Houston-Area Energy Startup Incubator Wins Phase 1 of DOE Competition

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) has announced the selection of Texas Innovates, a Houston-based non-profit organization focusing on hydrogen and carbon innovation, as one of the 23 phase 1 winners of the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Round 3 competition. Texas Innovates is the sole Texas entity to advance to phase 2 of the competition.

In a statement, Alex Rozenfeld, President of Texas Innovates, expressed the organization's dedication, saying, "We have been working towards this day since we identified the need for energy hardware incubation in 2017 and were a finalist in 2019 for C40 Cities global competition to make Houston’s Velasco Incinerator site in the Second Ward a vibrant live, work, play community focused on energy hardware incubation."

The winning proposal, known as the "Carbon and Hydrogen Innovation & Learning Incubator" (CHILI), aims to establish a local hydrogen startup ecosystem by leveraging academic resources from partners like the University of Houston and Rice University. Rozenfeld mentioned, "We now move to the hard work of implementing our ambitious plan and working together to make it successful."

DOE Chief Commercialization Officer and Director of OTT, Vanessa Z. Chan, highlighted the importance of incubators in supporting startups, stating, “Incubators and accelerators are uniquely positioned to provide startups things they can't get anywhere else -- mentorship, technology validation, and other critical business development support.”

The EPIC program provides $150,000 to phase 1 winners to support energy startups and entrepreneurs nationwide. Phase 2, which spans seven months, offers organizations the opportunity to negotiate a three-year cooperative agreement with OTT, valued at up to $1 million each. It also includes two national pitch competitions.

The EPIC program aims to foster energy innovation ecosystems, boost local business productivity, and enhance the commercial success of energy startups. For further details on the program, competition, and other winners, interested individuals can refer to the DOE press release.