Over the past 15 years, Houston has secured $104.8 million in early-stage R&D funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), according to the agency. The strategic funding is critical in advancing breakthrough technologies that aim to revolutionize the energy sector.   Since its inception in 2009, ARPA-E has invested $4.07 billion into more than 1,690 projects nationwide. Texas has been a major beneficiary of these funds, receiving $217 million across 80 projects, with Houston playing a leading role in shaping the state’s energy landscape.  While ARPA-E funding has historically been directed toward university-led projects, Houston has demonstrated a unique advantage. Most of the funding has been awarded to private companies, underscoring Houston’s ability to transition groundbreaking energy technologies from the research phase to commercialization.  “Houston has built an unparalleled environment for energy innovation, where companies don’t just develop breakthrough technologies—they scale them,” said Jane Stricker, the Partnership’s senior vice president of energy transition and the executive director of the Houston Energy Transition Initiative. “The significant ARPA-E funding secured by private companies reflects Houston’s unique ability to bridge innovation and commercialization. With a deep talent pool, access to industry expertise, and a collaborative ecosystem, Houston continues to be the place where energy solutions grow from concept to scalable impact.”  Transformative Projects in Houston  Houston’s ability to attract and leverage ARPA-E funding is evident in the success of local companies. A Partnership analysis found that since 2009, 13 Houston-based companies receiving ARPA-E funding have collectively raised $1.3 billion, reached a combined valuation of $1.9 billion, and employ 850 people. These companies are driving transformative projects that are shaping the future of energy. Fervo Energy received a $5.6 million investment from ARPA-E, which became a cornerstone for the company’s rapid growth. With this early support, Fervo has gone on to raise nearly $500 million in additional funding, including a $255 million round in 2023. The company is now at the forefront of geothermal energy innovation, supplying renewable power to high-profile clients like NV Energy and Google, which uses Fervo’s geothermal energy to power its data centers.  With a combined $21.5 million in ARPA-E funding from awards in 2018 and 2022, Quidnet Energy has made significant strides in advancing its grid-scale geomechanical pumped storage technology. By leveraging existing natural resources, the company enables long-duration, high-capacity renewable energy storage. In 2020, Quidnet secured an additional $10 million in Series B funding and is now scaling its groundbreaking system to support CPS Energy in Texas.  In 2019, Syzygy Plasmonics received $836,000 in funding to advance its photocatalysis technology, which uses light instead of heat to drive chemical reactions. This innovation significantly reduces energy consumption and emissions, paving the way for more sustainable industrial processes. The company has since secured $104.8 million in additional funding and recently delivered its first industrial-scale Rigel reactor cells to a demonstration site in South Korea.  Learn more about Houston’s Energy Transition Initiative at the upcoming 2025 CERAWeek. 

Long known as the energy capital of the world, Houston is proving its merit as the industry embraces an all-inclusive approach to energy sources. Beyond the wealth of oil and gas capital, Houston has become a landing spot for numerous solar, wind and battery storage investments. Companies like Fluence Energy, Renewable Parts and Solar Plus have chosen Houston for its manufacturing of innovative energy products. Geothermal Energy: An Untapped Resource Geothermal energy, often unsung in the new energy landscape, can be found beneath our feet, harnessing the power of heat lying underground. In conventional geothermal power plants, wells are drilled into geothermal reservoirs to access hot water or steam, which is then brought to the surface. This steam is used to drive turbines that generate electricity. Sage Geosystems is changing that by pursuing geothermal potential in rock that is hot but doesn't have the large volumes of water to bring the heat to the surface. Hot, dry rock enables geothermal power generation in many more places as the geology is more prevalent which enables geothermal to now be deployable almost anywhere in the world. Sage Geosystems: Leading Geothermal Innovation Houston is seeing its chance to make a mark with geothermal thanks to companies like Sage Geosystems, founded in 2020 with its headquarters near Bush Intercontinental Airport. Sage works to build the technology that makes this renewable energy a greater force in the worldwide energy transition, engaged in contracts and partnerships with local energy providers, major government agencies like the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and hyper-scalers like Meta Platforms. On the public utility side, the company recently partnered with the San Miguel Electric Cooperative to build the first geopressured geothermal system. The technology used can be paired with solar and/or wind to convert these intermittent clean energy sources to 24-hour power generation, or it can be used to move these clean energy sources from a time of day when the demand is low to a time of day when the demand is high, stabilizing the utility grid and helping mitigate the issue of blackouts and brownouts. The facility will be commissioned in December. Sage has three ongoing projects with the DOD. The U.S. Air Force recently provided Sage with $1.9 million in Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) funding to perform a geothermal demonstration with electricity generation, which will take place in Sage's test well in Starr County, Texas with a targeted completion date of Q3/Q4 2025.  The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has funded two geothermal feasibility studies for the U.S. Army installation of Fort Bliss in El Paso and the Naval Air Station CC in Corpus Christi. Sage is performing these feasibility studies with the University of Texas Bureau of Economic Geology. The intent of these studies is to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of geothermal system installations using Sage's Geopressured Geothermal System (GGS) technology at these two DOD installations. Collaboration Powers Innovation in Houston As evidenced by the above, collaboration plays a central role in the growth of Sage Geosystems. The company has not only partnered with utility companies and major governmental institutions, but also collaborated with the Rice Alliance for Technology and the Greater Houston Partnership to facilitate work with institutions of higher learning like the University of Houston and Rice, venture capital firms, and established energy corporations such as ABB, Chesapeake (now Expand Energy), Nabors, and Geolog. This sense of collaboration is one of the many reasons Sage Geosystems has thrived in Houston, along with the infrastructure, talent and innovative spirit that propels local companies to success. The Houston Advantage for Energy Startups “While Texas is the top energy state in the U.S., Houston is the heart. Houston provides not only access to the O&G industry, but also many utilities and others interested and/or working in energy...The Houston energy ecosystem and the benefits described above will continue to be critical in this scale-up plan." - Sage Geosystems CEO Cindy Taff Looking ahead, Sage is building its first commercial energy storage facility and will be performing a geothermal power generation demonstration with the U.S. Air Force in 2025.  Sage sees Houston as the best place to scale in Texas and throughout the world. "Geothermal energy represents a transformative opportunity for Houston as it further strengthens our position as the global energy capital. Sage Geosystems' innovative approach to harnessing geothermal resources exemplifies the spirit of collaboration, innovation, and commitment to sustainability that defines our region’s energy leadership.” - Partnership Senior Vice President of Economic Development Craig Rhodes  For any new energy startups looking to establish themselves, Taff recommends leveraging Houston’s many assets for future success. “Tap into existing knowledge that can be transferred to clean tech and partner with companies that know where to find the skills needed to give your startup a leg up,” Taff said. “Join local incubators like Rice Alliance for Technology and the Houston Technology Center and others, leverage Greater Houston Partnership and Greentown Labs for networking, collaborate with Rice University and University of Houston, and take advantage of Texas' business-friendly regulatory environment.” Sage Geosystems is a prime example of how energy startups use Houston’s assets as a springboard to meet their potential, along with renowned innovators such as Syzygy Plasmonics, Cemvita Factory, and Fervo Energy. Learn more about the business opportunities within Houston's energy industry and its all-inclusive energy ecosystem.