Houston energy tech accelerator names 3 startups, announces first out-of-state pitch day

onboarding biz

Halliburton Labs has added three energy tech startups to its program. Photo via Getty Images

Halliburton Labs has announced its latest cohort — and revealed details about its next pitch day.

The program, housed at Halliburton's facilities in Houston, added FuelX, LiNa Energy, and Solaires Entreprises to the clean energy accelerator. The companies will receive support from mentors from within Halliburton's workforce and network, as well as go through the accelerator's programming.

“We’re excited to support FuelX, LiNa Energy, and Solaires with the tools they need to achieve their goals,” says Halliburton Labs Managing Director Dale Winger in a news release. “Each participant company receives customized support to enable efficient use of their time and capital by engaging Halliburton’s scaling experience and capabilities.”

The next Halliburton Labs will not take place in Houston. The program is going on the road to host its next Halliburton Labs Finalists Pitch Day on Thursday, September 21, in Denver. The event will be a part of the inaugural Energy Tech Day at Denver Startup Week and will include pitches from innovative, early-stage energy tech companies.

FuelX

FuelX, which has a production plant in the Houston area, manufactures hydrogen storage materials and fuel cell power systems with alane solid state hydrogen fuel.

“Participation in the Halliburton Labs program accelerates our ability to scale to meet existing military and commercial project milestones,” says Greg Jarvie, co-founder and CEO of FuelX.

LiNa Energy

Headquartered in Lancaster, England, LiNa Energy develops and provides low-cost, solid-state sodium batteries.

"LiNa is delighted to be selected for Halliburton Labs – the support and investment will accelerate LiNa's growth on a scale found only in the energy industry,” says Chief Commercial Officer Will Tope. “Halliburton Labs is a cornerstone of our strategy, as we scale up manufacturing to deliver bigger energy storage systems to our partners around the world."

Solaires Entreprises

Solaires Entreprises, based in Victoria, British Columbia, is developing lightweight, flexible, efficient, and transparent solar cells.

“Our company is purpose-driven toward what our technology can achieve: a more affordable and reliable alternative within solar energy and photovoltaics and where renewables become a bigger portion of the world power mix,” says Solaires Co-founder and Chief Science Officer Sahar Sam.

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DivInc is bringing another new accelerator program to Houston — this one is focused on clean energy. Photo via DivInc.com

Chevron, Microsoft back Houston-based clean energy program for BIPOC and female founders

ready to grow

A Texas-based accelerator is bringing its third diversity-focused program to Houston.

DivInc, a startup accelerator originating in Austin and established for people of color and women entrepreneurs, has announced that the title sponsors for the inaugural Clean Energy Accelerator are Chevron and Microsoft. The new program will join DivInc's existing accelerators — Women in Tech and Sports Tech — at the Ion.

"With Houston known as the energy capital of the world, DivInc has the opportunity to provide a pipeline of women, black, and latino-led high-growth, high-impact startups focused on clean energy," says Ashley DeWalt, DivInc Houston's managing director, in a news release. "We see this initiative ultimately driving a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive ecosystem within this clean energy transition sector for generations to come."

Applications for the Spring 2023 Clean Energy Accelerator are due today, February 10, according to the website. Startups accepted into the program should be led by BIPOC and women founders committed to working 10 to 15 hours per week during the 12 week program, which will start April 10.

The founders should be "working to shift the energy sector in the areas of clean energy production, energy storage and transmission, energy efficiency, carbon economy, and sustainable cities," per the release. In addition to the two title sponsors, the new program is also supported by Houston Premier Partners, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Verizon, The Ion, and Mercury.

"With a booming startup industry, a commitment to innovation, and a diverse workforce, Houston and organizations like DivInc are poised to play a vital leadership role and operate as a powerful force for energy progress," says Jim Gable, president of Chevron Technology Ventures, in the release.

The cohort, which will accept up to 10 companies, will work one-on-one with both the Microsoft and Chevron teams, as well as have access to DivInc's network of mentors and curriculum. Once the selected companies have completed the program, they will each receive $10,000 in non-dilutive seed funding.

"We are committed to enabling organizations in the clean energy transition while mindful of millions still without access to energy," said Darryl Willis, Corporate Vice President, Energy Industry at Microsoft. "This collaboration with DivInc and Chevron to support underserved entrepreneurs advancing the world's clean energy needs speaks to this climate commitment as well as diversity, equity and inclusion."

