Houston hypersonic engine co. completes first successful test flight

Taking Off

Venus Aerospace has reached a major milestone. Courtesy photo

Houston-based Venus Aerospace successfully completed the first U.S. flight test of its proprietary engine at a demonstration at Spaceport America in New Mexico.

Venus’ next-generation rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) is supported by a $155,908 federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from NASA and aims to enable vehicles to travel four to six times the speed of sound from a conventional runway. The recent flight test was the first of an American-developed engine of its kind.

"With this flight test, Venus Aerospace is transforming a decades-old engineering challenge into an operational reality,” Thomas d'Halluin, managing partner at Airbus Ventures, an investor in Venus, said in a news release. “Getting a rotating detonation engine integrated, launch-ready, and validated under real conditions is no small feat. Venus has shown an extraordinary ability to translate deep technical insight into hardware progress, and we're proud to support their bold approach in their attempt to unlock the hypersonic economy and forge the future of propulsion."

Venus’ RDRE operates through supersonic shockwaves, called detonations, that generate more power with less fuel. It is designed to be affordable and scalable for defense and commercial systems.

The RDRE is also engineered to work with the company's air-breathing detonation ramjet, the VDR2, which helps enable aircraft to take off from a runway and transition to speeds exceeding Mach 6. Venus plans for full-scale propulsion testing and vehicle integration of this system. Venus’ ultimate goal is to develop a Mach 4 reusable passenger aircraft, known as the Stargazer M4.

"This milestone proves our engine works outside the lab, under real flight conditions," Andrew Duggleby, Venus co-founder and chief technology officer, said in the release. "Rotating detonation has been a long-sought gain in performance. Venus' RDRE solved the last but critical steps to harness the theoretical benefits of pressure gain combustion. We've built an engine that not only runs, but runs reliably and efficiently—and that's what makes it scalable. This is the foundation we need that, combined with a ramjet, completes the system from take-off to sustained hypersonic flight."

The hypersonic market is projected to surpass $12 billion by 2030, according to Venus.

"This is the moment we've been working toward for five years," Sassie Duggleby, CEO and co-founder of Venus Aerospace, added. "We've proven that this technology works—not just in simulations or the lab, but in the air. With this milestone, we're one step closer to making high-speed flight accessible, affordable, and sustainable."

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This article originally appeared on InnovationMap.com.

Sassie Duggleby is on Inc.'s Female Founders 500 list for 2025. Courtesy photo

Co-founder of Houston hypersonic engine co. lands on Inc. 500 list

Ranking It

Five Houston female founders have been recognized by Inc. Magazine for their innovation, including Sassie Duggleby, the CEO and co-founder of groundbreaking space tech and engine company Venus Aerospace.

The women were named to Inc.'s Female Founders 500 list, which features female entrepreneurs based in the U.S. The group attracted approximately $9 billion in 2024 revenue and $10.6 billion in funding, according to Inc.

“Female founders know what struggle is, but they’re also experts of improvisation, adaptability, and creativity. The women featured on this year’s list exemplify these qualities," Diana Ransom, Inc. executive editor said in a release. "Through times of uncertainty, their unwavering dedication and steadfast leadership are not only inspiring but vital to driving progress.”

Venus Aerospace is the Houston-based company that is developing reusable hypersonic technology that it hopes "will revolutionize and redefine the boundaries of aviation, defense, and beyond." The company won the in the Deep Tech Business category in the 2024 Houston Innovation Awards. Duggleby also serves on the Texas Space Commission board of directors.

Duggleby is joined by four other Houston founders:

Stephanie Murphy, CEO and executive chairman of Aegis Aerospace, which provides space services, spaceflight product development, and engineering services. Murphy also serves on the Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium Executive Committee.
Emily Cisek, founder of The Postage, now known as Paige, a comprehensive life planning and succession software platform for families and small businesses. The company won the Female-Owned Business category in the 2023 Houston Innovation Awards.
Margo Jordan, founder of adolescent mental health startup Enrichly, which uses AI-driven self-esteem development and behavioral insights to boost student performance.
Nina Magon, founder of Nina Magon Studio / Nina Magon Consumer Products, a residential and commercial interior design company.

