Turboden, an Italian company owned by Mitsubishi, recently announced a partnership with Fervo Energy to support its Cape Station project through its expertise in Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) systems. According to Fervo, Turboden will provide the geothermal company with the engineering and procurement of power plant equipment for the initial 90 MW of the project, including the installation of three generators with six ORC turbines. This announcement comes weeks after Mitsubishi Heavy Industries announced a substantial investment in Houston-based Fervo Energy, helping the geothermal development company reach $244 million in funding to advance its carbon-free technologies. The funding, backed by a consortium of investors including Mitsubishi, Galvanize Climate Solutions, John Arnold, Liberty Mutual Investments, Marunouchi Innovation Partners and Mercuria, will support Fervo’s ongoing Cape Station project in Utah, a 400-megawatt operation that aims to deliver clean electricity to the grid by 2026.  “Demand for around-the-clock clean energy has never been higher, and next-generation geothermal is uniquely positioned to meet this demand,” said Tim Latimer, Fervo CEO and Co-Founder. “Our technology is fully derisked, our pricing is already competitive, and our resource pipeline is vast. This investment enables Fervo to continue to position geothermal at the heart of 24/7 carbon-free energy production.” The groundbreaking project, located in Beaver County, Utah, began drilling in June 2023. It has since seen remarkable success, surpassing the Department of Energy’s (DOE) expectations for enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) with a 70 percent reduction in drilling times and lower production costs, according to Fervo.   “The investment in Fervo Energy is a leading example of the growing number of strategic investments by energy and industrial companies into innovative startups with promising technologies, which is why the Houston region continues to lead commercial deployment of solutions for the transition,” said Jane Stricker, the Partnership’s senior vice president of energy transition and executive director of Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI). With an abundance of innovative companies like Fervo, Houston has garnered significant acclaim for its energy transition ecosystem, attracting investors from around the world to the region. According to a Partnership analysis, Houston-based energy transition startups, businesses, and companies secured $6.1 billion in financing from private market investments in 2022, a 62 percent increase compared to 2021. Learn more about Houston’s Energy Transition Initiative. 

Addressing a growing skills gap by closing economic disparities (instead of widening economic them) will be critical as Houston’s hydrogen economy grows. To address this opportunity, the Greater Houston Partnership's UpSkill Houston initiative, Accenture and the Center for Houston’s Future (CHF) have launched a new workforce development initiative that aims to help people in disadvantaged communities (DACs) secure good jobs in the emerging hydrogen economy by bridging the skills gap through training and skill development. According to the executive summary of a forthcoming white paper, the strategy will target high-demand and good paying, middle-skilled hydrogen jobs through a skill-matching process based on skill transferability, among other factors, as well as tailored learning journeys that will provide pathways from education to employment. This will require collaborating with key stakeholders across the hydrogen economy, including local industry employers, educational institutions and nonprofit organizations. The list of partners includes Air Liquide, Chevron, bp, Bloom Energy, Calpine, Dow, HIG, Linde, Shell, SLB, Brazosport College, Houston Community College, Lee College, Lone Stage College, San Jacinto College, United Way of Greater Houston and Gulf Coast Workforce Solutions. The learning journeys will help people increase earning potential and provide career stability by having direct access to the hydrogen sector. “The future growth of the hydrogen industry in Houston and the Gulf Coast provides the region with the opportunity to collaborate with business and industry to rewire the talent pathways into the hydrogen sector and increase economic mobility and opportunity for residents of communities historically underserved.” - Peter Beard, SVP, Regional Workforce Development The new initiative follows the U.S. Department of Energy’s selection of the Gulf Coast as one of seven regional clean hydrogen hubs in the nation, with operations centered in Houston. Brett Perlman, President of the Center for Houston’s Future, says employers must implement inclusive workforce strategies to fill the skills gap and mobilize a sustainably scaled workforce by recruiting talent from throughout the community. Accenture’s research has found there is a high degree of jobs that will be needed for hydrogen with highly correlated skillsets from other occupations and industries already in place. “Making this happen requires being very purposeful about the intersection of these opportunities and... working across the ecosystem,” Mary Beth Gracy, Houston Office Managing Director of Accenture, said during a recent presentation of the strategy. The findings also predict a steady rise in middle-skill jobs within Houston’s clean energy hydrogen economy over the next five to 10 years, especially in carbon capture and storage (CCS), as well as consistent growth in manufacturing, application, storage, distribution and production as demand and technology advances. Robert Nunmaker, General Manager – Hydrogen, Gulf Coast at Chevron, echoed the conclusions of the report, saying "This region plays a key role in supplying lower-carbon hydrogen and ammonia, which will require a skilled local workforce that will be positioned to execute these projects.” According to research conducted by McKinsey and CHF, Texas - and the Gulf Coast region as a whole - are already the nation’s largest hydrogen producers with more than 1,000 miles of dedicated hydrogen pipelines and 48 hydrogen production plants. The region is also home to a diverse array of energy resources, including a large concentration of academic and industry-driven energy innovation, cutting-edge infrastructure, and a highly skilled workforce. Looking at the future energy mix, hydrogen is anticipated to be twelve percent of the total energy consumption by 2050, according to the IEA. In its Houston as a Hydrogen Hub – 2050 Snapshot report, the Center for Houston’s Future predicts that 170,000 potential direct, indirect and induced jobs could be created in the hydrogen economy, as well as an additional $100 billion for Texas’ gross domestic product. Learn more about UpSkill Houston.