Growing Houston startup moves into 43,000-square-foot facility amid 'hypergrowth phase'

major milestone

NanoTech Materials celebrated its move into a new facility — a 43,000-square-foot space in Katy, Texas, this week. Photo courtesy of NanoTech Materials

A Houston startup has moved into a new space that's more than four times larger than its previous setup — a move that's setting the company up to scale its business.

NanoTech Materials celebrated its move into a new facility — a 43,000-square-foot space in Katy, Texas, this week. The materials science company currently distributes a roof coating that features its novel heat-control technology across the company. Originally founded in a garage, the company has now moved from its 10,000-square-foot space at Halliburton Labs into the larger location to support its growth.

“The new facility allows us to not just focus on the roofing, and that’s growing at a pretty rapid pace, but also stand up different production lines for our next iteration of technologies coming-out," Mike Francis, co-founder and CEO of NanoTech tells InnovationMap.

The space allows for a 340 percent increase in the manufacturing and operational capabilities, including producing 55 million square feet a year of roof coating. Francis says the new products he's focused on launching and scaling include a wildfire protectant coating and liquid applied insulation for trucks and containers to control heat for driver and worker safety.

Francis adds that he will be expanding the company's team to support this growth.

“We’re constantly hiring now,” he says. “We have about 25 employees right now. Next year, we’ll probably be double that. We’re kind of in a hypergrowth phase."

Francis likes to credit Houston in part for NanoTech's ability to grow at this pace and to be successful.

Mike Francis is the CEO and co-founder of NanoTech Materials. Photo via LinkedIn

“Houston has a shot at being one of the top startup cities of the world — I think it’s going to take a lot of time and capital, but what makes Houston different is its ability to scale existing technologies,” Francis says.

“I really think that Houston is already the spot to take an existing technology and build a team around it to turn it into a company because you have all of the players — whether it’s the end customer or the incubators and 'scalerators' — and you have all of these pieces coming into place," he continues. "Maybe it’s not the best place to start a company, but it’s definitely the best place to scale a company because of the ecosystem is really willing to participate and raise up startups like ours."

As the first company selected for Halliburton's incubator, Halliburton Labs, when it launched in 2020, NanoTech has worked closely with the company that housed and supported them for years.

“Once you’re in the Halliburton Labs fold, they are always just a phone call away from making something happen," he says. “We’re transferring all that knowledge into a bigger facility — growing up and graduating from what they gave us.”

Last year, NanoTech raised an oversubscribed funding round that brought on a handful of new investors. The details of the round were not disclosed, but NanoTech did release that the round included participation from three institutional investors, two corporate-strategic investors, and seven family offices. The company originally raised its seed round in 2020.

The NanoTech team, including Francis and Carrie Horazeck, chief commercial officer, joined the Houston Innovators Podcast last year to discuss how they've rolled out their first line of business.


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NanoTech closed an oversubscribed round of funding, the company announced this week. Photo courtesy of NanoTech

Houston climate-tech startup adds new investors in oversubscribed funding round

cap table additions

A Houston startup that has developed an innovative coating material that can reduce energy consumption has raised fresh funding for its cross-country expansion.

NanoTech Inc. announced its latest funding news — an oversubscribed funding round that brings onboard a handful of new investors. The details of the round were not disclosed, but NanoTech did release that the round included participation from three institutional investors, two corporate-strategic investors, and seven family offices. These entities join initial investor, Austin-based Ecliptic Capital.

NanoTech's flagship product is a waterproof thermal coating, called the Nano Shield Cool Roof Coat, which began rolling out across the country this year. Not only does the product reduce energy costs for the building owner, but it reduces emissions as well.

"It's crucial to recalibrate the sustainability narrative – environmental responsibility and financial return can go hand in hand," says Mike Francis, CEO and co-founder of NanoTech, in a news release. “We’ve transformed the roof from a cost center to a savings source by reducing energy expenditures while also significantly shrinking the building's carbon footprint.”

