DexMat, a Houston-based materials science startup with tech originating at Rice University, has raised $3 million. Image via Getty Images

A material science startup with technology originating at Rice University has announced it has closed its seed round of funding.

DexMat raised $3 million in funding in a round led by Shell Ventures with participation from Overture Ventures, Climate Avengers and several individuals. The company transforms hydrocarbons, renewable fuels, and captured carbon into its flagship product Galvorn.

“DexMat presents an opportunity to capture methane, an abundant and inexpensive resource, and use it to replace materials such as steel, aluminum, and copper with a more sustainable option. We are excited to be part of DexMat’s journey going forward and to realize their ambitions,” says Aimee LaFleur, investment principal at Shell, in a news release.

Alongside the announcement of the seed round, DexMat has named Bryan Guido Hassin as its new CEO. Hassin, who was previously a member of the company's board of directors, has been at the helm of multiple climate tech startups and most recently co-founded Third Derivative. Dmitri Tsentalovich, the previous CEO, is transitioning to CTO.

Bryan Guido Hassin has been named CEO of DexMat. Photo via LinkedIn

“Before joining DexMat, as CEO of Third Derivative, I was introduced to easily over 2,000 innovative new concepts and technologies. DexMat’s solution was one of the most impactful I came across, which is precisely why I’m so excited to be joining the team,” says Hassin in a news release. “The opportunity to eventually cut up to 3 gigatons of CO2 annually in one of the most underserved markets of the clean energy transition — heavy industry — was too important for me to pass by.”

The product impacts the climate tech space on two levels. First, in the production process, the carbon is 'locked' into the Galvorn material structure as a form of long-term carbon storage, according to the release. On the use side, the material displaces carbon-intensive materials — like steel, aluminum, and copper.

"The world's net zero future is entirely dependent on electrifying everything and decarbonizing the built environment," says Shomik Dutta, co-founder and managing partner at Overture Ventures, in the release. "Metals like copper and steel sit at the heart of these trillion-dollar markets, and DexMat's technology promises carbon-negative, lighter, and stronger versions of what we currently mine and melt. Companies like this can help cement America's leadership in the most important transition of our lifetimes."

DexMat was founded to commercialize materials science technology that originally developed in the Rice University laboratory of co-founder Professor Matteo Pasquali. According to the release, the company was built on over $20 million in non-dilutive funding — including grants from from the Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, U.S. Department of Energy, NASA, Advanced Functional Fabrics of America, and the National Science Foundation — with Rice University included in the list of original investors.

Chevron Technology Ventures, which has an office in the Ion, has applications open for entrepreneurs looking for an opportunity in cleantech. Photo courtesy of Gensler

Q&A: Chevron introduces unique clean energy studio to Houston entrepreneur community

Seeing green

Calling all innovators looking for the next big climate technology — Chevron wants to help you find your next big opportunity.

Houston-based Chevron Technology Ventures has applications open for its second Chevron Studio cohort that matches entrepreneurs with promising technologies coming out of universities and labs. The overall goal of the studio — a collaboration between Chevron and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, or NREL — is to scale up and commercialize early-stage technologies that have the potential to impact the future of energy.

Applications for entrepreneurs are open through March 14. Once selected, there are three phases of the program. The first includes matching the selected entrepreneurs with the inventors of the selected intellectual properties, which will occur over three to four months. The next phase includes scaling up the product — something that will take one to two years, depending on the tech. The last step would be a trial or a pilot program that includes rolling out a minimum viable product at commercial scale at Chevron or an affiliate.

Gautam Phanse is the strategic relationship manager for Chevron Technology Ventures. He joins InnovationMap for a Q&A to explain more about the opportunity.

Gautam Phanse of Chevron Technology Ventures answers questions about this unique program. Photo courtesy

InnovationMap: What types of technologies is Chevron looking to bring into commercialization through this program? How is the program different from existing accelerators/incubators/etc.?

