A Massachusetts-based startup incubator focused on clean energy technology has announced its plans to open a new location in Houston.

The Greater Houston Partnership and Mayor Sylvester Turner announced that Greentown Labs will open its Houston location in Spring 2021. Greentown Houston, according to a press release, falls in line with the city's Climate Action Plan.

"Opening Greentown Labs' second location in Houston — the energy capital of the world — is the best place to broaden our impact and help accelerate the energy transition through cleantech entrepreneurship, in partnership with the nation's fourth largest city and the world-leading energy organizations headquartered there," says Emily Reichert, CEO of Greentown Labs, in the release.

Reichert adds that Houston's access to talent and corporate energy partners made the Bayou City especially alluring as a new market.

Greentown Labs launched in 2011 as community of climatetech and cleantech innovators bringing together startups, corporates, investors, policymakers, and more to focus on scaling climate solutions. Greentown Labs' first location is 100,000 square feet and located just outside of Boston in Somerville, Massachusetts. Currently, it's home to more than 100 startups and has supported more than 280 startups since the incubator's founding. According to the release, these startups have created more than 6,500 jobs and raised over $850 million in funding.

The organization will be establishing a 30,000-square-foot prototyping lab and office space that will be able to accomodate about 50 startups. More details of this office are forthcoming.

"Climate change cannot be solved from the coasts — we need all hands on deck at this time," Reichert continues. "Houston has the opportunity to be the energy transition capital of the world and we believe bringing Greentown Labs to Houston will accelerate the shift in this direction."

Along with the mayor's office and the GHP, Greentown Houston will bring together key stakeholders from entrepreneurs and educators to corporates and investors.

"Reducing Houston's emissions and leading a global transition is a community-wide effort and will require action from residents and the business community," says Mayor Turner in the release. "This is why it's more important than ever to have partners and organizations like Greentown Labs, whose mission is to solve the climate crisis through entrepreneurship and collaboration."

Greentown Houston's network of founding partners includes the likes of Chevron, Shell, NRG Energy Inc., Sunnova Energy, BHP, Vinson & Elkins, and more. Ahead of the spring 2021 launch, Greentown Houston is seeking more strategic partners and interested startups. More information can be found online.

"We are thrilled to welcome North America's largest cleantech incubator to Houston, which comes at a time of great momentum for Houston's innovation ecosystem and further positions the region to lead the transition to a cleaner, more efficient and more sustainable, lower carbon world," says Bob Harvey, president and CEO at GHP. "As the home to major corporate energy R&D centers, corporate venture arms, and VC-backed energy startups, Houston is already leading the way in digitization, renewable forms of energy, and the development of carbon capture management technology."