"The substantial decline in CO2 emissions and energy costs resulting from reduced reliance on HVAC systems is far more than a fringe benefit — it forms the cornerstone of our long-term strategy to lead the climate-resilient materials market. Beyond corporate objectives, it's a personal source of immense pride to foster a healthier planet for generations to come," Francis continues.

As the first selected company in Houston-based Halliburton Labs, NanoTech continues to benefit from the incubator's industrial scaling resources. Francis and Chief Commercial Officer Carrie Horazeck recently joined the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss the impact their product is making as they roll out nationwide.

"It's just a coating that can go on top of existing structure — any type of commercial roof," Horazeck says on the show. "We have a pretty good amount of data from 2022 showcasing that we can reduce HVAC consumption within the building by about 30 to 40 percent.

"Our clients really see a immediate benefit in their energy bill, and, of course, if you reduce the HVAC consumption, that automatically translates to a decrease in your scope one emissions," she continues.


The city's top power players within Houston's energy innovation ecosystem joined virtual SXSW to weigh in on hot topics — from ESG to the future of the industry's workforce. Photos courtesy

Overheard: Houston innovators discuss ESG, energy transition, cleantech and more at SXSW

Eavesdropping online

The first day of SXSW 2021 — a virtual edition of the Austin-based conference — is on the books, and Houston innovators were no strangers to attendees' screens thanks to Houston House put on by the Greater Houston Partnership.

Day one of the two days of programming focused on all things energy — power storage, corporate venture, ESG, the future of the workforce, and so much more — with interviews hosted by me, Natalie Harms, editor of InnovationMap. Missed out on the fun? Catch up with a few overheard moments from Houston House or stream the full interviews below.

“Successful entrepreneurs are critical for re-investing in the community, and we’re trying to nurture that base now.” — Kirk Coburn, investment director at Shell Ventures

Video courtesy of the Greater Houston Partnership

What are the roles of energy corporations when it comes to innovation development? And what else does a successful innovation ecosystem need? At a virtual SXSW Houston House panel, panelists Kirk Coburn, investment director of Shell Ventures, and Bill Collins, founder and CEO of LO3 Energy, discuss the role of corporate innovation and venture support and the future of energy security. Click here to watch the full interview.

“If we’re going to improve performance in the energy industry, we are going to have to work better together and collaborate together.” — Al Carnrite, president and CEO of Carnrite Group

Video courtesy of the Greater Houston Partnership

Environmental, social, and governance, aka ESG, has the power to disrupt the energy transition and has already made a huge impact on energy company's short- and long-term goals. At a virtual SXSW Houston House panel, Andrew Bruce, founder and CEO, of Data Gumbo, and Al Carnrite, president and CEO of Carnrite Group discuss the emergence of ESG and how it's affecting the global energy transition. Click here to watch the full interview.

“While Houston remains the energy capital of the world, Houston is much, much more than oil and gas. Innovators in Houston are leading the charge towards creating a lower carbon future.” — Mayor Sylvester Turner

Video courtesy of the Greater Houston Partnership

How's business in Houston? At a virtual SXSW Houston House HOU Talk, Mayor Sylvester Turner gives an update on how the innovation ecosystem has developed over his tenure. Click here to watch the full interview.

"Houston is a renewable energy capital that no one knows about — in addition to being the energy capital.” — Emily Reichert, CEO at Greentown Labs

Video courtesy of the Greater Houston Partnership

In order to maintain its role as the energy capital of the world, Houston needs to advance its role in clean energy innovation. Greentown Labs, which is opening its new Houston facility in just a matter of months, will help move that needle locally. At a virtual SXSW Houston House HOU Talk, Emily Reichert, CEO of Greentown Labs, shares how Greentown Houston will act as a convener and a place to spark cleantech innovation. Click here to watch the full interview.

“We think material science is the new tech boom. And Houston is the place to be for it.” — Mike Francis, CEO and co-founder of NanoTech

Video courtesy of the Greater Houston Partnership

Houston's no stranger to engineering and physical science. Over the past several decades, the city has accumulated major hard tech businesses and talent within oil and gas. Now, it's time to lean on that infrastructure to allow for a hard tech and material science revolution. At a virtual SXSW Houston House panel, Dale Winger, managing director at Halliburton Labs, and Mike Francis, CEO and co-founder of Nanotech, discuss how materials science plays a major role in advancing the energy transition. Click here to watch the full interview.

