Houston Advanced Research Center in The Woodlands has partnered with Houston Technology Center North to promote the growth of entrepreneurial sustainable energy technology companies in The Woodlands area.

Innovators in the Woods was set up in May and recruits startup businesses to pitch their energy technology ideas. The companies present their business concept to a three- to four-person panel, HTCN Managing Director Charles Wohl said.

“Applicants are asked questions such as where the applicant sees their market, where do they see themselves going and what are the financial requirements to get there,” he said. “[Then] the reviewers and panel are able to identify needs and wants and where the support is.”

The pitch presentations, open to the public, offer a chance for investors to hear and ask questions, Economic Development Partnership CEO Gil Staley, said.

“It’s just intriguing what you will hear,” he said. “They all come up with an idea or a science or a technology and hopefully incubate into a viable business.”

The panel then determines if the entrepreneur moves to the next phase, which requires a more in-depth examination. Inclusion into the program offers clients an opportunity to receive $25,000 from investment group McNair Houston Ignition Fund.

“HARC’s mission overall is for people seeking scientific answers, with an intent on building a sustainable future,” Wohl said. “That can be energy, space, accelerating clean-energy technologies, and finding solutions for environmentally friendly oil and gas development.”

Magna Imperio Systems Inc. entered the program in October after a successful presentation. The company focuses on desalination technology for converting salt water to freshwater, Wohl said.

HTCN’s goal for Innovators in the Woods is to spur partnerships of 10 to 12 client companies per year, HTCN Chief Operating Officer Maryanne Maldonado said.

“Entrepreneurs will have access to the HTCN’s in-depth acceleration process and HARC’s world-class energy, air and water issue research expertise,” she said.

Innovators in the Woods comports with what founder George Mitchell originally had in mind for The Woodlands.

“Thirty years ago [George] Mitchell firmly believed in startup companies developing technologies and research programs in his community,” Staley said. “Hence the name Research Forest.”