Greentown Labs, North America’s largest climate-tech incubator, is officially opening its Houston location April 22 — Earth Day 2021.
This is the Somerville, Massachusetts-based incubator’s second location since launching in 2011. Greentown Houston is located at 4200 San Jacinto St. in Midtown, just a block away from The Ion, a 280,000-square-foot innovation hub being developed by Rice University at 4201 Main St.
Dr. Emily Reichert, CEO at Greentown Labs, said the company has fundraised for nearly $11 million from 27 partner organizations in order to finance the expansion into Houston, exceeding its fundraising goal for the first three years of operations in the Bayou City market. She said there’s a lot of momentum and investor interest in clean tech right now, and Greentown Labs sees itself playing a part in Houston’s energy future.
“I think that it’s the right time and the right place to be opening an energy- and climate-tech-focused incubator in the energy capital of the world,” Reichert said.
Greentown Labs’ Houston location was built out inside of a former Fiesta grocery store that closed in July 2020 amid declining sales and increasing competition around Midtown. Rice University had owned the property since October 2017, Harris County Appraisal District records show. Rice Management Co. is developing the Greentown Labs site as part of the 16-acre Midtown Innovation District.
Greentown Houston is officially launching with around 30 startup companies on board as inaugural members. Reichert aims to eventually have around 50 startup companies focused on climate tech join the Greentown Houston program. Greentown Labs has said 50 startups would likely employ up to 300 workers collectively.
Reichert said one of Greentown Houston’s first goals is to get all of its member companies safely moved into the new Midtown space. The organization also aims to form new partnerships with additional universities in the region. Greentown Houston also sees itself as a resource to connect Houstonians with jobs available at innovative clean tech companies. Greentown anticipates doing more job fairs to connect job seekers with employers in the future.
On Earth Day, Greentown Houston will host a virtual event and a limited in-person gathering at its Midtown space to celebrate the launch. Greentown Labs first announced plans to enter Houston with its second location in June 2020.
In addition to housing Greentown Houston, the growing Midtown "innovation corridor" will be anchored by The Ion. Expected to open later this year, The Ion facility will feature coworking space, dedicated office space for corporate and institutional partners, publicly accessible restaurants, event space and more. The Ion will also house several accelerator and incubator programs aimed at scaling startups, including The Ion Smart and Resilient Cities Accelerator and Austin-based DivInc, a nonprofit accelerator aimed at promoting diversity and equity in the startup ecosystem.
