Energy Tech Nexus announces international startups to pitch at Pilotathon

Ready, Set, Pitch

20-plus companies will pitch at Energy Tech Nexus' Pilotathon during Houston Energy & Climate Startup Week. Photo via Getty Images.

Energy Tech Nexus will host its Pilotathon and Showcase as part of Houston Energy & Climate Startup Week next Tuesday, Sept. 16, featuring insightful talks from industry leaders and pitches from an international group of companies in the clean energy space.

This year's event will center around the theme "Energy Access and Resilience." Attendees will hear pitches from nine Pilotathon pitch companies, as well as the 14 companies that were named to Energy Tech Nexus' COPILOT accelerator earlier this year.

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.

The nine Pilotathon pitch companies include:

Ontario-based AlumaPower, which has developed a breakthrough technology that converts the aluminum-air battery into a "galvanic generator," a long-duration energy source that runs on aluminum as a fuel
Calgary-based BioOilSolv, a chemical manufacturing company that has developed cutting-edge biomass-derived solvents
Atlanta-based Cultiv8 Fuels, which creates high-quality renewable fuel products derived from hemp
Newfoundland-based eDNAtec Inc., a leader in environmental genomics that analyzes biodiversity and ecological health
Oregon-based Espiku Inc., which designs and develops water treatment and mineral extraction technologies that rely on low-pressure evaporative cycles
New York-based Fast Metals Inc., which has developed a chemical process to extract valuable metals from complex toxic mine tailings that is capable of producing iron, aluminum, scandium, titanium and other rare earth elements using industrial waste and waste CO2 as inputs
New Jersey-based Metal Light Inc., which is building a circular, solid metal fuel that will serve as a replacement for diesel fuel
Glasgow-based Novosound, which designs and manufactures innovative ultrasound sensors using a thin-film technique to address the limitations of traditional ultrasound with applications in industrial, medical and wearable markets
Calgary-based Serenity Power, which has developed a cutting-edge solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology

The COPILOT accelerator companies include:

Accelerate Wind
Aquora Biosystems Inc.
EarthEn
Electromaim
EnKoat
GeoFuels
Harber Coatings Inc.
Janta Power
NanoSieve
PolyQor Inc.
Popper Power
Siva Powers America
ThermoShade
V-Glass Inc.

Report evaluates Houston's potential as a climatetech hub with 6 key takeaways

seeing green

Three Houston energy tech innovators sought to quantify Houston's growth as an energy tech ecosystem, and, after 200 survey respondents and dozens of interviews, they've created six calls to action for the city.

Taylor Chapman, Gabe Malek, and Deanna Zhang created the Texas Climate Tech Collective to issue the Houston's Climate Tech Ecosystem 2023 report. The trio revealed some of its key takeaways at Greentown Houston's Climatetech Summit last month.

"We wanted to understand how the city has evolved," Malek, who's also chief of staff at Fervo Energy, said at the event. "We went into this project with a shared belief that Houston has unique characteristics that set it apart from the other cities thinking about climate, and if we could really lean into those characteristics, develop them, and amplify them, we could help grow the ecosystem in Houston and build climate solutions ... to accelerate the energy transition."

The full report, which is available online, highlighted six key takeaways paired with six action items.

1. "Houston has a perception problem."

Houston is known as a leader in the energy industry, which positions it well in a lot of ways, but in other ways, as Zhang points out, Houston might be being left out.

"People in this community like to talk about energy because we are the energy capital of the world, so we use a lot of energy-centric terms," she says, using "energy transition" as an example. "We don't use the word climate enough."

It might just be semantics, but it could be a reason the city isn't as regarded as a climatetech leader.

"If other ecosystems are using 'climate' and 'climatetech,' we need to be using these terms," she continues. "It's like SEO but for the ecosystem."

2. "Houston needs more risk capital, especially at the earlier stages."

Money is a huge factor, which comes as no surprise. While the city has a lot of corporations and private equity here, as Zhang explains, there seems to be room for improvement for early-stage resources.

"If you're a founder raising pre-seed, seed, or even series A, often times you have to go outside of Houston to meet those investors," she says.

According to the report, about half of survey respondents chose "access to venture capital" as one of the biggest challenges facing the ecosystem.

3. "Houston’s startup scene has improved radically."

The report found that 80 percent of responders agreed to the statement: “the ecosystem has improved dramatically over the last 5 years.” Meanwhile, 75 percent of respondents agreed that “Houston is more innovative than outsiders perceive it to be."

So what's holding the city back? According to the collective, "Shameless self-promotion of ecosystem accomplishments."

"We need to be shouting from the rooftops what is happening in this city. It's really a PR game," Zhang says.

4. "Houston’s energy resources and infrastructure have massive potential to create change, but are underutilized by the climate ecosystem."

The collective and survey respondents acknowledge that Houston has a lot of infrastructure already in place, but the call to action is for coordination of these resources.

"Greentown, Ion, Halliburton Labs, HETI — the list goes on and on, but people don't know where to start," Chapman says.

The report says the city's resources are "woefully undertapped" and "29 percent of respondents highlighted partnerships, coordination of existing assets, and Houston’s own future investments in infrastructure as potential accelerants to growth."

5. "Houston’s strong workforce and human capital are one of its greatest strengths – and it should be investing in transitioning that workforce to new opportunities."

Cultivating the workforce for the energy transition needs to be a major priority, according to the collective. The city has a talented workforce for engineering, technical, and project management talent.

