New film series brings conservation around Texas to life

H-E-B's impact

The Our Texas, Our Future film series illustrates the importance of native wildlife. ourtexasourfuture.com

A new five-part documentary shorts series by Texas' favorite grocery store, H-E-B, takes an in-depth exploration into the state's wildlife and parks, in the hopes of raising awareness for native conservation.

Each film in the Our Texas, Our Future series is set in a different area of Texas, from the Gulf Coast of Houston to the deserts of West Texas. Viewers will learn about Texas' misunderstood animals, witness conservation triumphs of important marine life, and celebrate in the longevity of the state's public park system.

The series was created in partnership with Fin & Fur Films, and each of the five films are narrated by Austin-based singer Shane Smith. His band, Shane Smith and the Saints, also created original music for the series.

"H-E-B has a deep commitment to support all Texans, and that includes helping to protect, conserve, and beautify our great state for people to enjoy now and for generations to come," said Leslie Sweet, H-E-B's Managing Director of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs in a release. "We’re excited to support these passionate filmmakers and their mission to tell important stories that we hope will inspire people to celebrate and protect the diverse habitats, unique wildlife, and beautiful landscapes across Texas."

A Century Celebration: Texas State Parks
Director: Ben Masters; Runtime: 9 minutes
This film celebrates the 100th anniversary of Texas State Parks through a retelling of how the public park system came to be. 1.5 million acres of public land stretches from the West Texas mountains to Piney Woods in East Texas, where about 10 million visitors trek Texas state parks every year. Watch the trailer for A Century Celebration: Texas State Parkshere.

Batsies
Director: Elizabeth Unger; Runtime: 15 minutes
San Antonio locals know all too well the history of Bracken Cave, which is home to the world's largest bat colony, comprising more than 15 million Mexican free-tailed bats. A group of Texas State University wildlife biologiststake viewers on a trip to unearth little-known facts about one of Texas' most precious creatures. Batsies details the group's fight to protect the state's bat population and explains why the mammals are so crucial to Texas' ecosystem and agriculture. Watch the trailer here.

Redfish Revival
Director: Shannon Vandivier; Runtime: 16 minutes
Redfish Revival is a deep dive into the history of Texas' redfish population, and how a group of Houston fishermen saved them from overfishing in the 1970s. The group's dedication to conservation helped bring about important legislation protecting against overfishing in the 1980s, and even led to redfish being deemed the official saltwater fish of Texas. Watch the trailer here.

Second Chance
Director: Austin Alvarado; Runtime: 22 minutes
Second Chance showcases the ongoing recovery of Texas' black bear population, which has slowly been on the rise over the last 30 years. Researchers from the Borderlands Research Institute in Alpine journey to understand how the bears are surviving in the West Texas desserts in the wake of Texas' human population expansion. Watch the trailer for Second Chance here.

Ranching with Ocelots
Director: Shannon Vandivier; Runtime: 12 minutes
Ocelots are the most endangered cat in the nation, with less than 120 in the wild today. Ranching with Ocelots investigates the relationship between the animals and two traditional Texas vaqueros – Timoteo and Miguel Rodriguez, who also appear in the film Easteños – who seek to protect them. Their ranch is home to the largest documented ocelot population in North America. Watch the trailer here.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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Houston startup wins Space Force contract to advance quantum energy generator

quantum contract

Houston-based quantum energy technology startup Casimir Inc. has been awarded an STTR Phase I contract from the U.S. Space Force's SpaceWERX to support the development of the company's solid-state generator for potential use by the Department of the Air Force.

SpaceWERX is the innovation arm of the U.S. Space Force and a division within AFWERX, the incubator and innovation arm of the United States Department of the Air Force. The Air Force Research Laboratory and SpaceWERX, along with many other government agencies, help support innovation through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants and contracts.

As part of the new contract, Casimir will work to refine a fully independent generator. Casimir’s solid-state power technology could support national security missions by providing reliable power even in difficult-to-service environments.

In May, Casimir emerged from stealth, netting a $12 million seed round to commercialize its quantum energy chip. The semiconductor chips can generate power from quantum vacuum fields without the need for batteries or charging. The company aims to include the chips in large-scale energy systems that can power homes, commercial infrastructure and electric vehicles.