"While I don't know many of the ladies on this list, I do know they're some of the most tenacious role models in entrepreneurship. I'm beyond honored to be included among them," Duggleby said in a LinkedIn post.

Twenty-eight Texas female founders made this list, including Kendra Scott and Allison Ellsworth, co-founder of Poppi, and many others.

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A version of this story first appeared on our sister site, InnovationMap.com.

Venus Aerospace is one step closer to high-speed international travel. Photo courtesy Venus Aerospace

Houston startup with unique engine tech reports milestone testing results

high-speed travel

A Houston-headquartered hardtech company that's working on technology to enable hypersonic travel has announced a partnership with NASA to test its tech.

Venus Aerospace has partnered with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, on what is reportedly the longest sustained tests of a rotating detonation rocket engine, also known as an RDRE.

“Venus believes strongly in the performance step-change that RDREs bring for both hypersonic and space applications. The partnership with NASA has been key in maturing this new technology.” Andrew Duggleby, CTO and co-founder of Venus Aerospace, says in a news release.

The company's engine injector, which used regeneratively-cooled RDRE architecture, was tested in a "flight-like manner," according to the company. The technology operated successfully for 4 minutes of hotfire testing — a significant improvement, as engine tests of this type last for only 1 to 2 seconds, according to Venus.

"This long-duration hotfire means RDRE’s have retired a major risk area and are able to move into the few remaining steps before a flight demonstration," reads the press release from Venus.

As Venus continues to develop its technology for research, defense, and commercial missions, it will continue to work with NASA, which is also looking into RDRE technology for lunar and martian landers, in-space operations and logistics, and other deep space missions, per the release, because RDREs are more compact, efficient, and versatile than traditional rocket engines.

"Venus has entered into a second-year contract with NASA to provide engine parts for research and development of NASA’s RDRE," the news release continues. "In year two, NASA, with Venus’s support, will test different propellant combinations on hardware, to operate at even higher thrust levels and to demonstrate efficiency gains promised by the detonation engine."

Last summer, Venus added a new investor to its cap table. Andrew Duggleby founded Venus Aerospace with his wife and CEO Sarah "Sassie" Duggleby in 2020, before relocating to the Houston Spaceport in 2021. Last year, Venus raised a $20 million series A round.

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This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

At last year's awards program, Cemvita Factory's co-founders, Tara and Moji Karimi, accepted the award for the Green Impact Business category. This year, Moji Karimi served as a judge

18 Houston energy startups named finalists for innovation awards program

companies to watch

The 2023 Houston Innovation Awards announced its 52 finalists — a large portion of which are promising energy transition startups.

The awards program — hosted by EnergyCapital's sister site, InnovationMap, and Houston Exponential — will name its winners on November 8 at the Houston Innovation Awards. The program was established to honor the best and brightest companies and individuals from the city's innovation community.

The following startups, which all have an energy transition element to their business, received a finalist position in one or two categories.

Click here to secure your tickets to see who wins.

