The Houston Technology Center (HTC), which has been rated as one of the nation’s top ten technology incubators, held its Gulf Coast Innovation Conference and Showcase on Thursday, September 30. Participating companies were from a number of disciplines, including energy. The role of HTC is to work with companies to help them gain access to capital. The approach HTC took at the conference was to organize breakout sessions at which each participating company was given a few minutes to talk about the products or services being developed and an assessment of how much capital would be necessary to pursue their goals. If you are an entrepreneur, you will be interested to know about the companies in the energy sector that are looking for investors. They include: • Algorithmica technologies – Develops mathematical methods for optimizing basic industrial processes. • APO Offshore – Has introduced patent-pending software that delivers remote monitoring and predictive analysis of surface equipment used for offshore drilling and production platforms and vessels. • BetaBatt – Is working to commercialize long-life self-recharging batteries. • Bluenergy Solarwind – has introduced a turbine that combines solar and wind energy. • Covelo Group LLC – Manages critical staffing demands. • C-voltaics – Has created a thin film solar cell that functions without the need for a specific polymer semiconductor to enhance performance. • Ecolyse Inc. – Provides products and services to remediate pipeline corrosion and reservoir souring. • Energy People Connect – A soft-subject social network, consultancy and online media company for the global energy industry. • General Methanol – Plans to develop and license a process that converts methane to methanol. • IO-hub – Identifies the right data and correlates events form real-time data streams to enable in-time decisions for drilling and production. • itRobotics – Provides nondestructive inspection service for small diameter energy pipes using robotic and inspection technology. • Merrick Systems Inc. – Has introduced an integrated suite of technology applications addressing production, engineering, and asset tracking. Metal Oxide Technologies Inc. – Is commercializing a high-temperature superconducting wire that transmits electricity without electrical loss and without generating heat. • NanoComposites Inc. – Focuses on developing and commercializing nanotechnology enabled high-performance polymer materials that can extend the range of operating capability. • Neohydro Corp. – Is using proprietary patent-pending technology to clean waste water created by fracing. • Optimization Petroleum Technologies Inc. – Engineering software and consulting services provider that offers a suite of integrated oil and gas reservoir management, production analysis and design, water injection engineering, and surface/gathering management applications. • Orbital Traction Ltd. – Is developing a continuously variable transmission that will improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of variable speed rotating systems. • PF WaterWorks LP – Is focusing on self-sufficiency and reduced energy consumption products. • Point Energy Group – Is delivering cleaner and more sustainable lighting solutions. • S2S Systems International Inc. – Has developed the only fully integrated real-time dynamic model for reservoir modeling for conventional and unconventional developments. • Smart Pipe Co. Inc. – Offers pipeline operators a solution to the costly pipeline restoration with its no-dig installation capability. • Soteica Ideas & Technology LLC – offers a real-time utility energy optimizer that retrieves real-time plant measurements and utility market prices and provides open0-loop and closed-loop stet points to enable manufacturers to rebalance utility loads. • Teledrill Inc. – Has introduced a high-performance valve technology that improves drilling performance and hole cleaning through dynamic control of the fluid column. • Terrabon – Provides biofuel and water treatment technology. • Veros Systems Inc. – Is developing and marketing intelligent software based reliability solutions for industrial assets. • VRcontext LLC – Has developed asset visualization and realistic immersive multi-avatar navigation for real-time operation and optimum maintenance planning, safety reviews, operator training, and emergency response planning. • Wave Imaging Technology Inc. – Helps the E&P industry see complex geology more clearly with wave equation depth imaging. If you want to learn more about the companies or Houston Technology Center, visit the HTC website at www.houstontech.org.