A Houston producer of electric vehicle batteries is one of a dozen grant recipients — the only one from Texas — the federal Department of Energy announced on Jan. 11.
Zeta Energy Corp. was selected for $4 million in funding from the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E, which specializes in advancing energy technologies considered too early for private-sector investment. The specific funding source is a program called Electric Vehicles for American Low-carbon Living, or EVs4All.
According to the Department of Energy’s announcement, Zeta will develop an anode, or battery component, with high lithium content intended to lower the risk of performance loss at low temperatures. Zeta’s separate announcement did not discuss the anode project specifically but highlighted Zeta’s technology, which helps lithium sulfur batteries last longer and enables companies to make more efficient electric vehicles and other battery-powered products.
Zeta’s technology does not use nickel, cobalt, manganese or graphite, meaning the materials for its products are not subject to extreme pricing and availability volatility and can be sourced close to its manufacturing facilities, the company said.
The announcement follows a leadership change at Zeta, where Tom Pilette took over as CEO on Jan. 2. Former CEO and founder Charles Maslin moved to the role of executive chairman. That move followed several new executive changes at Zeta, such as the appointment of Michael Zemble as CFO in May and Michael Liedtke as chief commercial officer in July.
The company raised a $23 million Series A round in February to expand its laboratory capacity. Moore Strategic Ventures, the private investment company of New York-based Moore Capital Management CEO Louis Bacon, led the round.
Following the February fund raise, Zeta converted to a C corporation in May. Zemble said the move was in anticipation for a Series B round later in 2022.
The Department of Energy distributed $42 million as part of EVs4All to 12 companies from universities, national laboratories and the private sector. The program is intended to support President Joe Biden’s goals of having EVs make up half of all domestic vehicle sales in 2030.
Other EV efforts are advancing locally as well.
In Houston, local energy provider CenterPoint Energy Inc. (NYSE: CPI) created a new executive role to focus on electric vehicles and other grid transformation efforts as part of a wave of January leadership changes. Eric Easton was named to the role.
At a Jan. 11 session of Harris County Commissioners Court, commissioners approved a climate action plan that included a stated goal of electrifying 50%-75% of the county’s light-duty fleet by 2030.
And in the energy storage space, other local startups that have found funding in the previous year include Revterra Corp., which closed a $6 million Series A round in July. The company said it would use the funds to hire employees in electrical, mechanical and manufacturing engineering for its flywheel energy storage and to build out a larger facility for assembly, testing and quality control.
In June, London-based energy retailer Octopus Energy — which has an office in Houston — launched Octopus Electric Vehicles in the U.S. The program helps customers find and lease EVs and installs charging infrastructure.
