is highlighted for its diverse team and the support it provides to global entrepreneurs in sustainable ventures. The future energy system is envisioned to be composed of numerous new technologies developed and scaled by climate and energy startups worldwide. These startups require access to scaling resources mentioned above, where Halliburton Labs serves as a conduit between established practitioners and startup entrepreneurs, accelerating the latter's impact by providing access to these critical resources.

Infosys launched the Infosys Innovation Fund to invest in entrepreneurial ventures around the world. Their investment philosophy is geared toward supporting innovation and purposeful solutions that are relevant to the strategic priorities of their clients. This differentiates the Infosys Innovation Fund from most other venture capital institutions, in that they have a strong motivation to create long term value for the end users of the technology and to the companies building these solutions.

Infosys actively collaborates with emerging technology startups through its Infosys Innovation Fund. Employing a Desirability, Feasibility, Viability (DFV) framework, Infosys strategically selects startups and offers advantages such as market, financial and technical scale. The Infosys Innovation Fund stands out for its motivation to create long-term value for end users and the companies building innovative solutions. Infosys also operates an incubation center called ‘Infosys Center for Emerging Technology Solutions’ (iCETS), focusing on NextGen services and offerings through collaboration with clients, startup partnerships, university collaborations, and more.

Startups working with Infosys benefit from accessing the company's know-how, market knowledge, and strategic advisors from the consulting arm of business, Infosys Consulting, who are focused on creating business value through technology innovation. The combined expertise guides entrepreneurs from idea to qualification, proof-of-concept, prototype, minimum viable product (MVP), scale, and continuous discovery and delivery.

Open innovation and trusted partnerships in the energy transition era

In the energy transition era, open innovation and trusted partnerships are becoming essential components of amplifying success for startups. Collaborative cultures and trusted partnerships with companies like Infosys and Halliburton Labs are crucial for supporting and scaling startups in this rapidly evolving energy landscape. This shift towards ‘open innovation’ reflects a broader trend in the industry toward collaboration and shared expertise as key drivers for success to accelerate and achieve global energy transition aspirations.

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Scott Gale is the executive director of Halliburton Labs. Jason Till is partner of Experience Transformation & Innovation at Infosys Consulting. Rima Thakkar is principal - Americas Energy Transition at Infosys Consulting. Laura Sacchi, Mandar Joshi, and Sonali Sakhare of Infosys Consulting contributed to this article.

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Houston company raises $100M Series D to scale industrial decarbonization tech

fresh funding

Houston-based Utility Global has raised $100 million in an ongoing Series D round to globally deploy its decarbonization technology at an industrial scale.

The round was led by Ara Partners and APG Asset, according to a news release. Utility plans to use the funding to expand manufacturing, grow its teams and support its commercial developments and partnerships.

“This financing marks a critical step in Utility’s transition from a proven technology to full-scale global commercial execution,” Parker Meeks, CEO and president of Utility Global, said in the release. “Industrial customers are no longer looking for pilots or promises; they need deployable solutions that work within existing assets and deliver true economic industrial decarbonization today that is operationally reliable and highly scalable. Utility’s technology produces both economic clean hydrogen and capture-ready CO2 streams, and this capital enables us to scale and deploy that impact globally with speed, discipline, and rigor.”

Utility Global's H2Gen technology produces low-cost, clean hydrogen from water and industrial off-gases without requiring electricity. It's designed to integrate into existing industrial infrastructure in hard-to-abate assets in the steel, refining, petrochemical, chemical, low-carbon fuels, and upstream oil and gas sectors.

“Utility is tackling one of the most difficult challenges in the energy transition: decarbonizing hard‑to‑abate industrial sectors,” Cory Steffek, partner at Ara Partners and Utility Global board chair, said in the release. “What sets Utility apart is its ability to compete head‑to‑head with conventional fossil‑based solutions on cost and reliability, even as it materially reduces emissions. With this new funding, Utility is well-positioned for its next chapter of commercial growth while maintaining the technical excellence and capital discipline that have defined its development to date.”

Utility Global reached several major milestones in 2025. After closing a $53 million Series C, the company agreed to develop at least one decarbonization facility at an ArcelorMittal steel plant in Brazil. It also signed a strategic partnership with California-based Kyocera International Inc. to scale global manufacturing of its H2Gen electrochemical cells.

