The 22nd annual Rice Alliance Energy Tech Venture Forum saw 50 ventures pitch their companies to a full crowd of investors and corporate leaders Sept. 18 with nearly 100 startups participating in the investor-startup office hours. The forum is a premier energy venture capital conference and an anchor event for the second annual Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week. The weeklong series of events showcases innovative companies and technology that are working toward a sustainable, reliable and lower carbon future.
The ventures from the Energy Tech Venture Forum represent five countries and 19 states as well as the cutting edge of energy innovation. Hosted by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, the forum provided the ventures with direct access to investors and corporate partners who can help scale their solutions. The event capped off with a fireside chat between Susan Schofer and Barbara Burger, a vital voice in the energy innovation space. The Most Promising Companies of the forum were selected by investors and presented by Danny David of Baker Botts.
Most Promising Companies of ETVF:
- Badwater Alchemy
- Xplorobot
- Ammobia
- Celadyne Technologies
- MacroCycle Technologies
- ATOME
- ATS Energy
- Lukera Energy
- AI Driller Inc.
- FAST Metals
The People’s Choice Award:
The forum allows ventures a chance to see how investors think about deals, pick up lessons on fundraising and leave with a stronger pipeline of investors and partners. Across panels, office hours and networking opportunities, global investors engaged with local founders, big energy players sat alongside early stage ventures, and academics helped ground the dialogue with data.
“The result was more than just a forum — it was a glimpse of Houston actively shaping the next chapter of energy innovation with the Rice Alliance pulling voices together from across the globe,” said Brad Burke, associate vice president of industry and new ventures for Rice Innovation and executive director of Rice Alliance.
The Rice Alliance, a nationally recognized leader in energy entrepreneurship and innovation, fosters the creation, growth and success of startups and the commercialization of new technologies in Houston and beyond. Since its founding in 2001, more than 3,500 companies have participated in Rice Alliance programs, collectively raising over $27.8 billion in capital.
Rice Alliance also leads programming and activation at the Ion, Houston’s hub for innovation, which anchors the Ion District, a 16-acre innovation hub in Midtown developed by Rice University.
To learn more about Rice Alliance’s entrepreneurship ecosystem and future activities, click here.