“This isn’t your daddy’s oil patch. This is an opportunity where we can really leverage the people we have in the city to drive us forward.” — Katie Mehnert, founder and CEO of Ally

Video courtesy of the Greater Houston Partnership

What does the future of the energy workforce look like? For one, it looks way different from decades past. At a virtual SXSW Houston House HOU Talk, Katie Mehnert, founder and CEO of ALLY, weighs in on how diversity — racial, gendered, and even generational — is extremely key moving the industry forward. Click here to watch the full interview.

“We are seeing now this inflection point where there is this next build out of utility. Texas in particular is a great proving ground.” — Doug Moorehead, managing partner and CTO of Broad Reach Power

Video courtesy of the Greater Houston Partnership

On the heels of the state's worst winter storm power outage, the energy and power industries are rethinking weatherization and power storage for the future. At a virtual SXSW Houston House HOU Talk, Doug Moorehead, managing partner and CTO of Broad Reach Power, discusses the future of energy storage and how profoundly important it is toward preventing another winter storm power outage like Texas experienced in February. Click here to watch the full interview.

Halliburton Labs has announced its inaugural cohort of energy tech companies. Photo courtesy of Halliburton

Houston energy tech incubator names 3 new companies to its program

ready to scale

Halliburton's new in-house incubator program that was announced last year has named three new energy tech startups that are moving in.

Halliburton Labs, which originally launched last summer, was established to promote innovation amidst the energy transition. Member startups will have access to the Halliburton facilities, the company's experts, and its network, and will be located in the company's North Houston headquarters.

"We are excited to welcome a strong group of companies who have demonstrated promising innovation and are working to solve important clean energy challenges," says Dale Winger, managing director of Halliburton Labs, in a news release. "We look forward to collaborating with these companies and providing world-class industrial capabilities and expertise to help them achieve further scale."

Three energy tech startups will join Houston-based Nanotech Inc., the first Halliburton Labs startup in the program. Here are the three selected companies:

Enexor BioEnergy

Tennessee-based Enexor BioEnergy is working to address the world's organic and plastic waste problems. The company has developed a patented bioenergy system that can convert almost any organic, plastic, or biomass waste in any combination, into affordable, renewable power and thermal energy.

"We are seeing tremendous inbound customer demand for Enexor's renewable energy solution from across the world," says Lee Jestings, founder and CEO of Enexor BioEnergy, in the release. "We are honored to join Halliburton Labs. Their broad global network and deep manufacturing expertise will assist Enexor in meeting its significant worldwide demand while making a significantly positive environmental impact. This is a major step forward in our worldwide launch."

Momentum Technologies

Dallas-based Momentum Technologies has created an innovative way to recycle lithium battery by working with recyclers and manufacturers to recover critical materials from waste for reuse. The company was formed through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, and Momentum's patented MSX technology has the ability to recover pure critical materials from spent lithium batteries, rare earth permanent magnets and other valuable waste products.

"Halliburton Labs is the ideal environment to scale our cutting-edge lithium battery recycling technology. We are excited to tap into Halliburton's Labs engineering and supply chain expertise and global business network to accelerate Momentum to the forefront," says Preston Bryant, CEO of Momentum Technologies, in the release.

OCO Inc.

Based in Oregon, OCO Inc.'s technology can transform carbon dioxide, water, and zero carbon electricity into a hydrogen-rich platform chemical that can be used to make a wide variety of zero-carbon chemicals, materials, and fuels. OCO's process is highly carbon negative and much less expensive than existing fossil-based processes and feedstocks.

"The valuable industrial expertise and network of Halliburton Labs will support our build, deployment, and demonstration of a full-size commercial grade system, the next step on our commercialization journey towards an industrial scale plant," says Todd Brix, founder and CEO of OCO Inc., in the release.

