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Houston startup selected for inaugural climatetech global entrepreneur competition

ready to pitch

Syzygy Plasmonics is going to be competing in Gastech's new startup competition. Photo via Getty Images

A global natural gas, LNG, hydrogen, low-carbon solutions, and climate technology convention is coming to Houston next month — but only one Houston startup is geared up for the event's new startup competition.

Gastech invited 20 promising companies for its inaugural Gastech Start-Up Competition, and 11 companies have signed on to participate so far. Houston-based Syzygy Plasmonics, which created and is scaling a sustainable photocatalytic reactor, is currently the only local company among the participants.

“Gastech's focus on creating a low-carbon, affordable energy future aligns perfectly with Syzygy's drive to produce low-carbon, low-cost hydrogen, liquid fuels, and syngas," Syzygy Plasmonics CEO Trevor Best says. "We can't wait to represent Houston as the only startup from the area to be included among the 11 finalists in the Gastech Climatetech Global Entrepreneur Competition.”

It's the first year Gastech, which was announced to be returning to Houston last year, is hosting the competition, which invited startups from the Gastech Hydrogen and Climatetech & AI hubs. The program will allow the participants to promote their projects, benchmark in a competitive setting, and receive critical feedback from experts.

The selected companies are innovating scalable solutions across technologies in climatetech, alternative fuels, industrial decarbonization, AI, hydrogen, and more. Each company will have five minutes to pitch and three minutes of feedback. The winner receives the Gastech 2024 Leading Start-up Trophy.

“We were very impressed by the ability of Syzygy to provide deep decarbonization technology which hit the mark on each of the requirements above – we hadn’t seen it before at Gastech and there is real potential to deliver at scale,” Simon Ford, vice president at Gastech, says.

The other selected and confirmed companies are:

  • General Galactic
  • Element One
  • Stars Technology
  • Modcon System
  • Fluid-7
  • Divigas
  • Gusty.ai
  • Omega Black
  • Kayrros
  • Mitis

The competition is in partnership with Houston Energy Transition Initiative and will take place beginning at 1:30 pm on Wednesday, September 18. Networking will follow the competition. Judges include Jane Stricker of the Houston Energy Transition Initiative, Mahdi Aladel and/or Bruce Niven of Aramco Ventures, and Daniel Palmer of Climate Investment.

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Here's what student-founded startups are leaving CERAWeek with fresh funding. Photo courtesy of HETI

Houston clean tech startup pitch competition awards prizes at annual CERAWeek event

big winners

For the third year, the Greater Houston Partnership's Houston Energy Transition Institute hosted its startup pitch competition at CERAWeek by S&P Global. A dozen startups walked away with recognition — and three some with cash prizes.

HETI joined partners Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship and TEX-E for the 2024 Energy Venture Day and Pitch Competition at CERAWeek on Wednesday, March 20. Forty-two companies, which have collectively raised over $265 million in investment funding already, pitched to judges. Nine startups won awards across three tracks.

TEX-E, a Texas nonprofit that supports student-founded upstarts, had five of its companies pitch and three winners walked away with monetary prizes. Teams that competed in the TEX-E Prize track, many of which come from Houston universities, include:

  • AirMax, University of Texas at Austin
  • BeadBlocker, University of Houston
  • Carvis Energy Solutions, Texas A&M University
  • Coflux Purification, Rice University
  • Solidec, Rice University

Solidec, which is working on a platform to produce chemicals from captured carbon, won first place and $25,000. The company also recently scored a $100,000 grant from Rice's One Small Step Grant program, as well as a voucher from the DOE. Coflux Purification, which has a technology that destroys PFAS in filtration, won second place and$15,000. The company also secured a One Small Step Grant to the tune of $80,000. AirMax, which focuses on optimizing sustainability for air conditioning equipment, won third place and $10,000.

Last year, Houston-based Helix Earth Technologies took home the top TEX-E price and $25,000 cash awards. The venture, founded by Rawand Rasheed and Brad Husick from Rice University, developed high-speed, high-efficiency filter systems derived from technology originating at NASA.

