HL Energy Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
HL Energy Ventures (HLEV) is an early-stage energy venture platform that, in partnership with Hunt Energy, invests in and builds companies across three pillars: energy AI, energy security, and energy transition. The firm's differentiated model pairs venture capital with hands-on venture development: rather than writing a check and waiting, HLEV embeds deep operational, regulatory, and technical expertise from Hunt's decades of fuels, power, and energy-infrastructure experience to de-risk high-risk innovation before it scales. The stated model moves ventures through three stages - Energy DNA (technical differentiation), Early Prove-Out (capital-efficient validation), and Scale (disciplined capital deployment) - summarized on the firm's site as "Differentiated > Validated > Investable."
Sector Focus
HLEV concentrates exclusively on energy-adjacent technology: energy AI/software, energy security and domestic supply resilience, and energy-transition hardware and processes (e.g., clean hydrogen production, low-carbon fuel synthesis, electrochemistry, and materials science). Both disclosed investments to date - DirectH2 (modular solar-to-hydrogen production) and MCatalysis (microwave-catalysis conversion of waste feedstocks into drop-in fuels) - reflect deep-tech, IP-licensed energy transition plays originating from university research (Rice University and Oxford University, respectively).
Stage Focus
HLEV is explicitly an early-stage investor, engaging "from the earliest stages" of technical and commercial validation. Both known investments were Seed-stage, frequently paired with a university technology license and an Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) structure where the HLEV team member becomes the founding CEO or CSO of the portfolio company.
Check Size
The firm does not publish a formal check-size range. Its only disclosed round with a dollar figure is MCatalysis's $5M Seed round, which HLEV co-led alongside Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE); the portion contributed directly by HLEV was not disclosed. DirectH2's Seed round amount was also undisclosed.
Lead Tendency
HLEV has led or co-led both of its publicly disclosed investments (DirectH2 was HLEV-only funded; MCatalysis's $5M Seed was co-led by HLEV and Oxford Science Enterprises), consistent with its EIR-heavy, hands-on venture-building model.
Recent Activity
HLEV emerged from stealth in February 2025 as a standalone entity spun out of Hunt Energy's internal energy-transition venture work. It backed DirectH2's Seed round in March 2025 (Rice University hydrogen IP license) and has supported MCatalysis since its earliest formation, co-leading the company's $5M Seed round which closed in September 2026 alongside Oxford Science Enterprises and a $2.25M UK Research and Innovation grant. Both portfolio companies are self-reported as actively scaling: MCatalysis is building an industrial pilot facility in Lyon, France (Axel'One platform), and DirectH2 has been reported pursuing expansion into the India hydrogen market.
Portfolio Highlights
HLEV's disclosed portfolio consists of two university-spinout deep-tech companies:
- DirectH2 - modular, direct solar-to-green-hydrogen production technology, licensed from Rice University; Vivek Dhas (HLEV EIR) serves as CEO, with Rice professor Aditya Mohite as CSO.
- MCatalysis - proprietary microwave-catalysis process converting offgas, plastics, and biomass into low-carbon drop-in fuels below commodity cost, licensed from Oxford University; Michael Irwin (HLEV EIR) serves as CEO, with Queen Mary University professor Michael Jie as CSO.
Separately, the firm's Strategy page highlights the founding team's pre-HLEV track record at Hunt: InfraREIT (a novel REIT structure for electric transmission/distribution assets, later acquired by a strategic utility operator) and Motive Drilling Technologies (drilling-accuracy software, acquired by an industry leader) - these predate HLEV's 2024 founding and are presented as evidence of the team's venture-development capability rather than HLEV fund exits.
Team
- Victor Liu - CEO & Managing Partner (Co-General Partner with Hunt Energy); previously at Hunt Energy.
- Hunter Hunt - Chairman of HLEV and CEO of Hunt Energy; Co-General Partner.
- Paco Lopez - Principal; also President of C6; background in nanotechnology research.
- Michael Irwin, PhD - Entrepreneur in Residence; CEO of portfolio company MCatalysis.
- Vivek Dhas, PhD - Entrepreneur in Residence; CEO of portfolio company Direct H2.
- Bob England, Robert Maher, Mark Griffin - Venture Fellows.
- Michael Barrett - VP of Finance.
- Michael Maher - Senior Analyst; also Co-Founder/VP of IndustriAI; previously a founding member of Hunt Energy Enterprises' systematic energy-transition fund that became HLEV.
- Chris Lanzillotta - Hunt Chief Commercialization Officer.
- Tim Adams - VP, Hunt Refining Company.
- Chris Lane - SVP, Hunt Oil.
- Aditya Mohite - Rice University professor; CSO of DirectH2.
- Michael Jie, PhD - Queen Mary University professor; CSO of MCatalysis.
- Lukas Pfeifer, PhD - CTO of ElectroFueled.
Decision Process
HLEV operates as an integrated partnership rather than a solo-GP or formal investment-committee structure, with Victor Liu and Hunter Hunt as Co-General Partners supported by principals, EIRs, venture fellows, and Hunt operating executives who contribute domain expertise to diligence and venture-building.
Founder Preferences
HLEV's model favors founders emerging from deep technical/academic research (Rice, Oxford, Queen Mary licensing relationships) who are willing to work closely with an HLEV-embedded EIR or operating partner during the earliest, highest-risk technical validation phase, rather than fully independent founding teams seeking hands-off capital.
Geographic Focus
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with a stated ambition to "build energy technologies around the world." In practice, portfolio companies operate globally: MCatalysis is UK/France-centered (London R&D, Lyon pilot plant) and DirectH2 has pursued India market expansion, while HLEV's own base and Hunt's operating footprint remain concentrated in the US energy corridor (Texas).