Gautam Phanse: Chevron Technology Ventures brings external innovation to Chevron. Key focus areas for CTV are industrial decarbonization, emerging mobility, energy decentralization, and the growing circular carbon economy. Chevron Studio is one of the tools to achieve this goal. The current focus areas for Chevron Studio are: carbon utilization, hydrogen and renewable energy, energy storage systems, and solutions for circular economy. These focus areas will be reviewed every year and additional areas could be brought into the mix.

The goal of Chevron Studio is to scale up and commercialize technology developed in the Universities and National Labs. We curate the intellectual property developed at universities and national labs and provide a platform to match entrepreneurs with the IP. The program provides seed funding and a pathway through incubation, pilot and field trials to scale up the technologies. The uniqueness of this program is its target and the breadth of its scope — all the way from incubation to field trials.

IM: How does Chevron Technology Ventures and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory collaborate on this project? What role does each entity play?

GP: CTV has a long history of supporting innovation and the startup community. And over the years we’ve seen the consistent gaps and the struggles that the startup companies have in scaling up technologies. We also have a long history of working with national labs and universities and have seen the challenges in getting these technologies out of the labs. The idea for Chevron Studio grew out of these challenges.

NREL’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center manages Chevron Studio, working closing with entrepreneurs and guiding them through the program while leveraging capabilities at the lab and activating the IEC’s network of cleantech startups, investors, foundations, and industry partners.

IM: What are you looking for from the entrepreneur applicants? Who should apply?

GP: We are looking for entrepreneurs who are seeking their next opportunity. They should have a passion in lower carbon solutions and the patience to work on early-stage technologies to see them through scale up and commercialization. Aspiring entrepreneurs with demonstrated passion are also welcome to apply. The entrepreneurs are expected to build a team, raise funds and grow the business providing competitive solutions to the industry.

IM: Tell me about cohort 1. How did it go and what were the participants able to accomplish?

GP: We were really excited about the response we got from both the entrepreneur community and the universities and national labs. We had a strong pool of entrepreneurs and a great mix of IP and frankly had a tough time making the selection. The first cohort had four entrepreneurs in the initial discovery phase. Some of them have now graduated, and we will be announcing the participants in the next phase — for scaling up — shortly.

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This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.

"Houston is literally putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to leading the energy transition," the report reads. Image via Getty Images

Report: Houston sees $250M in cleantech investments so far this year

by the numbers

Houston is cleaning up when it comes to cleantech investments.

Through the first three quarters of 2022, companies in Houston invested a combined $250 million in cleantech, according to new data from professional services firm Deloitte. In terms of the size of ESG deals in Houston this year, 55 percent have been valued at $50 million and above, Deloitte says.

“Houston is literally putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to leading the energy transition,” Deloitte says.

Deloitte notes that this type of investment is critical as companies get their internal “ESG house” in order ahead of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issuing new rules surrounding ESG reporting.

Since the start of 2020, close to $50 billion has been invested through more than 900 expansion-stage deals in the U.S., “with 2022 hardly seeing a slowdown, despite the volatility-inducing factors that currently roil global economies and markets,” Deloitte says in a new report.

“Much of this surge can be attributed to the frontier of technical innovation pushing forward to the point that adoption is growing across multiple sectors, even if at a slow pace in some arenas,” the report says. “For example, aerospace and related parts manufacturers are working on modernizing traffic management to optimize flight patterns and curb emissions, while [R&D] is proceeding quickly in new propulsion technologies … .”

The report goes on to say that the chemical industry could see a surge in demand for decarbonization tech as more companies seek to hit net-zero emissions by 2050 and a decrease in emissions if newer manufacturing processes are adopted.

Houston’s cleantech scene got a big boost in 2021 when Greentown Labs, an incubator for climatetech startups, opened a location here.

The CEO of the Somerville, Massachusetts-based incubator, Emily Reichert, recently stepped down. She will serve as CEO emeritus until her successor is hired. Reichert joined Greentown Labs in 2013 as its first employee.