A new energy tech startup accelerator on the East Coast plans to tap into the Houston innovation ecosystem. Getty Images

New energy tech startup accelerator has its eyes on Houston

calling all energy entrepreneurs

Houston is on the radar of a newly formed startup accelerator that concentrates on companies in the energy sector and other commodities markets.

The Stamford, Connecticut-based accelerator, PointForward LLC, is seeking startups for its inaugural 12-week accelerator program, which kicks off in June. While the program will take place in Stamford, PointForward hopes to attract applicants from Houston. Each team accepted by the program will receive up to $100,000 in funding, along with mentoring and access to business resources, in exchange for a 7 percent equity stake.

"We are looking for early stage companies focused on a range of offerings — such as trading, logistics, and technology — related to the energy and commodity markets that can achieve high growth and scale," says Greg Schindler, founder of PointForward. "In particular, we are seeking companies where our network of industry contacts, including potential investors and customers, can provide key leverage."

In April, PointForward plans to choose three to six teams for its first accelerator program. Schindler says PointForward is willing to accommodate logistical challenges posed by a startup's critical people being located in, say, Houston but being asked to spend 12 weeks in Stamford.

"We understand that some companies may be working on physical products and may find it difficult to bring all the founders up to Stamford. That's OK," he says. "However, key members of each team should plan to be on site in Stamford for the full 12 weeks. This helps establish a vibrant founder community. We also understand if founders need to travel between Houston and Stamford."

PointForward plans to host demo days this September in Houston and New York City where startup teams will make pitches to potential investors.

Freepoint Commodities LLC, a commodities merchant based in Stamford, launched PointForward. Freepoint employs about 50 people in Houston, which is the headquarters of its retail energy business, Freepoint Energy Solutions LLC. Freepoint Commodities started that subsidiary in 2017.

"Houston is at the heart of the energy world," Schindler says, "and is extremely important to our efforts."

Freepoint Energy Solutions currently operates in Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Texas. The company entered Texas' commercial and industrial electricity market in July 2018.

Freepoint Commodities recently signed a deal with the Texas GulfLink LLC subsidiary of Sentinel Midstream LLC, based in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Richardson, for construction and operation of a deepwater crude oil export facility near the Brazoria County town of Freeport. Texas GulfLink has an office in Houston.

The Texas GulfLink facility will include an onshore oil storage terminal connected by a 42-inch pipeline to a manned platform about 37 miles off the Texas Gulf Coast. From the platform, crude oil will be transported to two buoys, enabling large vessels to load as many as 85,000 barrels of oil per hour.

The Houston metro area is projected to see a $751.8 million economic lift from construction of Texas GulfLink and related facilities.
Global accelerator gener8tor's early-stage program, gBETA, plans to begin its first cohort out of the Downtown Launch Pad in April. Courtesy of Downtown Launch Pad

New-to-Houston accelerator names program director, opens applications

Starting strong

The second of two top accelerator programs that have taken a bet on Houston has announced its new program director and opened applications for its spring 2020 cohort.

Wisconsin-based gener8tor announced in September that its pre-accelerator program, gBETA, would be launching in Houston. The program follows MassChallenge, another top accelerator, premiering in Houston last year. Both accelerator programs launched in Houston thanks to a $1.25 million grant approved by the Downtown Redevelopment Authority.

Eléonore Cluzel will lead the gBETA Houston program as director, and will be the point person for the program in the region for the two annual cohorts. Previously, Cluzel worked for Business France mentoring French startups and small businesses. In her new position, she says she's excited to support founders across all industries and foster innovation.

"We're adding another resource for local founders to grow their startups and to raise money, and not have to move to Silicon Valley to do it," she says. "We will also serve as a connector, introducing founders to mentors and investors within the community and across gener8tor broader network."

Ele\u0301onore CluzelEléonore Cluzel will lead the Houston gBETA Houston program as director. Courtesy of gBETA Houston

Currently, Cluzel has regular office hours out of The Cannon's space in the Downtown Launch Pad in Amegy Tower. gBETA will co-locate with MassChallenge on a separate floor of the building, and that space is expected to be ready ahead of the start of the first cohort in April.

"It's like having a one-stop shop of resources for the whole community in a central location," Cluzel says. "Since The Cannon is going to be among several coworking spaces in the community, we'll reach all areas of Houston, including Sugar Land, The Woodlands and Stratford and other neighborhoods"

Interested early-stage startups can apply online for the program until April 10, and the cohort begins on April 30. Only five companies are selected for the cohort, insuring individualized support and programming from gBETA. The free program is designed to equip its participating startups with early customer traction and preparation for later stage accelerators.