"How do we reach and transition this workforce?" Chapman asks. "It's a huge opportunity and critical for Houston to ensure that its economic development continues to grow."

6. "Houston knows how to build...but needs to put expertise that towards climate innovation."

Houston as a major, sprawling city needs to continue to become "greener" in every way. While Chapman praises the city has done with its Climate Action Plan, Houston still lags other major cities like Los Angeles and New York in this way, per the report. Fourteen percent of respondents cited better climate-friendly infrastructure as a priority issue.

Chapman urged the audience to get involved locally to move the needle on more green initiatives for the city.

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Report shows geoscientists earn largest salary premium in Texas

Career Day

A move to Texas bolsters earnings for some, and a new SmartAsset study has revealed the top professions where the median annual earnings in the Lone Star State exceed the national median.

The report, "When it Pays to Work in Texas — and When It Doesn’t," published in April, analyzed over 700 occupations to determine which have the biggest "Texas premium" — meaning jobs where the price-adjusted median annual pay in Texas most exceeds the national median for the same occupation — and which jobs have the biggest “Texas penalty,” where the statewide median annual pay falls furthest below the national median. Salaries were sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and adjusted for regional price parity.

According to the report's findings, geoscientists have the biggest "Texas premium" and make a $159,903 median annual salary. Texas' salary for geoscientists is 61 percent higher than the national median for the same position (after adjusting for regional price parity).

"Texas’s large petroleum industry helps explain why employers in the state retain so many geoscientists," the report's author wrote. "In fact, the Lone Star State is home to more geoscientists than any other state except California."

There are more than 3,600 geoscientists working in Texas, SmartAsset said.

These are the remaining top 10 occupations with the biggest "Texas premiums" (salaries are price-adjusted):

No. 2 – Commercial pilots: $167,727 median Texas earnings; 37 percent higher than the national median
No. 3 – Sailors: $67,614 median Texas earnings; 36 percent higher than the national median
No. 4 – Aircraft structure assemblers: $83,519 median Texas earnings; 35 percent higher than the national median
No. 5 – Ship captains: $108,905 median Texas earnings; 27 percent higher than the national median
No. 6 – Nursing instructors (postsecondary): $100,484 median Texas earnings; 26 percent higher than the national median
No. 7 – Tax preparers: $63,321 median Texas earnings; 25 percent higher than the national median
No. 8 – Chemists: $104,241 median Texas earnings; 24 percent higher than the national median
No. 9 – Health instructors (postsecondary): $128,680 median Texas earnings; 22 percent higher than the national median
No. 10 – Engineering instructors (postsecondary): $129,030 median Texas earnings; 22 percent higher than the national median

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

Solar manufacturer expands Houston footprint with new 4-gigawatt factory

coming soon

Houston-based SEG Solar plans to open a new 4-gigawatt solar module manufacturing facility in Cypress.

The facility represents more than a $200 million investment and will raise SEG's total annual U.S. module production capacity to approximately 6 gigawatts, according to a new release. The expansion is part of SEG’s long-term goal of becoming one of the largest 100 percent U.S.-owned module manufacturers.

The new 500,000-square-foot facility will be located on Telge Road and is expected to create 800 new jobs, according to reports.

“This new facility marks an important milestone for SEG,” Timothy Johnson, VP of operations, said in the release. “It will further strengthen our U.S. manufacturing capabilities while supporting ongoing technology innovation. The plant is designed with the flexibility to integrate next-generation technologies, including (heterojunction solar technology) as the industry evolves.”

Commercial operations at the new facility are expected to commence in Q3 2026.

SEG is also developing a 5-gigawatt ingot and wafer manufacturing facility in Indonesia. Construction on the facility is expected to begin in Q2 2026.

In 2024, SEG Solar opened a new $60 million, 250,000-square-foot facility in Houston to house its production workshops, raw material warehouses, administrative offices, finished goods warehouses and supporting infrastructure. Read more here.

Fervo Energy bumps up IPO target to $1.82B

IPO update

Houston-based geothermal power company Fervo Energy is now eyeing an IPO that would raise $1.75 billion to $1.82 billion, up from the previous target of $1.33 billion.

In paperwork filed Monday, May 11 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Fervo says it plans to sell 70 million shares of Class A common stock at $25 to $26 per share.

In addition, Fervo expects to grant underwriters 30-day options to buy up to 8.33 million additional shares of Class A common stock. This could raise nearly $200 million.

When it announced the IPO on May 4, Fervo aimed to sell 55.56 million shares at $21 to $24 per share, which would have raised $1.17 billion to $1.33 billion. The initial valuation target was $6.5 billion.

A date for the IPO hasn’t been scheduled. Fervo’s stock will be listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol FRVO.

Fervo, founded in 2017, has attracted about $1.5 billion in funding from investors such as Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Google, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Devon Energy (which is moving its headquarters to Houston), Tesla co-founder JB Straubel, CalSTRS, Liberty Mutual Investments, AllianceBernstein, JPMorgan, Bank of America and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.

Fervo’s marquee project is Cape Station in Beaver County, Utah, the world’s largest EGS (enhanced geothermal system) project. The first phase will deliver 100 megawatts of baseload clean power, with the second phase adding another 400 megawatts. The site can accommodate 2 gigawatts of geothermal energy. Fervo holds more than 595,000 leased acres for potential expansion.

Cape Station has secured power purchase agreements for the entire 500-megawatt capacity. Customers include Houston-based Shell Energy North America and Southern California Edison.

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