A West Texas-based carbon capture technology company opened an office at the Ion and added a new COO to its leadership team.
SCS Technologies, a provider of carbon dioxide measurement and compression systems operating out of Big Spring, opened the office as part of the company’s plan to find partners in the energy transition space. A company representative confirmed to Houston Inno that SCS would begin its first phase in a 1,200-square-foot space with a planned expansion in November. The company will have six Houston-based employees in the Ion with plans to expand headcount to 20 in 2024.
SCS also named René Vandersalm to the post of chief operating officer. Vandersalm previously served as a senior vice president for Austin-based Thermon Inc.’s manufacturing arm, which has a Houston office.
The company works with energy and manufacturing companies to reduce carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with their carbon neutrality goals. CEO Cody Johnson said opening a location at the Ion was spurred by the incubator’s commitment to the energy transition.
“For SCS Technologies, this marks an exciting opportunity to align our capabilities and technology with a diverse consortium of organizations working toward ambitious carbon-neutral goals,” Johnson said.
Among the partners SCS lists on its website include Houston-based Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY), which launched its own sponsorship collaboration with the Ion earlier in 2023. Oxy officials said they wanted to explore the Ion’s event space and opportunities to collaborate and were open to expanding the partnership beyond a sponsorship in the future.
Energy transition startups in Houston have been the focus of local, state and federal efforts as the Bayou City seeks to establish itself as a leader in technologies such as hydrogen and carbon capture. In addition to the Ion, Houston saw Somerville, Massachusetts-based climate tech incubator Greentown Labs launch its second location in Houston in 2021.
Meanwhile, consortiums between nonprofits, academia and industry have banded together to apply for funding from the federal government aimed at developing technologies related to energy transition. Two organizations sent in two separate proposals — the HyVelocity Hub and the LIGH2T Hub — seeking a piece of over $8 billion in funding from the Department of Energy to establish a hydrogen hub and marketplace in Houston.
Adoption of carbon technology also benefits from the sector’s resilience to current downturns in venture funding, according to a report from Pitchbook about Q1 2023 deals.
SCS Technologies’ Houston expansion follows several other companies specializing in the energy transition sector moving to or expanding their current presences in the Bayou City. San Francisco-based renewable energy company Pattern Energy moved its Houston headquarters to the Montrose Collective in June, while the U.K.-based company Drax Group announced in May that it had selected Houston to serve as its North American headquarters for its carbon capture arm.
