Houston has long been known as a manufacturing hub, but recent announcements across advanced manufacturing, life sciences, and shipbuilding point to something more. Capital is flowing into technologies that modernize how things are built, reinforcing that innovation can advance a region’s industrial strength.
Over the past year, Houston has attracted major manufacturing investments tied to next-generation production, from advanced electronics to life sciences. More recently, similar momentum has emerged in shipbuilding and maritime technology – an industry rooted in heavy manufacturing being reshaped by electrification, automation and software.
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Venture Capital Meets the Shipyard
One example is FleetZero, a maritime technology company building hybrid and electric propulsion systems for ships. FleetZero recently raised $43 million in Series A funding to support the opening of a new manufacturing and R&D facility in Houston, which will also serve as its headquarters.
The Houston facility will expand manufacturing of FleetZero’s Leviathan™ hybrid and electric marine propulsion system, already deployed on commercial vessels globally. Designed for both new builds and retrofits, the system supports shipbuilders modernizing vessels while reducing fuel and maintenance costs. The facility will include a production line with an initial capacity of 300 MWh per year for marine energy storage systems, along with a marine robotics and autonomy lab and a propulsion R&D center.
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Reinforcing Industrial Scale
FleetZero’s announcement follows broader investment activity along the Texas Gulf Coast. Davie, an international shipbuilder, recently acquired shipbuilding assets in Galveston and Port Arthur from Gulf Copper and Manufacturing Corp., investing $1 billion into the region, according to the Houston Business Journal. Building on that momentum, the company announced plans to expand capacity in both locations to construct Arctic icebreakers — a project expected to create more than 2,400 jobs and generate over $730 million in capital investment. The effort is being supported by a roughly $21.8 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund.
“With the best business climate in the nation, Texas is a magnet for complex, critical manufacturing,” said Governor Abbott. “This significant capital investment by Davie Defense will expand economic opportunity in Galveston and Port Arthur and create thousands of good-paying jobs and further bolster national defense by expanding capacity for the manufacture of icebreakers and other specialized vessels for the U.S. government and commercial customers. Texas is positioned to be a national hub for critical shipbuilding and, with our strong workforce, we will be for generations to come.”
An undisclosed Japanese company is also reportedly considering shipbuilding investments in the Galveston area. These moves signal renewed interest in U.S. shipbuilding capacity, anchored in regions with deep industrial expertise.
Why Houston
“Houston has the people who know how to build and operate big hardware – ships, rigs, refineries, and power systems,” said Mike Carter, co-founder and COO of FleetZero. “We’re pairing that industrial DNA with modern batteries, autonomy, and software to bring back shipbuilding to the US.”
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For companies evaluating where to expand or invest, these announcements reflect how Houston continues to adapt its manufacturing base – combining scale, talent and innovation to compete across sectors from life sciences to shipbuilding.
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