Think of SkyH2O stations as a one-stop-shop for EV charging, sustainable snacks and beverages, and freshly bottled water.
What makes them stand out? These stations’ primary offering, potable water, is created on-site through atmospheric water generation.
Alexander von Welczeck is a serial climatetech entrepreneur. He’s been working in the industry since 2002, and a previous company of his, Solar Power Partners, was acquired by NRG Energy—a founding partner of Greentown Houston—in 2011.
When California suffered an extreme drought in 2016, von Welczeck decided to focus his next venture on addressing water scarcity. He found that atmospheric water generation (AWG)—a technology that produces fresh, potable water out of ambient air—had potential for major impact, but hadn’t yet been scaled.
von Welczeck founded SkyH2O to make AWG scalable, incorporating critical integrations from start to finish.
“AWG makes the water, but making the water isn’t everything that’s needed,” he says. “We’re integrating power generation, water processing and certification, bottling, and other solutions. We’re a project-based business that leverages our AWG technology to make a comprehensive solution—that’s the real difference between us and everybody else.”
The startup is building SkyH2O stations, where up to 200,000 liters of water will be produced daily via on-site AWG. Customers including ranchers and long-distance truckers can grab water with self-service filling, and the AWG-produced water will also be sold in eco-friendly bottles. Like at today’s gas stations, ancillary services will also be offered—from EV-charging to sustainably packaged food and coffee.
SkyH2O’s first station will be built in Dickinson, TX, and the company has identified 22 more locations across Texas for its rollout. The Dickinson location will have 14 rapid EV-charging stations and aims to be selling water by Q2 2025, according to von Welczeck. SkyH2O plans to build more than 100 of its stations in the United States over the next five years, primarily in Texas and the southeast.
SkyH2O also sells its water B2B, offering repackaging and rebranding services. The 20-person startup is currently raising a $20M Series A.
von Welczeck and his team had long identified Greater Houston as an ideal spot to deploy its technology, given the high humidity, reasonably priced power, and market demand for fresh water—as evidenced by this summer’s drought.
“We had been looking for the best way to launch a team and hub and then learned about Greentown Labs, and it couldn’t have been any better,” von Welczeck says. “I’ve been around climatetech for more than 20 years, and there are a lot of incubators around the country, but I’ve never experienced one that was the ‘real deal’ like Greentown Houston is.”