Kevin Taylor, currently Greentown’s chief financial officer, has been named interim CEO. He came aboard in January as the organization’s first full-time CFO.

“Emily’s impact on the climatetech sector — and on the lives of our past and present startups and Greentown staff members — cannot be overstated,” Taylor says in a news release. “She is a consummate professional and the quintessential example of entrepreneurial excellence.”

In October, Greentown launched the Texas Entrepreneurship Exchange for Energy (TEX-E), a collaboration among Greentown Labs, MIT’s Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship, and five Texas universities aimed at creating a student-driven entrepreneurship ecosystem in Houston. The five founding schools are Rice University, the University of Houston, Prairie A&M University, Texas A&M University, and the University of Texas at Austin.

“Houston has long been known as the energy capital of the world, but to lead the world’s energy transition, the city must create a strong, vibrant innovation ecosystem to support the next generation of entrepreneurs and energy companies,” Lara Cottingham, chief of staff at Greentown, said in October. “TEX-E will build upon Texas universities’ deep and long-standing connections to the energy industry by helping to attract and retain the world-class talent needed to supercharge Houston’s innovation ecosystem.”

Aeromine unit generates around-the-clock energy amid all weather conditions. Photo courtesy of Aeromine

Houston-born wind energy technology is gearing up for climatetech impact

seeing green

A Houston-based cleantech startup is testing mini wind turbines that it says supply up to 50 percent more power than solar panels — at the same cost.

Aeromine Technologies’ bladeless mini turbines are designed for installation on buildings with large, flat rooftops. These include warehouses, distribution centers, factories, office buildings, apartment buildings, and big-box retail stores. Aeromine says each five-kilowatt unit delivers as much power (5 kilowatts) as 16 rooftop solar panels.

Companies piloting the mini turbines include chemical giant BASF Corp., which is testing the Aeromine system at its manufacturing plant in Wyandotte, Michigan, according to an Aeromine news release.

“Unlike noisy and visually intrusive wind turbines that rely on rotating rotor blades, are prone to maintenance issues, and can harm or kill birds, Aeromine is motionless. The technology leverages aerodynamics similar to airfoils on a race car to capture and amplify each building’s airflow,” the company says.

Requiring 10 percent of the roof space normally needed for solar panels, an Aeromine unit generates around-the-clock energy amid all weather conditions. Each Aeromine system, consisting of 20 to 40 units, can generate up to 100 percent of a building’s onsite energy.

“This is a game-changer, adding new value to the fast-growing rooftop power generation market, helping corporations meet their resilience and sustainability goals with an untapped distributed renewable energy source,” says David Asarnow, co-founder and CEO of Aeromine. “Aeromine’s proprietary technology brings the performance of wind energy to the onsite generation market, mitigating legacy constraints posed by spinning wind turbines and less-efficient solar panels.”

Research conducted with Sandia National Laboratories and Texas Tech University validated Aeromine’s patented technology, the company says.

Carsten Westergaard, founder and chief technology officer at Aeromine, invented the technology. He developed it during his time as a professor of practice at Texas Tech, where he taught graduate students about wind energy technology.

Check out these conferences, pitch competitions, networking, and more in the month of November. Photo via Getty Images

10+ can't-miss Houston business and innovation events for November

Where to be

Hold onto your hats, Houston. If you thought October was a busy month for business events, November even more exciting and full of pitches, conferences, summits, and more. Here's a rundown of what all to throw on your calendar for November when it comes to innovation-related events.

This article will be updated as more business and tech events are announced.

FEATURED: November 9 — Houston Innovation Awards Gala

Find out what Houston startups and innovators go home with the big win at InnovationMap and Houston Exponential's gala. Learn more about this year's finalists by clicking here.

The event is Wednesday, November 9, at 6 pm, at the Ion. Click here to register.

