Flathead Forge

For those that missed the Low Carbon Investment Summit, we’re continuing to showcase standout #founders from the event: Stewart Adams, of Pivotal Fluid Solutions, brings over 25 years of expertise in large-scale processing facilities and deep expertise in oil and gas technology. Pivotal is tackling one of the biggest challenges in energy production: produced water, which is rapidly rising in #volume and disposal costs, especially in regions like the #Permian and Delaware basins. Pivotal’s modular solution #valorizes produced water by recovering clean water, high-spec oil, critical minerals and chemicals. This system not only reduces treatment and disposal costs but also enhances sustainability and creates new revenue streams for the energy industry. This innovation is key to tackling the growing need for cost-effective solutions in water treatment and resource recovery. #LCIS connected founders, #investors, and partners who all share the mission of scaling low-carbon solutions. Thank you to our event partners, Energy Tech Nexus and MetroNational, for making this event a success. #LCIS2025 #WaterTech #Sustainability #EnergyTech #Innovation #Decarbonization #ClimateTech #Startups

The Low Carbon Investment Summit brought together some of the brightest minds in #decarbonization, #water treatment and critical minerals. For those who couldn’t attend, we’re highlighting founders and their groundbreaking work presented at the event: Ryan DuChanois, CEO of Solidec and Yale University Ph.D. has over 8 years of experience in engineering consulting and technology development. Ryan and his team at Solidec have developed patented #electrolyzers that generate low-cost, emission-free chemicals and fuels directly from air. Solidec’s technology eliminates costs of feedstocks, reduces energy use by 3x and cuts emissions by 10x. It removes the need for cost and energy-intensive separation steps, making it a cleaner and more efficient alternative to traditional chemical production methods. A huge thanks to our event partners, Energy Tech Nexus and MetroNational, for making this event a success. #LCIS2025 #EnergyTransition #RenewableEnergy #Sustainability #ClimateTech

The Low Carbon Investment Summit brought together investors, industry leaders, and startups focused on driving innovation in #decarbonization, #water treatment, and critical minerals. In case you missed it, this week we’re highlighting standout founders from this event: Trevor Spagrud, CEO of Craft Power, is bringing over 30 years of experience in the energy industry to a new solution that supports the growth of renewables. Subsurface Pumped Hydropower Storage (#SPHS) presents an innovative solution to the traditional challenges of energy storage. This technology offers low-degradation, long-duration storage by using #brine to store energy deep underground, where it can be drawn upon during periods of high energy demand. This new method provides the benefits of traditional pumped-hydro without the environmental impact and regulatory risks. LCIS was an incredible opportunity to connect with founders, investors, and partners all aligned in the mission to scale low-carbon solutions. A huge thanks to our event partners, Energy Tech Nexus and MetroNational, for making this event a success. #LCIS2025 #EnergyTransition #RenewableEnergy #Sustainability #ClimateTech #Innovation #EnergyStorage #Hardtech

Big development towards #beneficialreuse. Thanks Laura Capper for your timely insights.

This week, we shared our latest venture Resin8, a AI-driven industrial asset marketplace, with our partner?Flathead Forge?at the Low Carbon Investment Summit in Houston. Resin8 is designed to streamline how industrial equipment is bought and sold, helping companies maximize asset value, reduce stagnant inventory, and embrace a more efficient, circular economy approach to asset management. A special thank you to?MetroNational?and?Energy Tech Nexus?for hosting such a valuable event and fostering collaboration across the energy and technology sectors. We are actively seeking corporate partners to join our pilot launch. If your organization is interested in improving asset utilization, we’d be happy to connect. #AI #CircularEconomy #EnergyTech #DigitalInnovation Douglas Lee David Lee Luke Burns Stewart Adams R.W. (Ron) Melnyk Max Brown

Amazing?turnout at the inaugural Low Carbon Investment Summit at MetroNational’s Innovation District in #Houston. Top institutional #investors and industry leaders met with 12 high-impact #startups that took deep dives on their technology and strategy to accelerate innovation outcomes in #decarbonization, #water treatment, and critical #minerals sectors. A huge shoutout to our speakers for sharing their insights: Pete ONeill (Texas A&M Innovation) Kelly Belcher, (J.P. Morgan) Check out our showcase startups that presented their innovative technologies: Solidec (Ryan DuChanois) Altillion (Jay Keener) Craft Power (Trevor Spagrud) Pivotal Fluid Solutions (Stewart Adams) Direct Optics (Brian Rosentreter) resin8.ai (Clark Lai, Max Brown) Rheom Materials (Zimri T. Hinshaw) Advanced Ionics (Ignacio Bincaz) Teknobuilt (Abhishek Srivastava ) Resollant (Emily Avagliano) Sage Geosystems Inc. (Cindy D. Taff) WIP International Services LLC (Tracy L Jackson) Massive thanks to Juliana Garaizar, Jason Ethier, Nada Ahmed, Satyawati Chaube Douglas Lee, David Lee, Luke Burns, Ryan LeVasseur MetroNational Energy Tech Nexus Flathead Forge and the entire team that made this event a success! If you missed it, let’s connect; this is just the beginning. #LCIS2025 #EnergyTransition #WaterTech #ClimateTech #Decarbonization #Investment #HoustonTech #VentureCapital #Sustainability

