Houston energy tech incubator names 3 new companies to its program

ready to scale

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

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.

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Aegis Aerospace appoints Houston space leader as new president

moving up

Houston-based Aegis Aerospace's current chief strategy officer, Matt Ondler, will take on the additional role of president on Jan. 1. Ondler will succeed Bill Hollister, who is retiring.

“Matt's vision, experience, and understanding of our evolving markets position us to build on our foundation and pursue new frontiers,” Stephanie Murphy, CEO of Aegis Aerospace, said in a news release.

Hollister guided Aegis Aerospace through expansion and innovation in his three years as president, and will continue to serve in the role of chief technology officer (CTO) for six months and focus on the company's technical and intellectual property frameworks.

"Bill has played an instrumental role in shaping the success and growth of our company, and his contributions leave an indelible mark on both our culture and our achievements," Murphy said in a news release.

Ondler has a background in space hardware development and strategic leadership in government and commercial sectors. Ondler founded subsea robots and software company Houston Mechatronics, Inc., now known as Nauticus Robotics, and also served as president, CTO and CSO during a five-year tenure at Axiom Space. He held various roles in his 25 years at NASA and was also named to the Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium Executive Committee last year.

"I am confident that with Matt at the helm as president and Bill supporting us as CTO, we will continue to build on our strong foundation and further elevate our impact in the space industry," Murphy said in a news release. "Matt's vision, experience, and understanding of our evolving markets position us to build on our foundation and pursue new frontiers."

Rice University launches new center to study roots of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

neuro research

Rice University launched its new Amyloid Mechanism and Disease Center last month, which aims to uncover the molecular origins of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other amyloid-related diseases.

The center will bring together Rice faculty in chemistry, biophysics, cell biology and biochemistry to study how protein aggregates called amyloids form, spread and harm brain cells. It will serve as the neuroscience branch of the Rice Brain Institute, which was also recently established.

The team will work to ultimately increase its understanding of amyloid processes and will collaborate with the Texas Medical Center to turn lab discoveries into real progress for patients. It will hold its launch event on Jan. 21, 2026, and hopes to eventually be a launchpad for future external research funding.

The new hub will be led by Pernilla Wittung-Stafshed, a Rice biophysicist and the Charles W. Duncan Jr.-Welch Chair in Chemistry.

“To make a real difference, we have to go all the way and find a cure,” Wittung-Stafshede said in a news release. “At Rice, with the Amyloid Mechanism and Disease Center as a catalyst, we have the people and ideas to open new doors toward solutions.”

Wittung-Stafshede, who was recruited to Rice through a Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas grant this summer, has led pioneering work on how metal-binding proteins impact neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Her most recent study, published in Advanced Science, suggests a new way of understanding how amyloids may harm cells and consume the brain’s energy molecule, ATP.

According to Alzheimer’s Disease International, neurodegenerative disease cases could reach around 78 million by 2030 and 139 million by 2050. Wittung-Stafshede’s father died of dementia several years ago.

“This is close to my heart,” Wittung-Stafshede added in the news release. “Neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are on the rise as people live longer, and age is the largest risk factor. It affects everyone.”

This Houston airport saw sharp passenger decline in 2025, study shows

Travel Talk

A new global airport travel study has revealed passenger traffic at Houston's William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) sharply decreased from 2024 to 2025.

The analysis from travel magazine LocalsInsider examined recently released data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), the U.S. International Trade Association, and a nationwide survey to determine the following American traveler habits: The most popular U.S. and international destinations, emerging hotspots, and destinations on the decline. The study covered passenger travel trends from January through July 2025.

In the report's ranking of the 40 U.S. airports with the sharpest declines in passenger traffic, HOU ranked 13th on the list.

About 4.26 million arrivals were reported at HOU from January through July 2024, compared to about 3.96 million during the same seven-month period in 2025. According to the data, that's a significant 7.1 percent drop in passenger traffic year-over-year, or a loss of 300,974 passengers.

"As travelers chase new hotspots, some destinations are seeing reduced passenger traffic whether due to rising costs, shifting airline schedules, or evolving traveler preferences, some destinations are seeing a decrease in visitors," the report's author wrote.

It appears most major Texas airports had drops in passenger traffic from 2024 to 2025. Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL) saw the worst in the state, with a dramatic 7.4 percent dip in arrivals. DAL also ranked 11th on the list of U.S. airports with the steepest declines in passenger traffic.

More than 5.13 million arrivals were reported at DAL from January through July 2024, compared to over 4.75 million during the same seven-month period in 2025.

This is how passenger traffic has fallen at other major Texas airports from 2024 to 2025:

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS):

  • 6,107,597 – Passenger arrivals from January to July 2024
  • 5,828,396 – Passenger arrivals from January to July 2025
  • -4.6 percent – Year-over-year passenger change
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW):
  • 23,830,017 – Passenger arrivals from January to July 2024
  • 23,251,302 – Passenger arrivals from January to July 2025
  • -2.4 percent – Year-over-year passenger change

San Antonio International Airport (SAT):

  • 2,937,870 – Passenger arrivals from January to July 2024
  • 2,836,774 – Passenger arrivals from January to July 2025
  • -3.4 percent – Year-over-year passenger change
El Paso International Airport (ELP):
  • 1,094,431 – Passenger arrivals from January to July 2024
  • 1,076,845 – Passenger arrivals from January to July 2025
  • -1.6 percent – Year-over-year passenger change
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This story originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

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