The company also partnered with Maas Energy Works, another California company, to develop a commercial project integrating Maas’ dairy biogas systems with H2Gen to produce economical, clean hydrogen.

"These projects were never intended to stand alone. They anchor a deep and growing pipeline of commercial projects now in development globally across steel, refining, chemicals, biogas and other hard-to-abate sectors worldwide, Meeks shared in a 2025 year-in-review note. He added that 2026 would be a year of "focused acceleration to scale."

Houston energy pioneer elected to National Academy of Sciences leadership

top honor

Naomi Halas, a Rice University professor and co-founder of Syzygy Plasmonics, was elected to the Council of the National Academy of Sciences this month.

The council sets priorities for the nonprofit organization, which advises the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Halas will serve a three-year term on the council, beginning July 1.

“The council’s work is focused on the academy’s national leadership and governance,” Halas said in a news release. “It plays an important role in helping set initiatives and priorities for the scientific community, and in supporting the conditions that allow science to move forward in meaningful ways.”

Halas is best known for her pioneering work in nanophotonics and plasmonics. She helped develop nanoshells, or metal-coated nanoparticles that capture light energy, which have led to innovations in renewable energy, cancer therapy and water purification.

Halas co-founded Syzygy Plasmonics with frequent collaborator and fellow Rice professor Peter Nordlander. The company is developing low-cost, light-driven, all-electric chemical reactors for the sustainable production of hydrogen fuel. It was named to Fast Company's energy innovation list last year.

Syzygy Plasmonics is developing its first commercial-scale biogas-to-sustainable aviation fuel project in Uruguay, known as NovaSAF-1. It secured a six-year offtake agreement for the entire production from the project with Singapore-based commodity company Trafigura this month.

Halas was first elected to become a member of the NAS in 2013, and was shortly after named to the National Academy of Engineering in 2014—making her one of the few scientists to hold both distinctions. She received the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry last year. Many scientists who have received the award have gone on to win Nobel prizes.

She is also the co-founder of Nanospectra Biosciences and a member of the National Academy of Inventors, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters. She holds more than 25 patents, according to Rice.

Houston startup launches groundbreaking mineral hydrogen pilot

pilot project

Houston climatech company Vema Hydrogen recently completed drilling its first two pilot wells in Quebec for its Engineered Mineral Hydrogen (EMH) pilot. The company says the project is the first EMH pilot of its kind.

Vema’s EMH technology produces low-cost, high-purity hydrogen from subsurface rock formations. It has the capacity to support e-fuel and clean mobility industries and the shipping and air transport markets. The pilot project is the first field deployment of the company’s technology.

“This pilot will provide the critical data needed to validate Engineered Mineral Hydrogen at commercial scale and demonstrate that Quebec can lead the world in this emerging clean energy category,” Pierre Levin, CEO of Vema Hydrogen, said in a news release.

Levin added that the sample collected thus far in the pilot is “exactly what we expected, and is very promising for hydrogen yields.”

Through the pilot, Vema will collect core samples and begin subsurface analysis to evaluate fluid movement and monitor hydrogen production from the wells. The data collected from the pilot will shape Vema's plans for commercialization and provide documentation for proof of concept in the field, according to the news release.

“Vema Hydrogen perfectly embodies the spirit of the grey to green movement: transforming mining liabilities into drivers of innovation and ecological transition,” Ludovic Beauregard, circular economy commissioner at the Thetford Region Economic Development Corporation, added in the release.

“This project demonstrates that it is possible to reconcile the revitalization of mining regions, clean energy and sustainable economic development for these areas.”

In addition to its pilot in Canada, Vema also recently signed a 10-year hydrogen purchase and sale agreement with San Francisco-based Verne Power to supply clean hydrogen for data centers across California. The company was selected as a Qualified Supplier by The First Public Hydrogen Authority, which will allow it to supply clean hydrogen at scale to California’s municipalities, transit agencies and businesses through the FPH2 network.

Vema aims to produce Engineered Mineral Hydrogen for less than $1 per kilogram. The company, founded in 2024, is working toward a gigawatt-scale hydrogen supply in North America.

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