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Dear Friends of Greentown Houston,

The Texas Entrepreneurship Exchange for Energy (TEX-E)—a collaboration among Greentown, MIT’s Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship, and universities across Houston to create a powerful, student-driven entrepreneurship ecosystem—took center stage at CERAWeek earlier this month as finalists for the inaugural TEX-E Prize startup competition presented at the HETI Energy Ventures Pitch Day! We’re thrilled to share that Helix Earth Technologies is the winner of the prize and will be receiving $50k to support its next-generation industrial-filtration technology, with FluxWorks and Tierra Climate taking second and third place respectively. Thank you to our collaborators for helping us make this happen, and to our finalists including Gazelle Ecosolutions and Pike Robotics for taking the time to participate and share their innovations. If you haven’t yet, be sure to sign up for our TEX-E newsletter to stay up-to-date on what’s next for the program!

Rawand Rasheed, CEO and co-founder of TEX-E Prize first-place winner Helix Earth Technologies, with Ben Soltoff, Ecosystem Builder and Entrepreneur In Residence MIT's Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship, and Lara Cottingham, VP of Strategy, Policy + Climate Impact at Greentown Labs.

The pitch competition isn’t all we had going on during CERAWeek, though; we were also honored to host U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm for her second visit to Greentown Houston! During the roundtable she led, Sec. Granholm met with our BIPOC- and women-led startup members to discuss the unique challenges they face in the energy transition, and also brought representatives from the Department of Energy (DOE)’s Economic Impact and Diversity, Loan Programs, ARPA-E, and SBIR/STTR teams to help clarify the federal funding process. We’re grateful as always for the insights, guidance, and valuable connections we were able to bring to our members, and thank the DOE for its continued support!

Last week, Sec. Granholm led a discussion with several members on being a part of the energy transition as BIPOC and/or women climatetech leaders, as well as what opportunities are available for financial support from the DOE.

In the past few weeks, we’ve kept busy bringing together the broader Houston innovation ecosystem as well—on Feb. 28, we hosted the Energy/Green Tech afternoon of the annual Houston Tech Rodeo! Throughout the day, we had a wide range of speakers, from CEOs of member companies including Black Girls Do Engineer and Fysikes Biosolutions to representatives from Pickering Energy Solutions and PwC. There were a variety of productive discussions touching on funding for climatetech startups, diversity in the energy transition, and more; the event was a major success, and we’re already looking forward to next year’s! On March 6, we also hosted our monthly Transition On Tap networking event, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors, students, friends of climatetech, and more to network. Miss this month’s event but looking to get to know the climatetech ecosystem? Be sure to sign up for our next Transition On Tap on April 27!

If you’re a startup looking to join a program and work toward scaling your venture, you still have time to apply to two open opportunities: Year 3 of the Carbon to Value (C2V) Initiative and Greentown Go Energize 2023! The C2V Initiative is a six-month accelerator designed to support startups with scalable solutions that capture carbon and/or incorporate captured carbon as a major input for valorization; applications for Year 3 are due March 31. Go Energize 2023, our newest Greentown Go program, is a collaboration with Vineyard Wind and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center that will support startups with innovative solutions that can help offshore wind projects develop responsibly and operate efficiently; applications are due April 4. Apply now to get the funding, connections, and expertise you need to commercialize your technology!

Warmly,
The Greentown Houston Team

Meet Our Newest Members

Aquosmic Corporation analyzes bodies of water using satellite images, providing thorough, actionable information on surface-water quality.

Planckton Data is developing a platform that can manage the entire carbon-data lifecycle by automating data collection and providing insights into usage.

Regenerative Resources is an ecosystem services company that acquires highly degraded land and transforms it in order to reuse it for aquaculture.

Tycho Solutions is developing a platform for renewable energy developers that accelerates evaluation of potential project locations via geospatial services.

Do you run or know of a startup that’s interested in joining our community? Learn about what Greentown membership includes here and get in touch!

Member Milestones

Amogy is testing its ammonia-to-power solution for maritime applications in Stord, Norway.
Carbonova received $2M from Sustainable Development Technology Canada to assist it in commercialization.
Energy Toolbase is collaborating with Nexamp to deploy its energy storage system alongside Nexamp’s solar project in Massachusetts.
ALGBIO was selected as the First Runner Up in the She Loves Tech Global Competition 2022.
Applied Bioplastics was selected for the University of Connecticut’s Future Climate Venture Studio.
Eugenie.ai was selected as a finalist for the Google Climate Change Cohort.
Fervo Energy has been authorized by the Bureau of Land Management to explore the potential for geothermal energy generation in Utah, and is planning on pairing a geothermal plant with a direct carbon capture facility.

Ecosystem News and Opportunities

March 22: DivInc Clean Energy Panel
Join us next Wednesday at Greentown Houston for a discussion hosted by DivInc about emerging cleantech sectors in Houston and opportunities for BIPOC and women founders in the energy transition, with networking after—register here!

March 28-31: UT Energy Week
UT Energy Week showcases the energy research happening at the University of Texas at Austin, covering topics from clean hydrogen to the circular economy and carbon capture, utilization, and storage. Learn more about the program and speakers and register here!

April 19-22: EarthX’s E-Capital Summit
Join EarthX at its annual summit to network with investment, business, and policy leaders, and possibly even pitch your early-stage climate technology! Startups can apply here to be featured.

May 15: Applications due for the Launch Alaska Tech Deployment Track
Launch Alaska’s Tech Deployment Track helps companies form key partnerships and identify opportunities for projects in Alaska; this eight-month accelerator program focuses on the verticals of energy, transportation, and industry, but is open to any climatetech company that sees a potential market in the state. Apply here!

June 5-7: Circularity 23
Circularity 23 convenes professionals working to build a circular economy for actionable discussions, networking opportunities, and more. Greentown is thrilled to be an Accelerate Partner for this one-of-a-kind opportunity!

Join the Greentown Team

Greentown is growing! We are hiring an Events Manager and a Communications Coordinator at our Houston incubator.

Thank You to Our Founding + Grand Opening Partners 🌎

TEX-E Prize Winners, A Visit from Sec. Granholm, and Open Applications!

From The Ecosystem

TEX-E Prize Winners, A Visit from Sec. Granholm, and Open Applications!