Houston-based battery innovators receive $4M in federal funding

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Houston-based Zeta Energy has fresh funding from the government. Image via Zeta Energy

Houston-based Zeta Energy announced this week that it was selected to receive $4 million in federal funding for the development of efficient electric vehicle batteries.

The funds come from the U.S. Department of Energy's ARPA-E Electric Vehicles for American Low-Carbon Living, or EVs4ALL, program, which aims to increase the number of EVs on the roads by boosting the country’s supply chain of affordable, convenient, reliable and safe batteries.

Zeta Energy is one of 12 groups in the U.S. to receive funding from the program, which awarded $42 million in total.

“Electric vehicle sales in America have tripled since the start of this Administration and by addressing battery efficiency, resiliency and affordability, the projects announced today will make EVs attractive to even more drivers,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said in a statement released in January. “This is a win-win for our efforts to fight climate change and power America’s clean transportation future with technologies produced by researchers and scientists right here at home.”

Other teams to receive funding include 24M Technologies, national laboratories and universities like The Ohio State University, University of Maryland, Virginia Tech, among others. Zeta is the only Texas-based company to receive funds. It received one of the largest grants among the group.

"We are thrilled to have been selected for funding by the ARPA-E EVs4ALL program," Zeta Energy CEO Tom Pilette said in a statement. "We have been working hard to make this technology a reality, and we are really grateful to receive this recognition of the promise of our technology and the progress we have made on it."

Zeta Energy is known for its lithium sulfur batteries that traditionally have not been long lasting. While sulfur is an economical and abundant material, it traditionally would dissolve after a few uses in lithium sulfur batteries.

However, Zeta uses its proprietary sulfur-based cathodes and lithium metal anodes that have shown to have higher capacity and density and better safety profiles, according to the company's website.

According to ARPAE, the company will create a new anode that will "be highly accessible and rechargeable" with the funding.

Zeta Energy closed a $23 million series A round led by New York VC firm Moore Strategic Ventures about a year ago. In addition to applications for electric vehicles, the company's technology is also expected to have uses in grid energy storage.

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This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

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Reliant, GM Energy team up on free renewable energy EV charging

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Reliant Energy and GM Energy are advancing a new renewable energy electricity plan that will “accelerate the clean energy journey for the two companies and their customers,” according to a news release.

Houston-based Reliant and GM Energy will be offering free nighttime charging for Chevrolet electric vehicle drivers that enroll in the new Reliant FreeCharge Nights.

The Reliant FreeCharge Nights plan will be available to existing and new Reliant electricity customers, and provides a monthly bill credit that offsets the energy charges incurred from charging the qualifying EV between 11 pm and 6 am. Customers must first designate one EV to receive the charging credit in their GM Energy Smart Charging Portal before signing up for the plan.

“As we continue to shape the future of EV charging and energy management for our customers, our work alongside Reliant in Texas is a sign of our commitment to working with industry leaders to facilitate more solutions that make EV adoption an easy decision,” Aseem Kapur, chief revenue officer, GM Energy, says in a news release. “The Reliant Free Charge Nights plan is a great example of how an automaker and an energy company can work together to build the ecosystem to support the all-electric future.”

Over 150 Chevrolet dealerships can now offer the plan to EV drivers upon vehicle purchase across Texas. The plan will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy through the purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs) equal to the customer’s electricity usage.

“We’re excited to help Chevrolet EV drivers offset the cost of charging their vehicle all while having access to a renewable electricity plan,” Rasesh Patel, president, NRG Consumer, said in a news release.

25 years of innovation: Repsol exec on Houston's role in the energy transition

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Houston hosted the inaugural Energy + Climate Startup Week in September, which brought together leading energy and climate venture capital investors, industry leaders and startups from around the world to showcase the most innovative companies and technologies that are transforming the energy industry while driving a sustainable, low-carbon energy future.

Repsol was one of the inaugural sponsors for the weeks kick off event that hosted several leading startups. This year marked 25 years of energy innovation for Repsol in the United States. As the energy landscape evolves, Repsol has committed to significant growth in renewable capacity, with an impressive 720 MW of solar and storage capacity already operational and 1.5 GW under construction.

Caton Fenz, CEO for Repsol’s Renewables North America shares more about Repsol’s approach to expanding its renewable footprint, integrating green energy into its core business and leveraging Houston’s unique role as a leader in the energy transition. Here’s an inside look at Repsol’s milestones and future goals in the journey toward decarbonization and a sustainable energy future.

Can you tell us more about Repsol’s strategy for expanding its renewables business?

This year Repsol is celebrating 25 years of energy development in the United States. Across the US, we have a team of more than 800 employees, with more than 130 employees working in the renewables business specifically.

