the view from heti

Q&A: Houston engineering, consulting exec on designing a low-carbon future

Ken Gilmartin, CEO of Wood, joins HETI for a Q&A. Photo courtesy of HETI

Global engineering and consulting firm Wood is a pioneering force in the energy transition landscape.

The Houston Energy Transition Initiative recently sat down with Ken Gilmartin, CEO of Wood, to learn more about the company’s strategic mission for the future and their recent wins in the energy space that are driving the energy transition forward.

Houston Energy Transition Institute: Can you give our audience an overview of Wood and your mission to help reach net-zero?

Ken Gilmartin: We are a company of 36,000 remarkable people delivering some of the world’s most complex and transformative projects for our clients. As an engineering and consulting firm, we’re passionate about delivering net-zero solutions across two key markets, energy and materials.

Our passion derives from our people whose curiosity, skills and expertise have always driven the advancement and transformation of industry, pushing the envelope of what is possible. Sustainability is core to us as engineers and consultants and we take our responsibility in delivering the net-zero solutions critical to the world, very seriously.

We live in the future – designing and delivering facilities today that will operate more effectively, efficiently and sustainably tomorrow by integrating technologies to decarbonize and digital solutions that derive data to ensure this.

HETI: Wood was recently selected as an EPCM partner by Canadian battery materials company Euro Manganese Inc. with a mission to design Europe’s largest high-purity manganese processing facility. How critical is this project to the energy transition?  

KG: Hugely critical. As a mineral used in most lithium-ion batteries, it is core to the electric vehicle industry and therefore, the energy transition.

This project is the only significant source of manganese in the European Union today. With mineral reserves of 27 million tonnes, this project could provide up to 20 percent of the projected European demand for high-purity manganese, which will provide battery supply chains with critical raw materials to support the shift to a circular, low carbon economy.

This innovative project holds real significance for Wood as we continue to lead the development of critical mineral projects — with specialist expertise in hydrometallurgy and a passion for designing sustainable energy and materials infrastructure.

HETI: Closer to HETI’s home, what have you got going on in the region in the energy transition space?

KG: As a result of the Inflation Reduction Act and other key government policies and incentives, we’re seeing a significant uptick in the number of decarbonization projects, particularly hydrogen and carbon capture storage (CCS).

Wood is at the forefront of advising our clients on funding opportunities and taking the lead on the development of Department of Energy applications to ensure critical net zero projects go from paper to production. We see ourselves as a collaborator across the entire process, from funding and feasibility to engineering, design, start-up and operations.

Ten years ago, we delivered Century Plant in West Texas, which at the time, was the largest CO2 plant in the world. Our involvement in needle-moving projects in the region hasn’t stopped.

We have near 4000 people in Texas advising and delivering some of the most innovative energy transition projects, including work on the critical CCS and hydrogen hub program proposed right here in Houston and across the U.S. We’re also supporting our clients in the funding and application stages of their direct air capture projects; we’re meeting the demand for low-carbon fuel alternatives in the areas of hydrogen fuel-switching, electrofuels and biofuels; and we’re delivering e-methanol projects along the U.S. Gulf Coast that will target and abate maritime emissions. You name it, we’re doing it.

As the DOE looks to award further funding rounds for hydrogen, carbon capture and industrial decarbonization projects in 2024, we’re excited about the tremendous opportunities this presents for the region and the role we can play in Houston’s future as the world’s energy capital.

Learn more about Wood, and their work in the energy transition.

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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.

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A View From HETI

Fervo Energy claimed a top 10 spot on Time magazine and Statista’s new list of America’s Top GreenTech Companies of 2025. Photo via Getty Images.

The accolades keep rolling in for Houston-based Fervo Energy, a producer of geothermal power.

Fervo lands at No. 6 on Time magazine and Statista’s new list of America’s Top GreenTech Companies of 2025. The ranking recognizes sustainability-focused companies based on factors such as impact, financial strength, and innovation.

Time notes that Fervo broke ground in 2023 in Utah on what the company claims will be the world’s largest geothermal plant. The plant is scheduled to start supplying carbon-free electricity to the grid next year and to reach its 400-megawatt capacity in three years.

“Technologies like this only make a difference if we deploy them at large-scale in a way that can reduce carbon emissions and increase the reliability of the grid,” Fervo CEO Tim Latimer told Time in 2023.

The startup was named North American Company of the Year by research and consulting firm Cleantech Group for 2025. Fervo topped the Global Cleantech 100, Cleantech Group’s annual list of the world’s most innovative and promising cleantech companies.

Last year, Fervo also made Time’s list of the 200 Best Inventions of 2024. Fervo was recognized in the green energy category for its FervoFlex geothermal power system.

Founded in 2017, Fervo is now a unicorn, meaning its valuation as a private company exceeds $1 billion. The startup’s valuation is estimated at $1.4 billion. According to PitchBook data, the company raised $634 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.

In all, eight Houston-area companies appear among the top 250 greentech companies ranked by Time and Statista. Other than Fervo, they are:

  • No. 43 Lancium Technologies, an energy storage and distribution company
  • No. 50 Solugen, a producer of sustainable chemicals.
  • No. 56 Quaise Energy, which specializes in terawatt-scale geothermal power.
  • No. 129 Plus Power, a developer, owner and operator of battery storage projects.
  • No. 218 Dream Harvest, which promotes sustainable vertical farming.
  • No. 225 Cemvita, which uses synthetic biology to convert carbon emissions into bio-based chemicals.
  • No. 226 Syzygy Plasmonics, which decarbonizes chemical production.
Vermont-based BETA Technologies claimed the No. 1 spot. The company manufactures electric aircraft.

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