This week's innovators to know roundup includes Kirsten Siebach of Rice University, Mike Francis of NanoTech Inc., and Kim Raath of Topl. Photos courtesy

3 Houston innovators to know this week

who's who

Editor's note: In today's Monday roundup of Houston innovators, I'm introducing you to three innovators across industries — from space exploration to materials science.

Kirsten Siebach, assistant professor at Rice University

It's Kirsten Siebach's second Mars rover mission to work on. Photo courtesy of Rice University

Kirsten Siebach is getting ready for her Mars mission — one that keeps her firmly planted on Earth, but will allow her to search for ancient microbial life on the Red Planet nonetheless. The Rice University professor has again been selected by NASA to join a research team overseeing a rover that is currently en route to Mars.

"Because there is only one rover, the whole team at NASA has to agree about what to look at, or analyze, or where to drive on any given day," Siebach says in the release. "None of the rovers' actions are unilateral decisions. But it is a privilege to be part of the discussion and to get to argue for observations of rocks that will be important to our understanding of Mars for decades." Read more.

Mike Francis, co-founder of NanoTech Inc.

Mike Francis, co-founder of NanoTech, joins the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss his plans to fireproof California. Photo courtesy of NanoTech

Mike Francis wants to fireproof the state of California. It's a lofty goal, but he has the means. His company, NanoTech Inc., has an innovative product that can insulate and fireproof materials, and, buoyed by a $5 million seed round, he's well on his way to being able to slowly but surely fireproof existing infrastructure in the West Coast.

"We're working with all of the major players in the state of California to not only fireproof the utility infrastructure, but eventually homes and businesses," Francis says on last week's episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast. "Our goal, if we're looking into the future, is to fireproof that state — and we're working with the right people and companies to make it happen." Read more and listen to the podcast.

Kim Raath, CEO of Topl

More and more consumers are expecting transparency from companies, and this Houston startup is on a mission to use blockchain to make businesses more transparent. Courtesy of Topl

Nowadays, consumers care about where their products come from — and if they exist due to a humanitarian or sustainable supply chain — and the onus is on businesses to increase transparency. That's where Topl, a Houston-based blockchain company, and its new partner Trackz, a Denver-based supply chain software company, come in.

"Topl and TrackX's solution will be a great option for companies having to comply with new regulations and compliance mandates," says Kim Raath, CEO of Topl. "Further, our joint solution allows users to visualize their supply chain data, monitor suppliers, and easily report the progress of ESG initiatives to all stakeholders."

Mike Francis, co-founder of NanoTech, joins the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss his plans to fireproof California. Photo courtesy of NanoTech

With fresh funds, Houston startup plans to represent the future of fireproofing

HOUSTON INNOVATORS PODCAST EPISODE 60

A few years ago, Mike Francis caught a video of a man's hand coated in some sort of material and placed over a fire. Nothing was happening to the man's hand — the coating completely protected it — but something was happening in Francis's brain, and a year ago he founded Nanotech Inc.

Based in Houston, NanoTech' is focused on reducing energy waste by proper insulation within the construction industry — a half inch of NanoTech's material is the equivalent of 30 inches of fiberglass. However, perhaps more important to Francis is the life-saving capability the product provides in terms of fireproofing.

"We're working with all of the major players in the state of California to not only fireproof the utility infrastructure, but eventually homes and businesses," Francis says on this week's episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast. "Our goal, if we're looking into the future, is to fireproof that state — and we're working with the right people and companies to make it happen."

To the best of his knowledge, Francis says NanoTech is the only company this far along working on this goal. Millions of utility poles go up in flames as the forest fires sweep through the state, and coating them with NanoTech could help prevent this damage.

Of course, as the company grows, Francis is lucky to have the support and the funds behind him and his team. Earlier this year, Halliburton selected NanoTech as the inaugural member of Halliburton Labs. For the past few months, NanoTech has been based in the labs, receiving hands-on support, and NanoTech will join the year-long inaugural cohort of 15 or so companies in 2021.

NanoTech also has a new member to its support system — and $5 million — following the close of its seed round led by Austin-based Ecliptic Capital. Francis says he was looking for an investor to bring new expertise the company doesn't have yet, and Ecliptic will be crucial to growing globally.