November 1-3 — Urban Manufacturing Alliance's Houston Gathering

Learn about the unique challenges and opportunities within manufacturing in the current economy, as well as network with Houston manufacturing professionals.

The event is Tuesday, November 1, to Wednesday, November 3, at West Houston Institute. Click here to register.

November 2 — Greentown Labs Climatetech Summit

Hear from the climatetech industry's leaders at Greentown Labs' annual event. The morning features panels and pitches, followed by lunch, networking, and an expo. The summit continues on November 3 in Boston, and both days will be streamed for viewers.

The event is Wednesday, November 2, at 8 am, at Greentown Houston and streaming online. Click here to register.

November 4 — Enventure's 10-Year Anniversary

Join Enventure as we celebrate its 10th Anniversary — from the organization's accomplishments to a look toward what the future brings to Enventure.

The event is Friday, November 4, at 7 pm, at III by Wolfgang Puck. Click here to register.

November 5 — Tech Fest Live in-person Experience at the Ion

The Ion as partnered with Tech Fest Live to bring your family to an engaging Family Tech Day experience, designed with middle and high school students in mind.

The event is Saturday, November 5, at 9:30 am, at the Ion. Click here to register.

November 8 — Texas Life Science Forum

The Texas Life Science Forum, co-hosted by BioHouston and Rice Alliance, is the premier life science and healthtech event in Texas that brings together members from industry, emerging life science companies, academic and investors. Hear pitches from innovative and early stage life science companies, network and enjoy exciting panels, keynotes and speakers.

The event is Tuesday, November 8, at 8:30 am, at Rice University. Click here to register.

November 9 — The Future of Industrial Automation Lunch & Learn with Yokogawa

In this Lunch & Learn, Elbert van der Bijl (Director of Marketing & Solutions Consulting for Yokogawa North America), will talk about the journey from industrial automation to industrial autonomy (IA2IA). He will also speak about how new technologies are being embraced to be able to make this transition. The presentation will highlight some key developments like Open Process Automation (OPA), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), and mobile Robotics and how they will play a role in the future of Industrial Automation.

The event is Wednesday, November 9, at 11:30 am, at The Cannon-West Houston. Click here to register.

November 10 — Greater Houston Partnership's State of the Port

Join the Greater Houston Partnership at the annual State of the Port featuring Ric Campo, Chairman of the Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority. Campo will discuss innovations taking place at Port Houston and Project 11. The highly anticipated Project 11 will deepen and widen the Houston Ship Channel and increase economic impact, jobs and address supply chain challenges.

The event is Thursday, November 10, at 10:30 am, at The Omni Riverway. Click here to register.

November 10 — BGV Pitch Tour Houston

The BGV Pitch Tour is coming to Houston November 10th in partnership with Omaze and the aid of our amazing 6 Change Agents to throw a BGV Pitch Competition. Thee BGV Change Agents are amazing Black and/or Brown women-identifying founders who are actively working to uplift and grow the city's ecosystem for Black and Brown founders in their area.

The event is Thursday, November 10, at 6 pm, at The Cannon-West Houston. Click here to register.

November 15 — Lilie's Community Celebration

Celebrate the end of the semester and take a peek into what all the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship community has going on.

The event is Tuesday, November 15, at 6 pm, at the Lilie offices at Rice University. Click here to register.

November 17 — Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator 2022 Demo Day

Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator is hosting a Demo Day to showcase its Class 2 startups who are ready for investment, pilots and accelerating the energy transition.

The event is Thursday, November 17, at 1:30 pm, at the Ion. Click here to register.

November 19 — Pearland Innovation Hub Pitch Competition

Come attend this event open to the community to hear pitches from local small business owners, network, and learn about the Pearland Innovation Hub.

The event is Tuesday, November 17, at 4 pm, at Pearland City Hall. Click here to register.

November 30 — Commercial ZEV Event

This event by Houston-based Evolve is your chance to drive zero-emissions commercial vehicles and learn how you can convert your fleet to save on costs.

