HX Venture Fund hosted its third annual Venture Houston conference Sept. 7 in Rice’s Stude Concert Hall where entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and business leaders convened to network and learn about the future of clean energy.
This year’s conference focused on Houston’s position as a leader in the energy transition, particularly with decarbonization. It will soon be integral to our lives and legacies, said Sandy Guitar, managing director at HX Venture Fund, in her welcome speech.
Rice President Reginald DesRoches led the first panel by moderating a discussion with Carmichael Roberts, investment committee co-lead at Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
“You can’t solve climate (change) without Texas, and you can’t solve it without Houston,” DesRoches said.
Roberts agreed and explained that 80-90% of the energy transition rests on the capabilities of manufacturing companies being able to produce goods sustainably. Houston’s deep historical experience with energy, materials and manufacturing industries position it to be a leader in that transition.
“You can’t do energy without Texas. You can’t do energy without Houston,” Roberts said. “When you think about transition — the opportunity, I’ll say — that Houston has to be the unambiguous leader is huge. Every other place can do the transition, but they can’t keep up with Houston in energy confidence.”
Learn more about the conference here.