The rest of the companies that pitched competed for non-monetary awards. Here's what companies won:

  • Group A (CCUS, oilfield solutions, analytics and minerals):
    • First place: Ardent
    • Second place: Vaulted Deep
    • Third place: Mitico
  • Group B (batteries, renewables, water, and grid technology):
    • First place: SungreenH2
    • Second place: FeX Energy
    • Third place: Mercurius Biorefining
  • Group C (Mobility, Materials, and hydrogen solutions)
    • First place: Thiozen
    • Second place: Power2Hydrogen
    • Third place: Arolytics
  • People's choice: Decimetrix
HETI, Rice Alliance, and TEX-E celebrated the winners at a private reception on Wednesday evening.

———

This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

Houston-based WellWorth was selected as the winner of this year’s Houston Startup Showcase. Photo via LinkedIn

Houston energy SaaS startup wins local pitch competition

no. 1

The Ion hosted its annual startup pitch competition, and one company walked away with a win.

WellWorth, a financial modeling and analysis software-as-a-service company for the upstream energy sector, won the Houston Startup Showcase + Expo and secured a $5,000 prize. The startup's technology introduces a more streamlined approach to NAV modeling or corporate financial modeling for its users.

“Having worked in investment banking, I have seen firsthand how the limitations of Excel models and a lack of bespoke tools have led to inefficient workflows in upstream Oil & Gas finance," says Samra Nawaz, CEO and Co-founder of WellWorth, in a statement. "We decided to solve this problem by building a cloud-based platform that helps energy finance leaders improve decision-making around raising, managing, and deploying capital.”

Nawaz explains how impactful the opportunity to pitch has been on WellWorth, which aims to raise funding early next year accelerate customer acquisition and product development.

“By getting involved in the Ion’s innovation ecosystem, we’ve been able to not only network with many entrepreneurs and innovators in the Houston community, but also find opportunities to scale our growth,” continues Nawaz. “We’re thrilled to have brought a few more customers onboard recently, and are working closely with them to optimize our product pipeline."

The company pitched alongside the other five finalists, which included Tierra Climate, MRG Health, BeOne Sports, Trez, and Mallard Bay. Mallard Bay, a booking platform for hunting and fishing trips, secured the people's choice award, which was decided by the crowd.

“Our flagship event, Houston Startup Showcase, not only connects startups and entrepreneurs with top business leaders but also provides them an opportunity to pitch their innovations to the technology ecosystem,” says Jan Odegard, executive director of the Ion, in a news release. “We extend our congratulations to WellWorth and the company’s innovative SaaS platform for energy industry finance teams, as well as Mallard Bay, the People’s Choice winner. These companies are exemplifying the exciting new technologies being developed in Houston today.”

In addition to the pitches, several companies showcased at the event, including Nanotech, manufacturer of thermal management materials for the built environment; last year's winner Unytag, a universal toll tag that provides drivers the ability to pass through tolls anywhere in the nation; and Softeq, provides early-stage innovation, technology business consulting, and full-stack development solutions to enterprise companies and innovative startups.

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Nominate energy trailblazers for Houston Innovation Awards by Aug. 27

Awards Season

Calling all energy innovators: The 2026 Houston Innovation Awards, presented by InnovationMap, return this fall to celebrate the best and brightest in the Houston innovation ecosystem, and that includes those leading the energy transition.

We're asking you to nominate Houston's top innovators and startups for this year's awards.

Nominations are open now through August 27 and can be made on behalf of yourself, your organization, and other influential leaders in the local innovation scene.

The annual awards program recognizes the most innovative individuals and companies in Houston across 10 prestigious categories, including one category specifically for the energy transition.

This year's awards will honor the following categories:

  • Minority-founded Business, honoring an innovative startup founded or co-founded by BIPOC or LGBTQ+ representation.
  • Female-founded Business, honoring an innovative startup founded or co-founded by a woman.
  • Energy Transition Business, honoring an innovative startup providing a solution within renewables, climatetech, clean energy, alternative materials, circular economy, and beyond.
  • Health Tech Business, honoring an innovative startup within the health and medical technology sectors.
  • Deep Tech Business, honoring an innovative startup providing technology solutions based on substantial scientific or engineering challenges, including those in the AI, robotics, and space sectors.
  • Startup of the Year (People's Choice), honoring a startup celebrating a recent milestone or success. The winner will be selected by the community via an interactive voting experience.
  • Scaleup of the Year, honoring an innovative later-stage startup that's recently reached a significant milestone in company growth.
  • Incubator/Accelerator of the Year, honoring a local incubator or accelerator that is championing and fueling the growth of Houston startups.
  • Mentor of the Year, honoring an individual who dedicates their time and expertise to guide and support budding entrepreneurs.
  • Trailblazer, honoring an innovator who's made a lasting impact on the Houston innovation community.