"Those first investors, especially in your seed round, are critical to your growth," says Francis. "We're so excited to be partnering with Ecliptic — we just trusted them."

Francis shares more about fundraising during a pandemic and what being based at Halliburton has meant for his company's growth. Listen to the full interview below — or wherever you stream your podcasts — and subscribe for weekly episodes.


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Houston Innovation Awards to honor Wade Pinder as 2025 Trailblazer

And the award goes to...

On Nov. 13, we'll gather for the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards to celebrate the best and brightest in Houston innovation right now. And, as is tradition with the annual program, we'll honor one longstanding Houston innovator with the Trailblazer Award.

The award was established to recognize an individual who has left a profound impact on Houston's business and innovation ecosystem and is dedicated to continuing to support Houston and its entrepreneurs. The recipient is selected by our esteemed panel of judges from a pool of internal and external recommendations.

The 2025 Trailblazer Award recipient is Wade Pinder of Product Houston. A familiar face to those active in Houston's innovation sector, Pinder identifies as an "Ecosystem Wayseeker" and is the founder of Product Houston.

Pinder, a former product manager at Blinds.com, arrived in Houston in 2008 and has been deeply engaged in Houston’s startup and innovation scene since 2012. Over the years, he has supported hundreds of founders, product leaders, and community builders across the Houston area.

In 2023, he was honored as Mentor of the Year in the Houston Innovation Awards. Today, he fosters collaboration, clarity, and connection through his work at Product Houston, and he helps innovators find their place in the local sector via his monthly "Houston Ecosystem Mapping" sessions.

Read below for Pinder's insightful takes on the Houston innovation scene and what it means to blaze a new trail. Then, join us as we celebrate Pinder and all of our nominees and winners at the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards on Nov. 13 at Greentown Labs. Tickets are available now.

InnovationMap: Describe the growth of the Houston innovation ecosystem from your arrival in 2008 to now.

Wade Pinder: When I first arrived in Houston in 2008, the innovation ecosystem was more fragmented than it is today. Connecting with other innovators often meant attending a lot of hit-or-miss events. Over the years, it’s been incredible to see the network take shape and grow into a true community. I’ve had the privilege of being involved with several coworking spaces and accelerator programs along the way, and it’s been especially exciting to see Station Houston evolve into what is now the Ion District. What makes the Ion unique is how it blends openness and opportunity… ideas spill into and out of the space, and anyone can walk in, participate in programming, and find themselves in proximity to people who might help them take the next steps.

Additionally, the expansion of spaces like Texas Medical Center Innovation, Helix Park, The Cannon, and many others, have broadened Houston’s innovation landscape in powerful ways.

Today, when someone new moves to Houston and wants to plug into the startup and innovation scene, it’s much easier for them to find their way than when I moved here in 2008. I think that’s something Houston can really be proud of.

IM: As someone who engages with the broader Houston innovation community on a regular basis, what are the shared characteristics and traits that you see among its members?

WP: One of the things that makes Houston’s innovation community unique is how deeply it’s rooted in industry. So many of the innovators I meet come from within Houston’s major sectors, and they’ve seen firsthand where opportunities lie, which gives their innovation a certain practicality. They’re developing solutions that solve real, often complex, business and industry problems, not chasing trends or trying to create the next flashy consumer app.

What I admire most is that this community is growing in its understanding of the value of collaboration. They work with the systems and expertise that already exist, and find better ways to make them work together. Another shared trait I see across Houston’s innovators is a deep sense of curiosity and a drive to question the status quo while looking for better ways to build, improve, and solve.

IM: You’ve said, "Houston has Houston problems, and Houston needs Houston solutions." How do you see this taking shape in the innovation sector right now?

WP: When I first started getting connected to Houston’s startup and innovation scene in 2012, I noticed folks had a tendency to look at other cities and ask, "How can we do what they did?" Back then, we saw phrases like "Silicon Bayou" pop up, and while that enthusiasm was hopeful, it often discounted the things that make Houston unique. Over time, I’ve come to believe that the better question is: "What are we already great at, and how can we innovate from there?" The flip side of that question is to reflect on the things that hold us back as an ecosystem… identifying the friction points and finding practical ways to smooth them out.

