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Dear Friends of Greentown,

I’m thrilled to step into the role of Head of Houston for Greentown Labs. For years, I’ve been inspired by the incredible work being done here, and I believe wholeheartedly in the transformative power Greentown can have, not just here in Houston, but far beyond. It’s a true privilege to be a part of this journey, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute.

I look forward to working with everyone who makes Houston’s energy innovation ecosystem so vibrant—from the entrepreneurs, to the industry leaders, to the investors, to the fellow startup-support organizations, and beyond. I hope to speak with many of you in the coming weeks, and that you’ll join our Transition On Tap on Aug. 21 to continue connecting.

All this being said, I’m joining at a time when our community is grappling with great sorrow. The devastation caused by recent floods in the Texas Hill Country, especially at Camp Mystic, has left many of us shaken and heartbroken.

On a personal note, today marks my daughter’s fourth birthday. Over the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of discovering a new depth of love and joy through her, which only makes witnessing this tragedy from the sidelines feel even more unimaginably horrific. The other day, she asked me about the green ribbons tied around the trees, and I froze up, unsure how to explain. After a long pause, I choked out a half-hearted, “to make them look more fancy.”

A Camp Mystic mother and community member wrote, “How does one hold both extreme proximity to catastrophic loss and their normal life all at once?” I honestly don’t know. But this question has stayed with me, especially now, as I balance the excitement of this new chapter with the unfathomable grief that surrounds us. It feels almost impossible to reconcile the two.

So, as I share these thoughts, and struggle to balance these emotions, I simply request that you hold our region’s community close in your thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult time.

More Greentown updates to come from me as I grow into this new role, but for now, we heal and rebuild.

Warmly,
Lawson

Lawson Gow
Head of Houston
Greentown Labs

Meet Our Newest Members

HGenium is commercializing a fully integrated water splitting cycle, discovered at Caltech, that produces green hydrogen and naturally pulls CO2 from the air.

Licube’s proprietary technology enables chemical-free polishing of low-grade lithium feedstocks into 99.9%+ battery-grade lithium hydroxide—offering a modular, energy-efficient alternative to conventional refining.

Startup News

Solidec received a Phase I SBIR award from NASA to produce hydrogen peroxide that can be used in space for disinfection and water treatment during long-duration missions.
Capwell launched its commercial unit to capture and destroy methane leaked by old oil & gas wells.
Thiozen, which produces hydrogen from sour-gas waste streams, completed the front-end engineering and design (FEED) study for its FOAK plant.
Cemvita‘s spinout GoldH2 has delivered the first successful subsurface bio-stimulated hydrogen production field trial.
Hertha Metals—a producer of green steel—and Sweetch Energy—a developer of osmotic power—were named to the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Technology Pioneers list.
Helix Earth—which is revolutionizing air conditioning and carbon capture and sequestration—saw its CEO Rawand Rasheed named to ASME’s 2025 Mechanical Engineering Watch List.
SUPERGirls SHINE Foundation’s CEO Loretta Williams Gurnell was chosen for the Chick-fil-A Impact Accelerator for her work equipping underserved women and girls with STEM opportunities through early exposure.
Deep Anchor Solutions, the developer of a deeply embedded ring anchor for floating offshore wind, and Greentown Boston member FAST Metals, which creates green metals from industrial waste, were selected for Activate’s 2025 cohort.
Greentown alum Fervo Energy, a next-gen geothermal company, was named to TIME’s Most Influential Companies of 2025 list.
Greentown alum IncentiFind announced a partnership with Hubexo to help the latter's customers identify and claim green-building incentives nationwide.

Mark Your Calendar for Major Fall Events

Sept. 15-19: Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week [Ecosystem Event - Houston]
The Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week—of which Greentown is a lead partner—brings together leading energy and climate venture capital investors, industry leaders, and startups from around the world to showcase the most innovative companies and technologies that are transforming the energy industry while driving a sustainable, low-carbon future. The schedule is now live!

As part of the week, Greentown and Browning the Green Space are excited to host an ACCEL Showcase on Sept. 18! Join us to hear from the accelerator’s Year 3 cohort. Interested in sponsoring this high-visibility event? Get in touch.

Nov. 4 + 6: Climatetech Summit [Greentown Houston + Greentown Boston]
Climatetech Summit is our largest event of the year and the premier gathering of climate and energy entrepreneurs, investors, corporate leaders, and policymakers accelerating the energy transformation.

Step into our incubators for a day of hands-on exploration of climatetech solutions from 200+ startups, insightful keynotes and discussions with industry leaders, and unparalleled networking opportunities!

If you want to get involved with the largest event of the year at Greentown, please reach out to learn about sponsorship opportunities.

Open Applications

The Carbon to Value Initiative—a unique collaboration among the Urban Future Lab at NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Greentown, and Fraunhofer USA—is now accepting applications for our fifth accelerator cohort!

Carbontech startups: learn more and apply by Aug. 29.

Greentown Go x M-Lab is looking for startups working in next-generation energy management, critical minerals, waste utilization, and carbon management.

Startups can apply by Aug. 1 to work with M-Lab, a consortium of top-tier Japanese corporations!

Recent Reads

To transform water-based cooling systems, Innovator Energy is transforming water itself.

Here’s how raising the specific heat of water can deliver up to a 13-20 percent improvement in energy efficiency for chiller-based platforms—a shift that’s quite significant given that cooling alone accounts for more than 7 percent of global GHG emissions.

The path to net-zero runs through critical minerals, from batteries to EVs to wind turbines and solar panels—but the supply chain for them is incredibly complex. Meet the startups tackling refining, recycling, risk management, and alternatives, plus what's needed from industry players.

Mitsubishi Electric’s VP of Innovation Zafer Sahinoglu dives into five lessons for bridging the gap between breakthrough tech and actual impact, in the latest Leadership in Innovation series piece from our SVP of Partnerships and Investor Programs Aisling Carlson.

Thank You to Our Partners 🌎

A Message from Our New Head of Houston