A New Hub For Innovation And Renewable Energy Is On The Rise In Pearland, Texas

Known as the world's energy capital, Houston has seen growth in every facet of the energy industry, particularly in oil and gas. 

But amid growing calls for states to move away from oil and gas dependency, Texas has been making strides in renewable energy for the past few years.

In a report from the American Clean Power Association, Texas outpaced California in wind, solar and energy storage projects in 2021. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's short-term energy outlook in January 2023, Texas is projected to increase its wind and solar energy usage this year as well.

Pearland, a prominent suburb in the Houston area, is also seeing a shift to renewable sources. 

“We’ve seen the positive impact of what renewable energy has done for not only Pearland, but Houston in general, to help us reduce carbon emissions and be a leader in climate change,” Pearland Economic Development Corp. Vice President Brian Malone said. 

Pearland EDC promotes, assists and enhances economic opportunities in the city. A priority in the community's Pearland Prosperity Strategic Plan is to create a support system for growing small businesses and entrepreneurial interests. One notable renewable energy company PEDC has partnered with is Houston-based chemical energy firm Syzygy Plasmonics. 

Malone said it was exciting to see Syzygy’s focus on creating renewable energy through hydrogen.

“We’re eager to support Syzygy in reaching new heights with this hydrogen renewable energy source to help expand our horizons in the energy industry,” he said.

Syzygy, which was founded in 2018, uses LED light as a heat alternative to produce hydrogen. LED light also helps decarbonize chemical and fuel production. The company is field testing a zero-emission hydrogen photoreactor and plans to fully commercialize the product next year.

This is just the start of the company’s mission to reduce carbon emissions by a gigaton by 2040. 

The company saw the opportunity to grow when it moved its headquarters to a 45K SF facility in Pearland in 2022. 

“We looked for a new location for more than a year,” said Lee French, director of brand and marketing at Syzygy. “We considered multiple sites, but our priorities were to find a facility large enough to handle our expected growth that wasn’t too far from our lab near the Rice University area.”

PEDC assisted Syzygy in locating and retrofitting the new building, and in working with the city of Pearland to ensure a quick move-in and that specific safety measures were met to help the company open its new location in summer 2022.

“We knew going into this partnership, there would be challenges from startup costs, zoning requirements and letting Syzygy have the freedom to do what they needed to accomplish their tasks in the new facility,” Malone said. “However, we were able to assist Syzygy in finding a building that could cater to their working culture and also provide them with economic incentives when they opened and helped create more jobs for the community.” 

Lynn Frostman, Syzygy’s vice president of sustainability and corporate social responsibility, said the convenient location near the highway and the quality working relationships the company has built with Pearland have helped the company see great success.

Not only has it been able to grow its staff from 60 to 100 employees in just a year, but it was able to collaborate with some local schools for different initiatives and widen its community outreach as well, she said.

“We love the EDC’s focus on innovation, and they’ve been able to put us in an affordable place to do our trial runs of products before they hit the market, expand our brand with new employees and keep advancing our technology in a quality-controlled environment,” Frostman said.

Syzygy sees beyond this partnership's financial and technological benefits and toward its potential to create a tight-knit community while inspiring local youth to get more involved in this industry, she added.

“I’m excited to find career-minded kids who are passionate about the energy field, particularly young women in STEM,” Frostman said. “We need more young ladies from all backgrounds stepping into these industries where their representation is lacking.”

Malone agreed, saying that Pearland plans to continue working with Syzygy to create a long-term, stable partnership that will have a positive impact on the city. 

“We’ve been with Syzygy every step of the way in its move to Pearland,” Malone said. “We pride ourselves on developing strong and long-lasting relationships. We want Syzygy to exceed its goals because the more they’re successful, the more we’re successful.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Pearland Economic Development Corp. and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

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