Rice Alliance announces 4 most promising energy tech companies at OTC

rising stars

Another Offshore Technology Conference, another Venture Day hosted by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship. Photo by Zukiman Mohamad/Pexels

Fourteen companies pitched at the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship's Energy Venture Day at the 2021 Offshore Technology Conference, and virtual attendees voted on the companies they think are the most promising.

The companies, which hailed from three countries, again pitched virtually. Last year's venture day was also hosted virtually. The event's judging panel usually names 10 of the most promising companies at the event, however, just like last year, Rice Alliance put the power into the people viewing the pitches online.

Here are the four most promising energy tech companies that pitched at the annual OTC event.

American Hydrogen

Image via amhydrogen.com

Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, American Hydrogen offers a fully integrated, end-to-end implementation solutions for hydrogen generation, storage, and distribution facilities.

"With roots in traditional energy, the American Hydrogen management team consists of senior oil and gas professionals who have spend decades developing infrastructure in prominent energy hubs across the United States. Through this field experience our team can furnish reliable and proven execution for an emerging clean technology market," per the company's website.

Alabastron Technologies

Image via alabastron.net

Houston-based Alabastron Technologies has developed a sensor that can detect organic and inorganic deposition in pipelines before any actual deposits form.

"Our service is a real-time closed-loop sensing, measurement and control strategy that remotely monitors oil production and the tendency of flow-restricting-substances or depositions prior to actual deposition," reads the company's website.

Applied Bioplastics

Photo via Getty Images

Applied Bioplastics, based in Austin, is commercializing an alternative to plastic by combining it plant fiber — operating with a carbon footprint 30 percent smaller than traditional plastic.

"Our products reduce petroleum dependency, pollution, and habitat destruction. Through our supply chains, we support eco-friendly agriculture in developing countries," according to the website.

DataSeer

Photo via dataseer.digital

Houston-based DataSeer is a cloud-based software application uses artificial intelligence to automatically detect, label and extract information from engineering data. The technology improves its customer's quality control and quality assurance of data extraction at scale.

"DataSeer was built in close collaboration with users at some of the largest engineering firms in the world, who we are proud to call our customers," the website reads.

Greentown Labs has announced its inaugural batch of members for its new Houston location. Photo via greentownlabs.com

New-to-Houston cleantech incubator names inaugural members

to the lab

A Somerville, Massachusetts-based cleantech accelerator has announced the 16 startups that will be a part of its new Houston incubator program.

Greentown Labs named the companies in the cohort this week just a few weeks after announcing the location of its new lab and workspace. The 40,000-square-foot space is being renovated from a former grocery store and is expected to open next spring.

"These early-access members are innovating across the key greenhouse gas-emitting sectors—including electricity, manufacturing, buildings, and more—and their solutions are helping create a sustainable future for all," reads a blog post on the company's website.

Here are Greentown Houston's inaugural members:

  • Austin-based Applied Bioplastics is creating affordable plastic alternatives with plant matter to help reduce consumers' carbon footprint.
  • Black Mountain Metals, based in Fort Worth, is focused on nickel and copper mining for lithium-ion battery cathodes.
  • Carbon Free Technologies created a home battery system that can store electricity when rates are low.
  • ClearValue uses pure hydrogen and oxygen as a sustainable power system.
  • e^2: equitable energy is described as a "multi-brand cause-marketing platform" that connects consumers to sustainable energy solutions through promotion and incentivization.
  • Eclipse Solar Projects builds, owns, and operates solar projects across the country through new technology and battery storage operations.
  • Houston-based Ennuity Holdings allows users to have access to solar energy subscription service — even though they don't have access to installing panels themselves.
  • Excipicio Energy , based in Houston, is taking renewable energy offshore by integrating wind, wave, and more into a single floating platform.
  • Houston-based Quantum New Energy platform, EnerWisely, helps people and companies make smart energy choices "to maximize their monetary savings and reduce their environmental impacts."
  • Spring, Texas-based Renu Energy is creating sustainable change through waste recycling and community engagement, according to its website.
  • REVOLUTION Turbine Technologies, based in North Carolina, is working on a power generator that can be used in the offshore setting.
  • Houston-based Revterra is developing a long-duration energy storage solution.
  • Skylark, based in Houston, created a "broadband last-mile radio systems for internet service providers, with a focus on 40 million unserved Americans in rural markets."
  • Austin-based swytchX is working on a cloud-based SaaS solution that uses blockchain technology to optimize renewable energy delivery.
  • Houston-based Varea Energy, a software company, uses data to build business models focusing on eliminating barriers to green initiatives.
  • California-based Veloce Energy develops faster electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Companies interested in joining the incubator should reach out to Greentown Labs online.