"I'm looking for a diverse cohort, encompassing underserved communities such as women, veterans and minorities," Cluzel tells InnovationMap. "I'm seeking highly unique, highly scalable businesses based in Houston. In Houston, we have a lot of venture capital firms that write huge checks, but we don't have a lot of investors that help with early seed-stage funding. We're looking for very early stage startups whose company we can help grow and connect with our local and national network of investors."

gBETA aims to act as a funnel to other accelerator programs, Cluzel says.

"We're looking forward to working cooperatively with other resources in town, such as Plug and Play, MassChallenge, The Founder Institute, Capital Factory, The Cannon, and other incubators, accelerators and resources."

Houston has seen four new accelerators enter the market this year. Photo by Zview/Getty Images

Breaking down Houston's 4 new startup accelerator programs

Excelling in accelerating

It's official — 2019 is the year of accelerators in Houston. Four different accelerator programs have announced plans to launch Houston programs this year so far — and they are all bringing something different to the table.

All four of the programs represent global programs or big companies recognizing the potential in Houston, which, according to Yael Hochberg, head of the Rice University Entrepreneurship Initiative, is a key part of the equation.

"When you're talking about a place like Houston, what we need here right now is interest from the outside," Hochberg says. "We need some certification by people from the outside that in fact this is a destination for innovation and entrepreneurship."

Houston's most successful accelerator has been homegrown — right out of the Texas Medical Center. TMCx is on its ninth cohort since it launched in 2014.

Also founded in Houston, SURGE Accelerator had a different fate. It launched in 2011 and closed in 2016. Hochberg says there are a number of reasons for the program's demise including disengaged corporations.

"I do feel there's a lot of opportunity around this, and I don't think we should look at SURGE as some sort of indicator of what will happen to an accelerator in the city," she says. "If anything, I would look at TMCx and look at the potential that we see from that."

The biggest benefit to these accelerator programs, Hochberg says, is the new influx of startups that come to Houston. It's not only the accelerators' cohorts, but just the feasibility of the success and resources available. More startups translates to more investments.

"When you have startup activity and good startups, then money, private investment money will follow," Hochbergs says. "Private investment money doesn't just show up."

But bringing in these programs puts the pressure on the city to focus on the environment it's providing new companies and talent. Innovative companies thrive in major metros with things like protected bike lanes, city living, sustainability — and Houston needs to work on these things, Hochberg says, adding that Houston's ability to boast on its single-family homes is less and less attractive to younger demographics.

Building the city up with these types of infrastructure is going to be key when it comes to retaining these startups that accelerators bring in.

"We can create accelerators from here until tomorrow," Hochberg says. "People will send a couple of people down for two days a week to Houston sit at the accelerator, but they'll keep their company somewhere else and not actually move to Houston. Maybe if you're lucky, they'll open up like a little satellite office. We don't want that."

So, what exactly are the differences between these four new startup accelerators? Here's a breakdown of each.

MassChallenge Texas

Photo via greenstreetdowntown.com

MassChallenge Texas first announced its Houston program in January. The Boston-based accelerator program is currently in its final phase of deciding its inaugural cohort. The program is for early stage companies, and is industry agnostic. Jon Nordby, former director of strategy at Houston Exponential, leads the Houston program as managing director.

Launch: July 2019
Location: Downtown Houston
Number of cohort companies: 25
Length: 6 weeks — July through August
Origin: Boston
Requirements: The program looks for applicants that haven't raised more than $500,000 in equity-based funding and have generated less than $1 million in revenue over the past year.
Equity requirements: None.
Prizes on the line: Free office space, mentorship, and, usually, monetary prizes. (Currently, the organization hasn't confirmed cash prizes for the inaugural cohort.)

Founder Institute

Houston's new Founder Institute chapter has teamed up with Alice. Image courtesy Founder Institute

Founder Institute Houston is the earliest stage accelerator that's not associated with a university. Companies must be in the pre-funding stage of growth, and, while 30 companies will be chosen per cohort, only a fraction will complete the full 14 weeks. The Silicon Valley-originated concept now has chapters in almost 200 cities around the world. FI announced its new chapter in Houston in March after first launching in Austin.