ALLY Energy, helping energy companies and climate startups find, develop, and retain great talent, scored two finalist positions — one in the Female-Owned Business category and the other in the Social Impact Business category.
Eden Grow Systems, next generation farming technologies, is a finalist in the People's Choice: Startup of the Year category.
Feelit Technologies, nanotechnology for preventive maintenance to eliminate leaks, fires and explosions, increase safety and reduce downtime, is a finalist in the Female-Owned Business category and the People's Choice: Startup of the Year category.
Fervo Energy, leveraging proven oil and gas drilling technology to deliver 24/7 carbon-free geothermal energy, scored two finalist positions — one in the Sustainability Business category and the other in the People's Choice: Startup of the Year category.
FluxWorks, making frictionless gearboxes for missions in any environment, is a finalist in the Hardtech Business category.
Helix Earth Technologies, decarbonizing the built environment and heavy industry, is a finalist in the Hardtech Business category.
INOVUES, re-energizing building facades through its non-invasive window retrofit innovations, making building smarter, greener, and healthier for a better and sustainable future, was named a finalist in the Sustainability Business category.
Kanin Energy, helping heavy industry monetize their waste heat and decarbonize their operations, was named a finalist in the BIPOC-Owned Business and the Sustainability Business categories.
Mars Materials, developing a carbon-negative pathway for carbon fiber and acrylamide production using CO2 and biomass as raw materials, is a finalist in the BIPOC-Owned Business category.
Molecule, an energy/commodity trading risk management software that provides users with an efficient, reliable, responsive platform for managing trade risk, is a finalist in the Digital Solutions Business category.
Rhythm Energy, 100 percent renewable electricity service for residential customers in Texas, is a finalist in the People's Choice: Startup of the Year category.
Sage Geosystems, a cost-effective geothermal baseload energy solution company, also innovating underground energy storage solutions, was named a finalist in the Sustainability Business category.
Solugen, decarbonizing the chemical industry, is a finalist in the Hardtech Business category.
Square Robot, applying robotic technology to eliminate the need to put people into dangerous enclosed spaces and eliminate taking tanks out of service, is a finalist in the Hardtech Business category.
Syzygy Plasmonics, a deep decarbonization company that builds chemical reactors designed to use light instead of combustion to produce valuable chemicals like hydrogen and sustainable fuels, is a finalist in the Hardtech Business category.
Tierra Climate, decarbonizing the power grid faster by helping grid-scale batteries monetize their environmental benefits and change their operational behavior to abate more carbon, was named a finalist in the Sustainability Business category.
Utility Global, a technology company converting a range of waste gases into sustainable hydrogen and syngas, was named a finalist in the Sustainability Business category.
Venus Aerospace, a hypersonics company on track to fly reusable hypersonic flight platforms by 2024, is a finalist in the Hardtech Business category.

Additionally, two energy companies were named to the Corporate of the Year category, which honors corporations that supports startups and/or the Houston innovation community. Aramco Ventures and Chevron Technology Ventures are two of the four finalists in this category.

Lastly, Jason Ethier, co-founder of Lambda Catalyzer and host of the Energy Tech Startups podcast, and Kendrick Alridge, senior manager of community at Greentown Labs, scored finalist positions in the Ecosystem Builder category, as individuals who have acted as leaders in developing Houston’s startup ecosystem.

Click here to see the full list of finalists.

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Chevron names latest cohort of energy transition fellows at Rice University

energy fellowship

Chevron and Rice University have named 10 graduate students to the second cohort of the Chevron Energy Graduate Fellowship.

The students come from various departments at Rice and are working on innovations that reduce emissions or improve upon low-carbon technology. Fellows will each receive a $10,000 award to support their research along with the opportunity to connect with "industry experts who can provide valuable insight on scaling technologies from the lab to commercial application," according to Rice.

The fellows will present projects during a cross-university virtual symposium in the spring.

The 2025-26 Chevron Energy Graduate Fellows and their research topics include:

Cristel Carolina Brindis Flores, Molecular Simulations of CO₂ and H₂ for Geostorage
Davide Cavuto, Intensification of Floating Catalyst Chemical Vapor Deposition for Carbon Nanotubes Synthesis
Jaewoo Kim, Distributed Acoustic Sensing for In-situ Stress Monitoring in Enhanced Geothermal Systems
Jessica Hema Persaud, Understanding Tin Perovskite Crystallization Dynamics for All-Perovskite Tandems
Johanna Ikabu Bangala, Upcycling Methane-derived Zero-Valent Carbon for Sustainable Agriculture
Kashif Liaqat, From Waste to Resource: Increased Sustainability Through Hybrid Waste Heat Recovery Systems for Data Centers and Industry
Md Abid Shahriar Rahman Saadi, Advancing Sustainable Structural, Energy and Food Systems through Engineering of Biopolymers
Ratnika Gupta, Micro-Silicon/Carbon Nanotube Composite Anodes with Metal-free Current Collector for High Performance Li-Ion Batteries
Wei Ping Lam, Electrifying Chemical Manufacturing: High-Pressure Electrochemical CO₂ Capture and Conversion
William Schmid, Light-Driven Thermal Desalination Using Transient Solar Illumination

“Through this fellowship program, we can support outstanding graduate students from across the university who are conducting cutting-edge research across a variety of fields,” Carrie Masiello, director of the Rice Sustainability Institute, said in a news release. “This year, our 2026 Chevron Fellows are working on research that reflects the diversity of the sustainability research at Rice … and these scholarly endeavors exemplify the breadth and depth of research enabled by Chevron’s generous support.”