From my time wandering around our ecosystem, I’ve come to understand Houston is great at infrastructure at scale, solving life-and-death challenges in the global spotlight, and "boldly going where no one’s gone before." These three things, in my opinion, capture the essence of Houston does best: We do hard things here.

What excites me today is that we’re applying innovation to those core strengths in ways that feel authentically Houston. One area I’m especially excited about is the emergence of the “New Space Economy,” captured beautifully in Wogbe Ofori’s thought piece “The Astropreneur’s Startup Journey Map.” It's a great example of how the next wave of space-related innovation might connect to Houston’s long-standing strengths in manufacturing, logistics, and problem-solving at scale.

Another challenge Houston faces is what I call a "proximity problem." Even when events are only a few miles apart, traffic can make it difficult for people to stay connected across the city. That’s why I’m so encouraged by the rise of what I think of as "intent-based gatherings" around the city: events designed with purpose, where people know they’ll find real connection and value once they arrive.

IM: Finally, what does being a "Trailblazer" mean to you?
WP: To me, trailblazing in the Houston innovation ecosystem means being willing to wander through the many different corners of the community and look for value in places we often overlook. It’s about showing up at events, community meetings, and pitch competitions — not just to participate, but to notice how each of these "nodes" in the ecosystem connects and adds value to the others.

Sometimes the trailblazer only walks a trail once: as they are discovering it. If you can help others see a newfound trail’s purpose and potential, it becomes a path others can follow more easily in the future. That’s the real work of a trailblazer: mapping connections, framing their value, and helping people recognize how those pathways strengthen the ecosystem as a whole.

In a broader sense, trailblazing is about seeing things not just as they are, but as they could be. Then taking the steps, however small, that make that vision real.

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The Houston Innovation Awards program is sponsored by Houston Community College, Houston Powder Coaters, FLIGHT by Yuengling, and more to be announced soon. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact sales@innovationmap.com.

Houston-area VC funding sunk to 5-year low in Q3 2025, report says

by the numbers

Fundraising for Houston-area startups experienced a summertime slowdown, sinking to a five-year low in the third quarter, according to the latest PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor.

The PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor shows startups in the Houston metro area attracted $204.4 million in venture capital from June through August. That’s 55 percent below the total for the previous quarter and 51 percent below the total for the third quarter of 2024.

More telling than those figures is that the third-quarter haul dropped to its lowest total for Houston-area startups since the fourth quarter of 2020, when $133.4 million in VC was raised. That was the third full quarter after health officials declared the pandemic in the U.S.

In Q3 2025, AI accounted for nearly 40 percent of VC deal volume in the U.S., Kyle Stanford, director of U.S. venture research at PitchBook, said in the report. And through the first nine months of 2025, AI represented 64 percent of U.S. deal value.

VC deal activity “has been nearly steady, emphasizing a consistent influx of companies, especially at the pre-seed and seed stages,” Stanford said. “Large deals remain the primary driver of market deal value, with almost all of these deals focused on AI.”

Bobby Franklin, president and CEO of NVCA, said that while fundraising hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic highs, deal values are going up in sectors such as AI, manufacturing, robotics and space tech, many of which have already exceeded their investment totals for all of 2024.

Meet 6 of the fastest-growing scaleup companies in Houston right now

meet the finalists

From raising funding rounds to earning FDA acceptance, some of Houston's most innovative companies have reached major milestones this year.

The 2025 Houston Innovation Awards will recognize their progress by bringing back our Scaleup of the Year category for the second year. The award honors an innovative later-stage startup that's recently reached a significant milestone in company growth.

Six breakthrough businesses have been named finalists for the 2025 award. They range from climatetech startups to a biotech company developing new drugs for neurodegenerative diseases and more.

Read more about these businesses and their impressive growth below. Then join us at the Houston Innovation Awards on Nov. 13 at Greentown Labs, when the winner will be unveiled at our live awards ceremony.