“This STTR funds some analysis work to address our proposed scaling approach of making our chips multi-layer to increase aggregate power,” Harold “Sonny” White, founder and CEO of Casimir, tells Energy Capital.

White adds that the company will work with Texas A&M to develop chip planarization techniques to support Casimir’s plans to scale. Additionally, White says the company is working with the U.S. Space Force to explore more applications for its technology.

“Casimir’s technology brings a new capability to the market in the form of our persistent power chips,” White adds. “This approach will be relevant to ultra-low-power electronics, and with the scaling approach we are developing, connected with the STTR work, will eventually be relevant to consumer electronics and beyond.”

Casimir has previously reported that it plans to commercialize its first-generation MicroSparc chip by 2028. The chips are expected to power devices for years without the need for replacements.

The total funding for this project has not yet been disclosed.

Houston clean energy tax compliance platform tops the Inc. 5000 in 2026

Top of the List

Houston-based Empact Technologies has ridden the clean energy wave to the Inc. 5000’s 30 fastest-growing private companies.

With three-year revenue growth of 8,275 percent, the clean energy tax credit compliance management platform appears at No. 27 on this year’s Inc. 5000 list. The 2026 list ranks private companies based on percentage revenue growth from 2022 to 2025.

Empact Technologies, also ranks as the No. 2 fastest-growing company in Houston and the No. 4 fastest-growing company in Texas.

Originally founded by Charles Dauber in 2012, Empact Technologies relaunched in 2023 as a purpose-built tool for clean energy tax credit compliance, following the creation of the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest clean energy investment incentive in U.S. history.

It provides a platform for clean energy developers, investors, and contractors, and combines its NexusIQ AI-native compliance platform with a dedicated team of technical and regulatory experts to ensure ongoing compliance and documentation.

Empact Technologies is joined by six other Houston-area companies in the top 250 of this year's Inc. 5000, including one that made the top 10.

Here are the six other Houston-area companies that claimed spots in the top 250 on the Inc. 5000 list. Each company name is followed by its ranking, headquarters city, and three-year growth rate.

No. 6 Equipe Realty, 23,210 percent
No. 60 Action1, 4,512 percent
No 75 Signs By G, 3,684 percent
No. 79 The ’Pause Life, 3,469 percent (Galveston)
No. 110 Turtlebox Audio, 2,576 percent
No. 178 Dahnani Private Equity Group, 1,904 percent (Stafford)

Empact and fellow honorees will be recognized Oct. 14-16 at the 2026 Inc. 5000 Conference & Gala in Dallas.

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A version of this article first appeared on InnovationMap.com.

Sage Geosystems brings South Texas geothermal plant online

powering up

Houston-based Sage Geosystems, a provider of geothermal power, has begun full operations at its South Texas facility for the San Miguel Electric Cooperative.

Sage says the plant was recently “placed in service,” according to a news release. This means it’s fully built and tested, and ready to generate and supply electricity to the grid.

Since selling its first electricity in Q2 of this year, the facility has been operating for more than four months to evaluate aspects like efficiency and water management. Sage relied on its GeoTwin modeling tool to carry out some of the testing.

The testing demonstrates Sage’s proprietary approach to geothermal power “overcomes one of the industry’s most persistent challenges, high water losses in engineered reservoirs, while delivering the consistent performance required to scale next-generation geothermal,” co-founder and CEO Cindy Taff said in the release.

Sage says the South Texas facility will serve as a model for future projects, including one in Nevada. The Nevada facility will use Sage’s proprietary technology to extract geothermal heat from hot dry rock, creating a reliable, affordable source of carbon-free power.

During the testing period, water losses amounted to less than 10 percent. This low rate indicates most water remains in the system, enabling Sage to capture more usable energy, boost power production and improve the project’s finances, the company says.

“Commercial geothermal isn’t just about creating a reservoir. It’s about creating one whose performance can be engineered, predicted, and consistent,” Lev Ring, the company’s co-founder, president and chief technology officer, said in the release.

Since being founded in 2020, Sage has raised $159 million in outside funding. This includes a more than $97 million Series B round co-led by Ormat Technologies and Carbon Direct Capital.

Two years ago, Sage announced a deal with Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to supply up to 150 megawatts of geothermal power to Meta data centers.

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