The 16 startups will move into the Greentown space when it opens in the spring. Image via greentownlabs.com

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Rice University professor earns $550k NSF award for wearable imaging tech​

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Another Houston scientist has won one of the highly competitive National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Awards.

Lei Li, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rice University, has received a $550,000, five-year grant to develop wearable, hospital-grade medical imaging technology capable of visualizing deep tissue function in real-time, according to the NSF. The CAREER grants are given to "early career faculty members who demonstrate the potential to serve as academic models and leaders in research and education."

“This is about giving people access to powerful diagnostic tools that were once confined to hospitals,” Li said in a news release from Rice. “If we can make imaging affordable, wearable and continuous, we can catch disease earlier and treat it more effectively.”

Li’s research focuses on photoacoustic imaging, which merges light and sound to produce high-resolution images of structures deep inside the body. It relies on pulses of laser light that are absorbed by tissue, leading to a rapid temperature rise. During this process, the heat causes the tissue to expand by a fraction, generating ultrasound waves that travel back to the surface and are detected and converted into an image. The process is known to yield more detailed images without dyes or contrast agents used in some traditional ultrasounds.

However, current photoacoustic systems tend to use a variety of sensors, making them bulky, expensive and impractical. Li and his team are taking a different approach.

Instead of using hundreds of separate sensors, Li and his researchers are developing a method that allows a single sensor to capture the same information via a specially designed encoder. The encoder assigns a unique spatiotemporal signature to each incoming sound wave. A reconstruction algorithm then interprets and decodes the signals.

These advances have the potential to lower the size, cost and power consumption of imaging systems. The researchers believe the device could be used in telemedicine, remote diagnostics and real-time disease monitoring. Li’s lab will also collaborate with clinicians to explore how the miniaturized technology could help monitor cancer treatment and other conditions.

“Reducing the number of detection channels from hundreds to one could shrink these devices from bench-top systems into compact, energy-efficient wearables,” Li said in the release. “That opens the door to continuous health monitoring in daily life—not just in hospitals.”

Amanda Marciel, the William Marsh Rice Trustee Chair of chemical and biomolecular engineering and an assistant professor at Rice, received an NSF CAREER Award last year. Read more here.

Houston Spaceport launches $12M expansion for leading space tech co.

to the moon

Houston will get one step closer to the moon, as the Houston Spaceport at Ellington Airport (EFD) has announced an expansion of the lease for Intuitive Machines, the Houston space tech leader dedicated to furthering lunar exploration.

On July 15, the City of Houston announced passage of Amendment 1, which would add three acres of commercial space for Intuitive Machines at the spaceport and a $12 million infrastructure expansion. Approved by the city council and Mayor John Whitmire, the expansion will include new production, testing and support facilities. The amendment extends the current lease for Intuitive Machines from 20 years to 25 years.

"I want to shout out to Intuitive Machines about everything they’re doing at the Houston Spaceport. It’s exciting to see them expand. We’re starting to reach a critical mass out there — more and more aerospace companies want to be at the Spaceport because that’s where innovation is happening,” said Fred Flinkinger, who represents District E on the Houston City Council. “It’s a great sign of momentum, and we’re proud to have them here in Houston."

Intuitive Machines was the first commercial tenant for the Houston Spaceport when it moved into the facility in August 2016. Founded by Stephen Altemus, Kam Ghaffarian, and Tim Crain in 2013, the company holds three contracts with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to deliver payloads to the lunar surface. In 2023, the company opened its doors in Houston with a 105,572-square-foot Lunar Production and Operations Center that contains research and development labs, clean rooms, mission control centers, and a spacecraft assembly floor.