Tickets are now on sale for this exclusive event celebrating all things Houston Innovation. Corporate 10-packs, featuring reserved seating and custom branding, and individual tickets are still available. Secure your seats today.

Coya Therapeutics

Clinical-stage biotechnology company Coya Therapeutics (NASDAQ: COYA) has developed COYA-302 that enhances anti-inflammatory T cell function and suppresses harmful immune activity. The drug candidate is being advanced for several neurodegenerative diseases—including ALS, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and frontotemporal dementia—and has demonstrated promising reductions in neuroinflammation in preclinical and early clinical studies, according to the company.

Coya, founded in 2021, received FDA acceptance for its investigational new drug application for COYA-30 this summer. It closed its IPO in January 2023 for more than $15 million and added $26 million in PIPE funding that same year. Last year, the company secured an additional $15 million in PIPE funding.

Fervo Energy

Houston-based Fervo Energy is working to provide 24/7 carbon-free energy through the development of cost-competitive geothermal power. The company is developing its flagship Cape Station geothermal power project in Utah, which is expected to generate 400 megawatts of clean energy for the grid. The first phase of the project will supply 100 megawatts of power beginning in 2026. The second phase is scheduled to come online by 2028.

The company raised $205.6 million in capital to help finance the project earlier this year and fully contracted the project's capacity with the addition of a major power purchase agreement from Shell. Founded in 2017 by CEO Tim Latimer and CTO Jack Norbeck, Fervo is now a unicorn, meaning its valuation as a private company has surpassed $1 billion. In March, Axios reported Fervo is targeting a $2 billion to $4 billion valuation in an IPO.

Koda Health

Houston-based Koda Health has developed an advance care planning platform (ACP) that allows users to document and share their care preferences, goals and advance directives for health systems. The web-based platform guides patients through values-based decisions with interactive tools and generates state-specific, legally compliant documents that integrate seamlessly with electronic health record systems. The company also added kidney action planning to its suite of services for patients with serious illnesses last year.

Koda Health was founded out of the TMC's Biodesign Fellowship in 2020 by CEO Tatiana Fofanova, chief medical officer Dr. Desh Mohan, and chief technology officer Katelin Cherry. The company raised a $7 million series A earlier this year, and also announced major partnerships and integrations with Epic, Guidehealth, Medical Home Network, Privia Health and others.

Mati Carbon

Houston climatetech company Mati Carbon removes carbon through its Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) program that works with agricultural farms in Africa and India. Mati says the farmers it partners with are some of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The nonprofit won the $50 million grand prize in the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition, backed by Elon Musk’s charitable organization, The Musk Foundation, earlier this year.

Mati Carbon scaled operations in India, Zambia, and Tanzania this year and has advanced its proprietary measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) platform, known as matiC, enabling seamless field data capture, chain-of-custody and carbon accounting at scale. The company was founded in 2022 by co-directors Shantanu Agarwal and Rwitwika Bhattacharya.

Molecule

Houston-based Molecule Software has developed an energy trading risk management (ETRM) platform that allows companies trading power, oil and gas, biofuels, renewables and more stay ahead as the markets evolve.

The company closed a Series B round earlier this year for an undisclosed amount. Sameer Soleja, founder and CEO of Molecule, said at the time that the funding would allow the company to "double down on product innovation, grow our team, and reach even more markets." The company was founded in 2012 by CEO Sameer Soleja and participated in the Surge Accelerator the same year.

Utility Global

Houston-based Utility Global has developed its proprietary eXERO technology that produces low-cost, clean hydrogen from water and industrial off-gases without requiring grid electricity.

First founded in 2018 by CEO Parker Meeks, the company participated in Greentown Labs and the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship programs. It raised a $55 million funding round earlier this year and launched commercial partnerships with ArcelorMittal Brazil and Hanwha Group in South Korea to deploy its hydrogen solutions at scale.

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The Houston Innovation Awards program is sponsored by Houston Community College, Houston Powder Coaters, FLIGHT by Yuengling, and more to be announced soon. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact sales@innovationmap.com.

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