The event is Wednesday, November 30, at 8:30 am to 5 pm, at NRG Park. Click here to register.

Juliana Garaizar joins the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss the incubator's upcoming Climatetech Summit. Photo courtesy of Juliana Garaizar

How this innovator is bridging the gap for international energy companies expanding into Houston

Houston innovators podcast Episode 157

A year and a half after opening in Houston, Greentown Labs has continued to evolve to meet the unique needs of the energy tech companies based out of its local incubator. The company, based originally in the Boston area, always knew it wasn't going to be as simple as copying and pasting its Somerville, Massachusetts, location in Texas.

Lately, as Juliana Garaizar, head of the Houston incubator and vice president of innovation for Greentown, says on this week's Houston Innovators Podcast, the surprising element emerging in Houston is the need for an entry point into the United States from foreign companies — mostly emerging from Latin America.

"We're realizing that we're becoming the landing pad for many international companies or companies coming from other ecosystems," she says on the show. "We are glad to be that landing pad for many companies looking to enter the United States through Texas."

Last year, Houston played a role in Greentown's annual Climatetech Summit. The two-day streamed event in 2021 attracted over 2,500 viewers from 38 different countries. This year's event will return to in-person but keep the streaming element to maintain this opportunity to reach people all over the world.

The summit kicks off on November 2 in Houston and continues on November 3 in Boston. (InnovationMap is a partner for the Houston portion of the summit.) The program is focused on elevating the conversation around clean energy and the energy transition in Houston and beyond, as well as serving as a showcase for emerging technologies coming out of Greentown's member companies.

"The main theme for this Climatetech Summit is commercialization, and we're trying to explore it in different ways," Garaizar says. "We're going to have some great panels on rapid commercialization and Houston and the energy transition."

Garaizar explains that the program is a must-attend event for innovators within energy innovation, and she hints that, at the conclusion of the day, Greentown may have some news to share with attendees.

"We're also going to be announcing a few things at the end of the program, so you'll have to stay tuned," she says.

Garaizar shares more about the event on the podcast, as well as some of the challenges Houston energy startups are facing. Listen to the interview below — or wherever you stream your podcasts — and subscribe for weekly episodes.


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Following Silicon Valley Bank collapse, banking diversification is key for Houston founders

SVB shake up

Last week, Houston founder Emily Cisek was in between meetings with customers and potential investors in Austin while she was in town for SXSW. She was aware of the uncertainty with Silicon Valley Bank, but the significance of what was happening didn't hit her until she got into an Uber on Friday only to find that her payment was declined.

“Being positive in nature as I am, and with the close relationship that I have with SVB and how they’ve truly been a partner, I just thought, ‘OK, they’re going to figure it out. I trust in them,'” Cisek says.

Like many startup founders, Cisek, the CEO of The Postage, a Houston-based tech platform that enables digital legacy planning tools, is a Silicon Valley Bank customer. Within a few hours, she rallied her board and team to figure out what they needed to do, including making plans for payroll. She juggled all this while attending her meetings and SXSW events — which, coincidentally, were mostly related to the banking and fintech industries.

Sandy Guitar had a similar weekend of uncertainty. As managing director of HX Venture Fund, a fund of funds that deploys capital to venture capital firms around the country and connects them to the Houston innovation ecosystem, her first concern was to evaluate the effect on HXVF's network. In this case, that meant the fund's limited partners, its portfolio of venture firms, and, by extension, the firms' portfolios of startup companies.

“We ultimately had no financial impact on venture fund 1 or 2 or on any of our portfolio funds or our underlying companies,” Guitar tells InnovationMap. “But that is thanks to the Sunday night decision to ensure all deposits.”

On Sunday afternoon, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took control of SVB and announced that all accounts would be fully insured, not just up to the $250,000 cap. Customers like Cisek had access to their accounts on Monday.

