CERAWeek brings the world to Houston. Energy Venture Day opens the door. The TEX-E Prize gives students the fuel to move faster.

CERAWeek brings the world to Houston.

Every March, the global energy ecosystem converges in Houston for CERAWeek — a gathering of CEOs, policymakers, investors, technologists, and founders shaping the future of energy. It’s where conversations about geopolitics, capital flows, climate commitments, and breakthrough technologies move from theory to action.

For students and early-stage founders, it can feel like watching the Super Bowl of energy innovation from the sidelines.

Unless you’re pitching.

Energy Venture Day opens the door.

Held during CERAWeek, Energy Venture Day & Pitch Competition creates a rare opportunity: a stage where startups — including university-led ventures — present 3.5-minute pitches to investors, corporate partners, and industry leaders.

This is not a classroom simulation. It’s real capital, real partnerships, real commercialization pathways.

Energy Venture Day bridges the gap between university innovation and market deployment. It brings together:

1. Energy and climate tech startups
2. Corporate innovation teams
3. Venture capital and strategic investors
4. University founders building next-generation solutions

And in the middle of it all? Students who are ready to build.

TEX-E Prize gives students $50,000 to move faster.

Through TEX-E — student ventures have the opportunity to compete for a collective $50,000 in TEX-E Prizes.

The awards:

• First Prize: $25,000
• Second Prize: $15,000
• Third Prize: $10,000

The TEX-E Prize exists for one reason: to provide non-dilutive funding to student-led energy ventures so they can accelerate prototypes, pilots, customer discovery, and early commercialization.

And you don’t need a fully launched company to participate. Early-stage ideas, strong technical foundations, and a Texas student founders are enough to step onto the stage.

Why This Matters

Energy innovation will not be built by incumbents alone. It will be shaped by students who:

• Understand both engineering and market forces
• Are fluent in AI, data, and systems thinking
• Want to build solutions inside the world’s largest energy economy

Houston — and Texas more broadly — sit at the epicenter of that opportunity. CERAWeek brings the world here. Energy Venture Day opens the door. The TEX-E Prize gives students the fuel to move faster.

This is what the next generation of energy leadership looks like: not waiting to be invited into the room, but pitching on the stage.

And for student founders ready to build, the stage is set.

Apply to Pitch

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