Launch: May 2019
Location: Downtown (out of Station Houston)
Number of cohort companies: 30
Length: 14 weeks
Origin: Silicon Valley
Requirements: Company must be pre-funding.
Equity requirements: 4 percent
Prizes on the line: Cash prizes, discounts, access to worldwide alumni network, etc.

Plug and Play Tech Center

Ahead of entering the Houston market later this year, Silicon Valley's Plug and Play hosted three days of programming surrounding innovation in energy and health care. Natalie Harms/InnovationMap

Plug and Play Tech Center confirmed they were entering the Houston market earlier this month. The Silicon Valley organization has 30 locations all over the world and plans to open five new locations in the United States over the next six months to a year — one being Houston.

Launch: Fourth quarter 2019
Location: Currently scouting for a location.
Number of cohort companies: 20
Length: Three months, twice a year.
Origin: Silicon Valley
Requirements: The program is stage agnostic, but cohorts are focused on a specific industry. Houston's likely to be health and energy/sustainability, though nothing is set in stone.
Equity requirements: None
Prizes on the line: In-house venture capital opportunities, corporate connections, etc.

Ion Smart Cities Accelerator

The historic Sears building in Midtown will transform into The Ion, a Rice University-backed hub for innovation. Courtesy of Rice University

In April, the city announced that Microsoft and Intel were backing a Smart Cities Accelerator program that would accelerate companies with solutions to some of Houston's key problems. The first cohort will be focused on solutions within resilience and transportation, but each cohort will have a different set of issues. With these rotating themes, every cohort will be different.

Launch: September 2019
Location: Station Houston (then later The Ion, when it opens)
Number of cohort companies: 10
Length: 10 months
Requirements: The first set of companies will be chosen for their ability to solve problems within mobility and transportation in Houston. (Other cohorts will have other topics.)
Prizes on the line: Pilot programs and permanent business from the city of Houston.

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Rice, Houston Methodist award $90K for cancer research projects

seed grants

Rice University’s Synthesis X Center, in partnership with the Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center, announced earlier this month the organizations would award $90,000 in seed grant funding to two projects that could help fight cancer. One would ease the pain of chemotherapy, while the other could change the way the progression of leukemia is tracked.

“We’re excited to be collaborating with the Neal Cancer Center to support collaborative, novel and interdisciplinary proposals to improve cancer care and outcomes,” Han Xiao, Rice professor of chemistry and the director of the SynthX Center, said in a news release. “Together, we can achieve translational excellence.”

The projects

Chemotherapy is one of the most effective cancer treatments, but it can be hard on the body. The human body doesn’t like being injected with radioactive material, especially the skin around the injection point, which can become extremely irritated. For patients in long-term treatment, the skin irritation can be more than just a bother; it can lead to infections that are dangerous to a compromised immune system.

Angel A Marti, a professor of chemistry at Rice University, and Biana Godin, an associate professor of nanoscience at Houston Methodist Research Institute, are experimenting with metal nanoclusters as a way to block radiation at the injection site. The nanocluster could be applied in a cream or a gel on the skin, serving as a type of shield against the harsh radioactive material.

Meanwhile, Yuan Ma, an assistant professor of chemistry at Rice, and Shu-Hsia Chen, a professor of immunology at Houston Methodist Research Institute, are working with m6A. Discovered in the 1970s, m6A is the most prevalent chemical modifier found in mRNA in mammals. It is prevalent in many cancers, including leukemia.

Ma and Chen are working on measuring the amount of m6A in leukemia to see if it can determine the most effective cancer treatments. The team is also experimenting with ways to shut off m6A to see if it makes current leukemia treatments more effective.

Progress from SynthX

SynthX was first launched in April 2024 to turn research from Rice and Houston Methodist into real-world cancer treatments. Within a year, the center had secured $1.5 million in grant money to work on crossing the blood-brain barrier in brain cancer treatments. These latest awards show that SynthX Center continues to bridge the worlds of research and clinical practice.

“This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to team science in cancer research,” Daniela Matei, the director of the Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center, added in the release. “These are the types of translational and pioneering projects that lead to transformation in patient care.”'

The SynthX Center awarded $90,000 in seed grants to three teams in 2025 and $80,000 to three teams in 2024.

Tesla self-driving mode wasn't to blame in Houston-area crash, report suggests

Tesla news

Federal safety investigators looking into a runaway Tesla that killed a grandmother in her home say the driver had pressed the accelerator to full speed, suggesting the vehicle's self-driving software was not to blame.