Get Excited for tomorrow's Low Carbon Investment Summit at Memorial City. Thank you to the teams at Flathead Forge, Energy Tech Nexus, and of course MetroNational for colaborating to put this together. Special Thanks to Patti Goodman for helping everyone be set up for success! If you want to attend, shoot me a DM. Brad MacDougall Steve Nisenson Joanne James Jan E. Odegard Douglas Lee Juliana Garaizar Scooter Hicks

We are proud to co-host the inaugural?Low Carbon Investment Summit in Houston on March 4th, 2025. https://lu.ma/dfr30ll7 This event is part of the launch of a new innovation district being developed by?MetroNational in?west Houston. ? The event is focused on providing #CVC and #FamilyOffice ,and #HNW #investors the opportunity to connect within this new ecosystem and to introduce founders driving?impact?in low carbon energy, critical minerals and water treatment. Featured Speakers include Kelly Belcher & Pete ONeill Featured Companies include Altillion, resin8.ai, Solidec, Global Analyzer Systems Ltd. , Pivotal Fluid Solutions , Hertha Metals Inc., Sage Geosystems Inc. , Advanced Ionics @ #CraftPower Thank you to our co-hosts Energy Tech Nexus - Juliana Garaizar & Jason Ethier Flathead Forge - David Lee, Luke Burns, Max Brown & Douglas Lee

As promised, here are some key insights from the #investor panel at the Produced Water Society Tech Competition that can help refine your pitch, shape your strategy, and increase your chances of securing the support you need to scale. Are you selling Painkillers or Vitamins? Solving a critical problem is far more compelling than offering a “nice-to-have” feature. A "painkiller" addresses an urgent, high-stakes issue—think of solutions that eliminate operational bottlenecks, reduce regulatory risk, or significantly cut costs. "Vitamins" offer incremental improvements that might be appreciated but aren’t mission-critical. If your solution isn’t a painkiller yet, consider how you can frame its value around solving the most pressing challenges your target customers face. What counts as real traction? Early interest is encouraging, but for hardtech startups, traction means showing proof that your technology works reliably, ideally across different customers or scenarios. Pilot projects, repeat orders, and consistent performance metrics makes your tech more credible. Are you solving a unique problem—and is your plan realistic? Investors are looking for differentiation: What makes your solution stand out and be competitive? Just as important, do you have a clear plan to reach your customers effectively? Understand market entry barriers, identify your first adopters, and having a clear strategy for scaling. Do investors believe your numbers? Any claims you make (cost savings, efficiency gains, or productivity improvements) must be backed by credible data. Case studies, third-party validations, pilot results, or even internal benchmarks help demonstrate your claims aren’t just hypothetical. The more you can quantify your impact and tie it to real-world savings or performance improvements, the more trust you’ll build with investors. Is your IP a real moat? IP can create a barrier to entry for competitors, which investors view as a key value driver. Think patents, trade secrets, specialized manufacturing processes, or regulatory approvals that are difficult for others to replicate. You must make sure your IP is around a real differentiator, or it’ll just be perceived as window dressing. Skin in the game matters. Investors look for founders who are fully committed. This doesn’t always mean investing large sums of your own money, but showing personal sacrifice or dedication goes a long way. Full-time commitment, reinvesting revenue back, or securing early customer contracts through sheer determination are a good look. Founders who demonstrate true buy-in signal to investors that they’re willing to do what it takes to succeed. Thanks again to everyone at #PWS and the attendees that made this event possible and the investor panel: Ionel Nechiti (Aramco Ventures), Joaquin Silva (Energy Innovation Capital) Steve Kloos (Burnt Island Ventures) and Douglas Lee (Flathead Forge) Active Membranes, Geolithium LLC, Aquafortus Technologies and Altillion.

Raymond James has released its Winter 2024/2025 quarterly water insights report. This is essential reading for #water #investors and #founders. Some highlights: 1) Strategic Buyers Dominate Water M&A Despite Rising Valuations: According to Raymond James, strategic acquirers accounted for 81% of water-sector M&A activity in 2024, signaling a strong appetite for vertical integration. Despite median deal multiples rising to 12.3x EBITDA, strategic buyers remain focused on securing long-term value through operational synergies. 2) The Professionalization of Industrial Water Services: Industrial water management has evolved from a plant-level function to a highly professionalized service sector. Companies like Veolia, Xylem, and Gradiant are capitalizing on this shift by providing specialized technologies and securing long-term operations contracts. This transformation is driving earnings growth and positioning industrial water services as a major investment opportunity . 3) Water Reuse Momentum Surges Beyond Desalination: Bluefield notes that water reuse capacity is now double that of seawater desalination, driven by large-scale projects, particularly in Southern California. This growth trend reflects a broader market pivot toward sustainable, circular water solutions to address urban water security .