Intuitive Machines landed Odysseus on the moon in February 2024, the first privately owned soft lunar landing ever and the first soft landing since 1972.

The Houston Spaceport is owned and operated by the City of Houston and Houston Airports, who have an eye of keeping the city a prime name in space exploration. As "Houston" was the first word spoken on the moon when Apollo 11 landed in 1969, lunar exploration in particular has a soft place in the heart of the metropolis formerly known as Space City.

“This agreement reinforces Houston’s leadership in space innovation,” said Jim Szczesniak, director of aviation for Houston Airports. “We’re building infrastructure and supporting the next era of lunar and deep space exploration, right here at Houston Spaceport. This partnership represents the forward-thinking development that fuels job creation and drives long-term economic growth.”

Houston hardtech accelerator names 8 scientists to 2025 cohort

ready, set, activate

National hardtech-focused organization Activate has named its 2025 cohort of scientists, which includes new members to Activate Houston.

The Houston hub was introduced last year, and joins others in Boston, New York, and Berkley, California—where Activate is headquartered. The organization also offers a virtual and remote cohort, known as Activate Anywhere. Collectively, the 2025 Activate Fellowship consists of 47 scientists and engineers from nine U.S. states.

This year's cohort comprises subject matter experts across various fields, including quantum, robotics, biology, agriculture, energy and direct air capture.

Activate aims to support scientists at "the outset of their entrepreneurial journey." It partners with U.S.-based funders and research institutions to support its fellows in developing high-impact technology. The fellows receive a living stipend, connections from Activate's robust network of mentors and access to a curriculum specific to the program for two years.

“Science entrepreneurship is the origin story of tomorrow’s industries,” Cyrus Wadia, CEO of Activate, said in an announcement. “The U.S. has long been a world center for science leadership and technological advancement. When it comes to solving the world’s biggest challenges, hard-tech innovation is how we unlock the best solutions. From infrastructure to energy to agriculture, these Activate Fellows are the bold thinkers who are building the next generation of science-focused companies to lead us into the future.”

The Houston fellows selected for the 2025 class include:

  • Jonathan Bessette, founder and CEO of KIRA, which uses its adaptive electrodialysis system to treat diverse water sources and reduce CO2 emissions
  • Victoria Coll Araoz, co-founder and chief science officer of Florida-based SEMION, an agricultural technology company developing pest control strategies by restoring crops' natural defenses
  • Eugene Chung, co-founder and CEO of Lift Biolabs, a biomanufacturing company developing low-cost, nanobubble-based purification reagents. Chung is completing his Ph.D. in bioengineering at Rice University.
  • Isaac Ju, co-founder of EarthFlow AI, which has developed an AI-powered platform for subsurface modeling, enabling the rapid scaling of carbon storage, geothermal energy and lithium extraction
  • Junho Lee, principal geotechnical engineer of Houston-based Deep Anchor Solutions, a startup developing innovative anchoring systems for floating renewables and offshore infrastructure
  • Sotiria (Iria) Mostrou, principal inventor at Houston-based Biosimo Chemicals, a chemical engineering startup that develops and operates processes to produce bio-based platform chemicals
  • Becca Segel, CEO and founder of Pittsburgh-based FlowCellutions, which prevents power outages for critical infrastructure such as hospitals, data centers and the grid through predictive battery diagnostics
  • Joshua Yang, CEO and co‑founder of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Brightlight Photonics, which develops chip-scale titanium: sapphire lasers to bring cost-effective, lab-grade performance to quantum technologies, diagnostics and advanced manufacturing

The program, led locally by Houston Managing Director Jeremy Pitts, has supported 296 Activate fellows since the organization was founded in 2015. Members have gone on to raise roughly $4 billion in follow-on funding, according to Activate's website.

Activate officially named its Houston office in the Ion last year.

Charlie Childs, co-founder and CEO of Intero Biosystems, which won both the top-place finish and the largest total investment at this year's Rice Business Plan Competition, was named to the Activate Anywhere cohort. Read more about the Boston, New York, Berkley and Activate Anywhere cohorts here.

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