The driver had told police that he had the self-driving software turned on, but a report from the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that he had actually overridden that feature when he pushed hard on the pedal. Moments later the Tesla Model 3 raced down a residential street in Katy, Texas, at highway speeds, slammed into a brick home and killed a 76-year-old woman standing in the front room.

The crash last month drew national attention because Tesla CEO Elon Musk is seeking to reassure the public its self-driving feature is safe as he prepares to turn hundreds of thousands of Teslas already on the road into fully automatic vehicles and begin selling two-seated Cybercabs missing steering wheels and pedals.

The crash came two months after officials at a separate federal agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, announced it was elevating a 2024 investigation of the self-driving feature to new “engineering analysis” level, raising the possibility of a recall of 3.2 million Tesla vehicles.

That NHTSA probe was triggered by crashes where the self-driving feature failed to alert drivers to take control in fog and other poor visibility conditions.

The agency opened an investigation last year into 58 incidents in which Teslas reportedly violated traffic safety laws while using self-driving technology, leading to more than a dozen crashes and fires and nearly two dozen injuries.

Separate from the National Transportation Safety Board, NHTSA is also looking into the Tesla house crash in Texas, one of 46 “special crash” investigations of Tesla's self-driving or driver-assistance technology in the past decade, according to the agency’s records. In more than a dozen of those crashes, at least one person — a driver, passenger or pedestrian — was killed.

Tesla had originally called its driver assistance software Full Self-Driving, or FSD, but auto experts and regulators complained it was misleading because drivers must always keep their eyes on the road and be ready to take over at any time.

The company has since changed the name to Full Self-Driving (Supervised).

Video of the Katy, Texas, accident shows the Tesla traveling at more than 70 mph (112.65 kilometers per hour), jumping a curb then tearing across a lawn before crushing through a brick wall of a home. A woman standing feet away, Martha Avila, was found amid piles of crumbling plaster, split beams and bits of furniture and rushed to a hospital but died.

Sales of Tesla cars still haven't recovered fully from boycotts last year over Musk's political stands, but the stock is rising anyway as he has successfully shifted attention away from the sales figures. He says they matter less now that the company is on the cusp of major technological advances, such as turning Teslas into hands-free vehicles and having its Optimus robots take over for humans for tasks at home and work.

Tesla stock has risen 22% in the past year and is currently trading at 170 times expected annual earnings compared to 20 for the S&P 500.

For its second-quarter financial results, financial analysts surveyed by FactSet expect earnings per share will barely budge — 32 cents versus 33 cents a year earlier — continuing a sixth quarter streak of flat or falling profits.

London AI startup selects Houston for first U.S. office after $20M raise

welcome to houston

London-based AI firm Applied Computing has announced a $20 million Series A round and a new office in Houston.

The new Bayou City office is Applied Computing’s first in the United States and part of its North American expansion. The company is known for its Orbital AI platform, which is tailored for energy operations.

The funding round was led by Houston-based KBR Inc., with participation from San Francisco-based Databricks Ventures. KBR’s investment was first announced in March.

KBR and Applied Computing have also entered into a multi-year agreement to deliver exclusive AI products for the energy sector. KBR already has integrated Orbital into its INSITE 3.0 platform for energy projects, and is also using the product for ammonia production.

Applied Computing’s Orbital platform combines physics-grounded intelligence with models across chemical engineering, time-series forecasting and language, according to the company. The system analyzes sensor readings and can recognize a facility’s equipment constraints and operator activity. The platform can also allow technicians to run simulations of how a change to a facility could affect the rest of its operations.

According to TechCrunch, Applied Computing will use the $20 million to further explore projects and deployments with the energy sector, hire engineering and research positions, and continue to expand internationally, potentially into the Middle East.

The company is also working on deals with a major U.S. stream operator, TechCrunch reports. And Applied Computing shared on LinkedIn that it plans to announce its first partnership with a major European oil company in the coming weeks.

“Yesterday we showed Orbital live in deployments at our demo day at the Energy Institute in London,” Callum Adamson, CEO and co-founder of Applied Computing, posted on LinkedIn on July 16. “Today, we're announcing the capital to scale it globally as well as the launch of our new offices in Houston and Bangalore. In the weeks following, there will be more announcements on our progress, partnerships and deployments.”

The company opened its Bangalore offices in December.

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