Baker Hughes launches major clean energy initiatives with U.S. military and more

clean team

Baker Hughes has teamed up with Dallas-based Frontier Infrastructure and has been selected by the U.S. Air Force and the Department of Defense for global clean energy projects. Photo via bakerhughes.com.

Energy tech company Baker Hughes announced two major clean energy initiatives this month.

The Houston-based company has teamed up with Dallas-based Frontier Infrastructure to develop carbon capture and storage (CCS), power generation and data center operations in the U.S.

Baker Hughes will supply technology for Frontier’s nearly 100,000-acre CCS hub in Wyoming, which will provide open-access CO2 storage for manufacturers and ethanol producers, as well as future Frontier projects. Frontier has already begun drilling activities at the Wyoming site.

“Baker Hughes is committed to delivering innovative solutions that support increasing energy demand, in part driven by the rapid adoption of AI, while ensuring we continue to enable the decarbonization of the industry,” says Lorenzo Simonelli, chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes.

Additionally, Baker Hughes announced this week that it was selected by the U.S. Air Force and the Department of Defense’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) to develop utility-scale geothermal power plants that would power global U.S. military bases.

Baker Hughes was granted an "awardable," or eligible, status through the CDAO's Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace, which aims to accelerate "mission-critical technologies," including AI, machine learning and resilient energy technologies. The potential geothermal plants would provide cost-effective electricity, even during a grid outage.

“The ability of geothermal to provide reliable, secure baseload power makes it an ideal addition to America’s energy mix,” Ajit Menon, vice president of geothermal, oilfield services and equipment at Baker Hughes, said in a news release. “Baker Hughes has been a pioneer in this field for more than 40 years and our unique subsurface-to-surface expertise and advanced technology across the geothermal value chain will help the U.S. military unlock this critical domestic energy source, while simultaneously driving economic growth and energy independence.”

From Your Site Articles

Ad Placement 300x100

Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

Houston robotics company unveils extreme-temperature tank robot

hot new robot

Houston- and Boston-based Square Robot Inc.'s newest tank inspection robot is commercially available and certified to operate at extreme temperatures.

The new robot, known as the SR-3HT, can operate from 14°F to 131°F, representing a broader temperature range than previous models in the company's portfolio. According to the company, its previous temperature range reached 32°F to 104°F.

The new robot has received the NEC/CEC Class I Division 2 (C1D2) certification from FM Approvals, allowing it to operate safely in hazardous locations and to perform on-stream inspections of aboveground storage tanks containing products stored at elevated temperatures.

“Our engineering team developed the SR-3HT in response to significant client demand in both the U.S. and international markets. We frequently encounter higher temperatures due to both elevated process temperatures and high ambient temperatures, especially in the hotter regions of the world, such as the Middle East," David Lamont, CEO of Square Robot, said in a news release. "The SR-3HT employs both active and passive cooling technology, greatly expanding our operating envelope. A great job done (again) by our engineers delivering world-leading technology in record time.”

The company's SR-3 submersible robot and Side Launcher received certifications earlier this year. They became commercially available in 2023, after completing initial milestone testing in partnership with ExxonMobil, according to Square Robot.

The company closed a $13 million series B round in December, which it said it would put toward international expansion in Europe and the Middle East.

Square Robot launched its Houston office in 2019. Its autonomous, submersible robots are used for storage tank inspections and eliminate the need for humans to enter dangerous and toxic environments.

Houston oil giant ConocoPhillips will lay off up to 25% of workforce

Workforce News

Oil giant ConocoPhillips is planning to lay off up to a quarter of its workforce, amounting to thousands of jobs, as part of broader efforts from the company to cut costs.

A spokesperson for ConocoPhillips confirmed the layoffs on Wednesday, September 3, noting that 20% to 25% of the company's employees and contractors would be impacted worldwide. ConocoPhillips currently has a global headcount of about 13,000 — meaning that the cuts would impact between 2,600 and 3,250 workers.

“We are always looking at how we can be more efficient with the resources we have,” a ConocoPhillips' spokesperson said via email, adding that the company expects the “majority of these reductions” to take place before the end of 2025.

ConocoPhillips' shares fell 4.3% last week. The Houston-based company's stock now sits at under $95 per share, down nearly 14% from a year ago.

News of the coming layoffs was first reported by Reuters, with anonymous sources telling the outlet that CEO Ryan Lance detailed the plans in a video message earlier Wednesday. In that video, Reuters reported, Lance said the company needed “fewer roles” while he cited rising costs.

Last month, ConocoPhillips reported second-quarter earnings of $1.97 billion. That beat Wall Street expectations, but was down from the nearly $2.33 billion the company reported for the same period last year.

In its latest earnings, reported on August 7, ConocoPhillips continued to point to cost cutting efforts — noting that it had identified more than $1 billion in cost reductions and margin optimization. The company also said it had agreed to sell its Anadarko Basin assets for $1.3 billion.

Engie launches next-generation data center development in Texas

coming soon

Houston-based Engie North America has entered into an agreement with Wyoming-based Prometheus Hyperscale to develop liquid-cooled data centers at select renewable and battery storage energy facilities along Texas’ I-35 corridor. Its first AI-ready data center compute capacity sites are expected to go live in 2026.

“By leveraging our robust portfolio of wind, solar, and battery storage assets — combined with our commercial and industrial supply capabilities and deep trading expertise — we're providing integrated energy solutions that support scalable, resilient, and sustainable infrastructure," David Carroll, chief renewables officer and SVP of ENGIE North America, said in a news release.

Prometheus plans to use its high-efficiency, liquid-cooled data center infrastructure in conjunction with ENGIE's renewable and battery storage assets. Both companies believe they can meet the growing demand for reliable, sustainable compute capacity, which would support AI and other more demanding workloads.

"Prometheus is committed to developing sustainable, next-generation digital infrastructure for AI," Bernard Looney, chairman of Prometheus Hyperscale, said in the release. "We cannot do this alone—ENGIE's existing assets and expertise as a major player in the global energy transition make them a perfect partner as we work to build data centers that meet market needs today and tomorrow."

On-site power generation provider Conduit Power will assist Prometheus for near-term bridging and back-up solutions, and help tenants to offset project-related carbon emissions through established market-based mechanisms.

More locations are being planned for 2027 and beyond.

"Our collaboration with Prometheus demonstrates our shared approach to finding innovative approaches to developing, building and operating projects that solve real-world challenges,” Carroll added in the release.

View All Listings

ENERGYCAPITALHTX EMAILS ARE AWESOME