Repsol’s growth ambition in the US renewable energy market is significant. Since launching our renewables activity in the US three years ago, we have installed more than 720 MW of solar generation and energy storage capacity. Today we have more than 1.5 GW of additional solar and energy storage capacity under construction, and more than 20 GW of solar, wind and energy storage in development across 13 states.

How does Repsol plan to integrate renewable energy sources into its broader business model?

Repsol Renewables operates in accordance with Repsol’s values and strategies. Renewable energy generation is one of the pillars of Repsol’s decarbonization strategy. Repsol will invest between €3 and 4 billion to organically develop its global project portfolio and aims to reach between 9,000 MW and 10,000 MW of installed capacity by 2027. Of this, 30% will be in the United States.

With these objectives in mind, we have been able to accelerate the development of wind, solar, and energy storage across the US market and the globe. By expanding our renewable energy business, we can further meet record demand growth for renewable energy.

What are the key projects or milestones that have been achieved within Repsol’s renewables portfolio so far?

Earlier this year, we announced the commercial operation of Frye Solar, our largest solar project worldwide. This project, located in Swisher County, Texas, has a total capacity of 637 MW. And as noted above, we have an additional 1.4 GW of projects under construction currently. These major energy infrastructure projects are indicative of the scale of our operations in the US.

Why does Repsol believe being located in Houston is critical for its business, particularly in the energy transition?

Repsol is proudly committed to Houston’s role in developing and delivering energy and value for the world. Houston is known as the Energy Capital of the World and over the next 10 years, we’ll see it be known as the Energy Transition Capital of the World. With Repsol’s Renewables North America business located in downtown Houston, we have access to talent and partnerships in a booming city filled with energy experts.

Why does Repsol see value in participating in Houston Energy + Climate Startup Week?

At Houston Energy + Climate Startup Week, Repsol Renewables is honored to support and learn from leaders and investors in the energy and climate industry. We believe it is important to continuously invest in talent, ideas, and collaboration across the energy value chain as we pursue our net zero by 2050 goal.

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This article originally ran on the Greater Houston Partnership's Houston Energy Transition Initiative blog. HETI exists to support Houston's future as an energy leader. For more information about the Houston Energy Transition Initiative, EnergyCapitalHTX's presenting sponsor, visit htxenergytransition.org.

University of Houston secures $3.6M from DOE program to fund sustainable fuel production

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A University of Houston-associated project was selected to receive $3.6 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy that aims to transform sustainable fuel production.

Nonprofit research institute SRI is leading the project “Printed Microreactor for Renewable Energy Enabled Fuel Production” or PRIME-Fuel, which will try to develop a modular microreactor technology that converts carbon dioxide into methanol using renewable energy sources with UH contributing research.

“Renewables-to-liquids fuel production has the potential to boost the utility of renewable energy all while helping to lay the groundwork for the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals of creating a clean energy economy,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm says in an ARPA-E news release.

The project is part of ARPA-E’s $41 million Grid-free Renewable Energy Enabling New Ways to Economical Liquids and Long-term Storage program (or GREENWELLS, for short) that also includes 14 projects to develop technologies that use renewable energy sources to produce sustainable liquid fuels and chemicals, which can be transported and stored similarly to gasoline or oil, according to a news release.

Vemuri Balakotaiah and Praveen Bollini, faculty members of the William A. Brookshire Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, are co-investigators on the project. Rahul Pandey, is a UH alum, and the senior scientist with SRI and principal investigator on the project.

Teams working on the project will develop systems that use electricity, carbon dioxide and water at renewable energy sites to produce renewable liquid renewable fuels that offer a clean alternative for sectors like transportation. Using cheaper electricity from sources like wind and solar can lower production costs, and create affordable and cleaner long-term energy storage solutions.

“As a proud UH graduate, I have always been aware of the strength of the chemical and biomolecular engineering program at UH and kept myself updated on its cutting-edge research,” Pandey says in a news release. “This project had very specific requirements, including expertise in modeling transients in microreactors and the development of high-performance catalysts. The department excelled in both areas. When I reached out to Dr. Bollini and Dr. Bala, they were eager to collaborate, and everything naturally progressed from there.”

The PRIME-Fuel project will use cutting-edge mathematical modeling and SRI’s proprietary Co-Extrusion printing technology to design and manufacture the microreactor with the ability to continue producing methanol even when the renewable energy supply dips as low as 5 percent capacity. Researchers will develop a microreactor prototype capable of producing 30 MJe/day of methanol while meeting energy efficiency and process yield targets over a three-year span. When scaled up to a 100 megawatts electricity capacity plant, it can be capable of producing 225 tons of methanol per day at a lower cost. The researchers predict five years as a “reasonable” timeline of when this can hit the market.

“What we are building here is a prototype or proof of concept for a platform technology, which has diverse applications in the entire energy and chemicals industry,” Pandey continues. “Right now, we are aiming to produce methanol, but this technology can actually be applied to a much broader set of energy carriers and chemicals.”

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