You have three weeks to submit nominees, so don't delay — nominate today at this link or fill out the form below. Qualified nominees will receive a formal application to complete, which will be reviewed by our esteemed panel of judges to determine the finalists and winners.

More announcements about the 2026 Houston Innovation Awards are coming soon. Interested in sponsoring the 2026 Houston Innovation Awards? Please contact sales@innovationmap.com.

Telsa eyes Houston area for $10 billion solar manufacturing plant

under review

Electric vehicle and clean energy company Tesla is considering building a new $10.1 billion solar cell manufacturing facility in Fort Bend County, according to documents filed with the Texas Comptroller’s Office.

If approved, the plant, called Project Sun City, would be located on a 3,050-acre site off FM 762 and FM 1994 in Richmond, Texas. Tesla aims to finish construction in 2028, with the plant being operational by early 2029.

The plant will manufacture photovoltaic (PV) solar cells and modules that can convert sunlight into electricity. PV Magazine reports that the facility is "the largest single manufacturing investment Tesla has proposed on paper."

Advisory and consulting firm Kroll submitted the documents to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and noted if an agreement regarding tax incentives isn't reached, the project will exit Texas.

Tesla has requested credits under the Jobs, Energy, Technology, and Innovation (JETI) Act. The incentive program aims to attract large, capital-intensive economic development projects by lowering the property taxes an entity must pay over 10 years if it meets requirements related to job creation and investment. For example, pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb Co. recently announced that its forthcoming $2.3 billion Houston-area manufacturing site is a qualified project under the JETI program.

Kroll predicts that the facility would create 9,712 new full-time jobs, over 1,100 construction jobs and billions of dollars in future property tax revenue, the documents show. Additionally, it says the project will spur $1.1 billion in local business expenditures and that Texas would increase its GDP by approximately $107 billion as a result of the project activities.

Tesla opened its $200 million Megafactory in Brookshire, Texas, last year. The company is continuing its goal to deploy 100 gigawatts of solar manufacturing in the U.S before the end of 2028. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 100 gigawatts is equal to about 8 percent of the country's power grid capacity.

Houston researchers land $10M grant to study how climate change drives disease threats

climate health research

Researchers from Rice University, Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas School of Public Health have received a $10 million grant to support research and public education on how climate change is linked to public health.

The funding comes from North Carolina-based Burroughs Wellcome Fund and is known as the organization’s Climate + Health Excellence (CHEX) award. It will be used over the next five years to launch the new FORECAST initiative, led by Rice professors and co-investigators Sylvia Dee and Joseph Campan.

FORECAST will “study how a rapidly changing environment and weather drive the emergence and expansion of deadly pathogens in human populations,” according to a release from Rice.

“This grant supports novel research linking climate change projections to health care solutions while simultaneously ensuring the next generation of scientists, leaders and policymakers have the training to assess and respond to the climate change risks that we already know are increasing every year,” Dee said in the release.

The funding will go toward a variety of new initiatives and centers.

At Rice, the funding will help launch the new Center for Climate and Environmental Health, as well as cross-campus multidisciplinary collaborations, seed grants, postdoctoral and graduate positions, and more, according to the university.

The grant will also support the statewide “Middle to Medical” climate-health educational program for youth. The program will focus on teaching how pathogens spread and how climate change plays a role in the process.

“FORECAST will prepare youth across Texas to make informed health decisions that protect themselves and their families and communities from extreme weather and disease-related risks,” Nancy Moreno, a professor of education, innovation and technology at Baylor College of Medicine and co-investigator on this grant, added in the release.

Anthony Maresso, professor of molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine, will share expertise in viral pathogen sewage detection that was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic; while Eric Boerwinkle, dean of the UT School of Public Health, will share insights from the Texas Wastewater Environmental Biomonitoring Network, which tracks disease-causing viruses and bacteria by testing wastewater weekly at Texas sites.

“Hotter days, bigger storms, new disease threats — Texas’s future demands preparation,” Boerwinkle added in the release. “With support from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the FORECAST team is helping Texas detect threats earlier and respond faster, saving lives and strengthening our economy.”

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