Houston Republic

Greentown Labs Houston, the city's first "climate-focused technology startup incubator," has opened its doors to cultivate next-generation, green-energy businesses and leaders.

Greentown held a ribbon-cutting on April 22, which was both Earth Day and the one-year anniversary of Mayor Sylvester Turner signing a climate action plan to make the city carbon-neutral by 2050, according to Community Impact Newspaper.

“It’s no coincidence that one year after Mayor @SylvesterTurner and the city of @HoustonTX announced its first-ever #climate action plan the city’s first-ever #climatetech incubator is opening,” Emily Reichert, CEO of Greentown Labs, wrote in an April 25 Twitter post.

Based out of Somerville, Massachusetts, Greentown Labs had been discussing plans to expand to Houston since 2019. The Houston facility is the company's first expansion outside of its home state, according to ABC 13 News.

“As we celebrate the grand opening of Greentown Labs Houston today, I am glad to see since we broke ground in February, more Houston companies have joined the incredibly diverse group of partners supporting Greentown Labs in our city,” Turner said. “It is a testament to our business community’s commitment to do their part in implementing the Houston Climate Action Plan, address climate change and advance the global energy transition.”

The operation is housed in a 40,000-square-foot facility in the Innovation District and features a prototyping lab, office and community space for up to about 50 startup companies and up to 300 employees. 30 green-energy startup companies are expected to join the facility within the upcoming weeks.

“Their technology, like that of our members in Boston, will provide climate solutions addressing the largest greenhouse gas-emitting sectors, including electricity, buildings, transportation, agriculture and manufacturing,” Reichert said.

$10 million in funding for the project was contributed from a mix of 27 inaugural partners including energy leaders Chevron, Shell, BHP, and others. Companies interested in signing up for the initiative can find more information online. Prospective partners must be vetted by the company before being accepted.