CleanTX Honors Joseph Kopser with 2025 Service & Leadership Award for Clean Energy and Defense Innovation Work

CleanTX, the statewide alliance uniting leaders in clean technology and energy innovation, has announced Joseph Kopser as the recipient of its 2025 Service & Leadership Award. The honor recognizes Kopser's record of advancing Texas' clean economy through entrepreneurship, policy leadership and his ability to connect people and ideas across industries that don't typically intersect. His work has consistently focused on tackling big, systemic challenges in defense, transportation, and energy sectors.

Kopser's leadership has helped shape Austin's rise as a global hub for clean innovation and defense innovation, where technology, security and sustainability converge. Melissa Miller, Managing Director at CleanTX, stated that Kopser's distinguished military service and entrepreneurial leadership reflect his lifelong commitment to service, innovation and national security. His ability to bridge strategy and execution continues to inspire others to lead with purpose and bring new voices and ideas into the clean energy transition.

Kopser began his private sector work in the clean energy sector through his role as Co-founder and CEO of RideScout, a groundbreaking mobility platform often described as the Kayak for ground transportation. The app allowed users to instantly compare and combine multiple transportation options, from public transit and bike share to carpool and rideshare services, helping reduce both traffic congestion and fuel use. RideScout's vision of smarter, more efficient urban mobility earned it the 2014 US Department of Transportation Data Innovation Award and global recognition for its practical application of technology to environmental and economic challenges.

In 2014, the company was acquired by Mercedes-Benz (Moovel), marking one of Austin's early success stories in mobility innovation and setting the stage for the city's thriving transportation-tech ecosystem. Kopser explained that his journey in energy innovation began after seeing soldiers injured or killed delivering fuel to inefficient, outdated equipment. That experience set him on a path to reduce dependence on foreign oil. When he landed in Austin in 2011, he found a community of innovators and entrepreneurs who shared a similar mission of improving energy efficiency, lowering costs and ultimately creating jobs.

In parallel, Kopser helped lay the foundation for Austin's defense innovation community. In 2013, he co-founded the Defense Energy Summit, a first-of-its-kind national conference that brought together military leaders, entrepreneurs and energy experts to address challenges of energy resilience and national security. The summit became a launching point for collaboration between the Department of Defense, universities and private industry - positioning Austin as a national model for dual-use innovation long before defense tech became a mainstream term.

Originally joining the CleanTX board in 2013, Kopser has served as Chair of the CleanTX Advisory Board since 2019, providing support to the organization through a pivotal period of growth and influence. During his tenure, CleanTX has expanded its statewide network of industry partners, supported policy initiatives that promote innovation and resilience and helped frame the energy transition not as a partisan issue, but as Texas' next great economic opportunity. Kopser's national recognition further amplifies his work in Texas, having been named a White House Champion of Change in 2013 for his contributions to clean energy and national security energy policy.