The Chevron Fellows program launched at Rice last year, naming 10 graduate students to the inaugural cohort. It is funded by Chevron and was created through a partnership between the Rice Sustainability Institute. Chevron launched a similar program at the University of Houston in 2023.

“Rice University continues to be an exceptional partner in advancing energy innovation,” Chris Powers, director of exploration commercial and portfolio at Chevron, added in the release. “The Chevron Energy Fellows program showcases the brilliance and drive of Rice graduate students, whose research in areas like carbon conversion, solar materials and geothermal sensing is already shaping the future of sustainable energy. We’re proud to celebrate their achievements and look forward to the impact they’ll continue to make across the energy landscape.”

Houston clean energy company to develop hybrid renewable project in Port Arthur

power project

Houston-based clean energy company Diligence Offshore Services has announced a strategic partnership with Florida-based floating solar manufacturing company AccuSolar for the development of a renewable energy project in the Port Arthur area.

Known as the Pleasure Island Power Collective, it will be built on 2,275 acres across Pleasure Island and Sabine Lake. It is expected to generate 391 megawatts of clean power, alongside a utility-scale battery energy storage system. It will also feature a 225-megawatt coastal onshore wind farm, with energy produced on-site used to power a data center for adaptive superintelligence, making it entirely self-sustained by renewable sources, according to the company.

AccuSolar will design and manufacture the project and power will be distributed through the Canaan Energy Corridor

“We are incredibly proud to partner with a fellow U.S. company like AccuSolar,” Harry C. Crawford III, founder and managing member of Diligence Offshore, said in a news release. “Their expertise in American manufacturing and floating solar technology is essential to the success of the Pleasure Island Power Collective.”

The project is expected to bring economic growth and a significant number of manufacturing jobs to the area during the construction phase and long-term operations.

Diligence Offshore is pursuing a DPA Title 1 DX rating under the Defense Production Act to help advance the project's development schedule, according to the release, which could lead to immediate manufacturing jobs.

“This partnership not only strengthens our domestic supply chain but also accelerates our vision to bring economic freedom and climate resilience to the Gulf Coast,” Crawford added in the release.

Houston organization proposes Gulf Coast index for hydrogen market

hydrogen index

The Clean Hydrogen Buyers Alliance has proposed an index aimed at bringing transparency to pricing in the emerging hydrogen market.

The Houston-based alliance said the Gulf Coast Hydrogen Index, based on real-time data, would provide more clarity to pricing in the global market for hydrogen. The benchmarking effort is being designed to benefit clean hydrogen buyers, sellers and investors. The index would help position the U.S. “as the trading anchor for hydrogen’s next chapter as a globally traded commodity,” the alliance said.

According to ResearchAndMarkets.com, the global market for clean hydrogen was valued at $200 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $700 billion by 2040.

John Flory, president of the alliance, said the lack of a pricing index has relegated hydrogen to niche-market status.

“Capital is waiting. Buyers are ready. But until now, there’s been no credible, transparent pricing signal to guide clean hydrogen investing or contracting,” Edward Morse, co-chairman of the Clean Hydrogen Transaction Advisory Committee, said in a news release.

The index would treat the Gulf Coast as the primary delivery hub for pipeline-grade hydrogen in three categories: basic, low-carbon and ultra-low-carbon. It would be similar to the Henry Hub index for pricing of natural gas.

Roger Ballentine, co-chairman of the clean energy advisory committee, said the hydrogen index would build confidence in this energy source among government agencies, companies and investors. A Henry Hub-style benchmark for hydrogen “provides clarity, reduces risk, and lays the foundation for clean energy to become a globally traded commodity critical to decarbonization,” he said.

The Gulf Coast, with Texas as the focal point, is key to the evolution of the U.S. clean hydrogen economy, according to the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association.

At the core of the Gulf Coast’s role is the U.S. Department of Energy's selection of the Gulf Coast as one of the country’s seven regional hubs for clean hydrogen. However, the DOE has proposed cutting funding for the HyVelocity Gulf Coast Hydrogen Hub, a $1.2 billion development in Texas and Louisiana by AES, Air Liquide, Chevron, ExxonMobil, MHI Hydrogen Infrastructure and Ørsted, according to a new list of proposed DOE funding cancellations.

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