“In the shorter term, the great news is SVB entity seems to be largely up and functioning in a business as usual manner,” Guitar says. “And they have a new leadership team, but their existing systems and predominantly the existing employee base is working well. And what we're hearing is that business as usual is taking place.”

Time to diversify

In light of the ordeal, Guitar says Houston founders and funders can take away a key lesson learned: The importance of bank diversification.

“We didn't think we needed one last week, but this week we know we need a resilience plan," she says, explaining that bank diversification is going to be added to "the operational due diligence playbook."

"We need to encourage our portfolio funds to maintain at least two banking relationships and make sure they're diversifying their cash exposure," she says.

A valued entity

Guitar says SVB is an integral part of the innovation ecosystem, and she believes it will continue on to be, but factoring in the importance of resilience and diversification.

"Silicon Valley Bank and the function that they have historically provided is is vital to the venture ecosystem," she says. "We do have confidence that either SVB, as it is currently structured or in a new structure to come, will continue to provide this kind of function for founders."

Cisek, who hasn't moved any of her company's money out of SVB, has similar sentiments about the importance of the bank for startups. She says she's grateful to the local Houston and Austin teams for opening doors, making connections, and taking chances for her that other banks don't do.

"I credit them to really being partners with startups — down to the relationships they connect you with," she says. "Some of my best friends who are founders came from introductions from SVB. I've seen them take risks that other banks won't do."

With plans to raise funding this yea, Cisek says she's already started her research on how to diversify her banking situation and is looking into programs that will help her do that.

Staying aware

Guitar's last piece of advice is to remain confident in the system, while staying tuned into what's happening across the spectrum.

“This situation that is central to the venture ecosystem is an evolving one," she says. "We all need to keep calm and confident in business as usual in the short term while keeping an eye to the medium term so that we know what happens next with this important bank and with other associated banks in the in our industry."

Meet the Texas security experts building a framework for safer schools

For the Kids

For a large portion of his career, Mike Matranga worked as a Secret Service agent protecting the President and First Family all over the world.

He then moved to the Department of the Interior, specializing in domestic terrorism, when the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School occurred. Only three months later, another school shooting happened in Santa Fe, Texas.

That's when Matranga received a phone call from a Texas superintendent, asking him to take his decades of security experience and training and develop a proactive school safety program — something that didn't yet exist. That comprehensive, holistic plan would go on to be ranked No. 1 in Texas and No. 5 in the nation.M6

Mike Matranga, M6 GlobalM6 Global's Mike Matranga.Photo courtesy of M6 Global

This led Matranga to found M6 Global, which today specializes not only in school safety plans but also programs for industrial and corporate settings and even major sporting events.

The team is comprised of current and former federal agents and security specialists, a psychiatrist, a leading emotional intelligence doctor, a former White House doctor, and emergency management experts. Together, they have more than 100 years combined experience in school safety, law enforcement, and national and global security.

And that's what's made Matranga's initiatives so successful: the people.

“Of all the measures and initiatives we implemented, the absolute most important thing we have are people who have the ability to make real change — which no camera system will provide," he says. "Simply teaching people how to identify pre-attack behavior, self-harm behavior, and a person in crisis will always be what is most important. Secondly, having the resources and courage to intervene once those things are identified will keep individuals off the path to violence. We must never discredit the human element.”

M6 Global also partners with ASAP Security Services in Houston to provide the most up-to-date technology and products, with everything from facial recognition software to cameras to threat detection software. It makes their services fully turn-key, and as Matranga says, "two brains are better than one."

Mike Matranga and President Joe Biden, M6 GlobalMike Matranga (left) with President Joe Biden.Photo courtesy of M6 Global

"At some point we have to realize that the law enforcement response that we adopted in the '80s is not working," he adds. "And it’s not just police — it’s the patterns and behaviors of people that will tell you there is a problem, so we need to shift from a reactive to a proactive mindset. We need to have actionable resources in place and a society that's better informed to recognize the signs before someone becomes a person in crisis."

To learn more about M6 Global and explore its services, visit here.