3+ Houston innovators to know this week

who's who

This week's roundup of Houston innovators includes Ana Amicarella of EthosEnergy, John Arnold of Centaurus Capital, Chris George of Octopus Electric Vehicles, and the 2024 Houston Innovation Awards judges. Photos courtesy

Editor's note: Every week, I introduce you to a handful of Houston innovators to know recently making headlines with news of innovative technology, investment activity, and more. This week's batch includes an energy leader, an electric vehicle expert, and more.

Ana Amicarella, CEO of EthosEnergy

Ana Amicarella, CEO of EthosEnergy, joins the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss the company's growth amid the energy transition. Photo courtesy of EthosEnergy

For most of her career, Ana Amicarella has been the only person in the room who looks like her. But as CEO of Houston-based EthosEnergy, she's changing that.

"The energy sector for sure is highly dominated by men, but I think it's such an exciting environment," Amicarella says on the Houston Innovators Podcast. "What I try to do at every job that I go to is I try to increase representation — diverse representation and females in the company. And I measure that when I started and when I end. I want to be able to make a difference."

Amicarella joined EthosEnergy — which provides rotating equipment services and solutions to the power, oil and gas, and industrial markets — as CEO in 2019 a few years after it was in 2014 as a joint venture between John Wood Group PLC and Siemens Energy AG. Prior to her current role, she served in leadership roles at Aggreko an GE Oil and Gas. Read more.

John Arnold, founder of Centaurus Capital

A Houston company has raised funding from a local investor. Photo via Centaurus Capital

A Houston company has closed its series B extension at $25 million.

MetOx International, which develops and manufactures high-temperature superconducting (HTS) wire, announced it closed a $25 million series B extension. Houston-based Centaurus Capital, an energy-focused family office, and New System Ventures, a climate and energy transition-focused venture firm, led the round with participation from other investors.

"MetOx has developed a robust and highly scalable operation, and we are thrilled to partner with the Company as it enters this pivotal growth stage," says John Arnold, founder of Centaurus, in a news release. "The market for HTS is expanding at an unprecedented pace, with demand for HTS far outweighing supply. MetOx is poised to be the leading U.S. HTS producer, closing the supply gap and bringing dramatic capacity to high power innovations and applications. Their progress and potential are unmatched in the field, and we are proud to support their growth." Read more.

Chris George, United States co-lead at Octopus Electric Vehicles

Texas is positioned to be a great state for the EV industry, writes this expert. Photo via LinkedIn

As Texans continue to invest in electric vehicles, public charging needs to be able to meet an increased demand, according to Chris George, the United States co-lead at Octopus Electric Vehicles, who wrote a guest column for InnovationMap about the state's potential when it comes to EVs.

"As we look to the future of transport and energy, the synergy between NEVI and Tesla’s network should create a compelling narrative for those thinking about leasing an EV," he writes. "Combine that with exciting new battery tech and potential range improvements, fueled by West Texas wind and solar, Texas is positioned to be a great state for the EV industry." Read more.

2024 Houston Innovation Awards judges

Here's who's calling the shots for the 2024 Houston Innovation Awards. Photos courtesy

Ten Houstonians are in the hot seat for deciding the best companies and individuals in Houston's innovation ecosystem.

InnovationMap has announced its 2024 Houston Innovation Awards judging panel, which includes startup founders, nonprofit leaders, investors, corporate innovators, and more. In addition to the 10 judges, InnovationMap Editor Natalie Harms will serve as the editorial representative on the judging panel.

The selected judges will evaluate applications from the nearly 300 nominations that were submitted this year. The judges will be using their expertise to evaluate the nominees' applications, which are due to InnovationMap this week. Read more.

A Houston company has announced a new service that will encourage electric vehicle use. Photo via Getty Images

Houston energy company announces new EV business arm

making moves

Houston-based energy retailer Octopus Energy U.S. is now getting its tentacles into the electric vehicle business.

Octopus Energy US on July 6 unveiled Octopus Electric Vehicles, whose first offering is EV Concierge. This new service will help customers lease an EV, and integrate smart charging and billing into their existing energy plan.

New and existing customers in Texas can apply for the beta leasing program at octoev.us. Employees of the program will help customers search for a new or used EV to lease, install an at-home EV charger, and adopt best practices for EV ownership.

“Interest in electric vehicles is at an all-time high. With Texas as the third-largest market for EVs and a global leader in energy, we will be positioned to help customers realize vehicle and energy savings all on one bill,” says Chris George, U.S. director of Octopus Electric Vehicles. “As fossil fuel continues to be impacted by inflation, it’s never made more sense to get an EV paired with smart charging to extract the lowest-priced energy from the grid.”

EV Concierge is paired with Intelligent Octopus, which lets customers access power when it is cheaper and greener while helping balance stability of power grid.

Octopus Electric Vehicles launched in 2018 in the United Kingdom, where parent company Octopus Energy Group is based. In the U.K., Octopus leases EVs, installs at-home chargers, provides EV tax breaks, and provides access to more than 250,000 public charging stations in Europe.

Customers of Octopus Electric Vehicles can lease 65 different EVs from 28 automotive brands.

“We’ve seen that consumers are looking for experts that can offer the full EV package to guide them through their journey,” says Fiona Howarth, CEO of Octopus Electric Vehicles. “With more EV models entering the market every month, and innovative tariffs like Intelligent Octopus making charging your car as easy as [charging] your phone, we only expect the transition to accelerate.”

The launch of EV Concierge comes just a year after Octopus Energy U.S. set up shop in Houston. Establishment of the Houston presence coincided with the company’s $5 million acquisition of Houston-based Evolve Energy.

Last month, Kraken Technologies, the software licensing arm of Octopus Energy Group, picked Houston for its U.S. headquarters.

Octopus Energy Group, valued at nearly $5 billion, entered the U.S. market in 2020. It supplies green energy to more than 3 million retail customers around the world.

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Houston hospital names leading cancer scientist as new academic head

new hire

Houston Methodist Academic Institute has named cancer clinician and scientist Dr. Jenny Chang as its new executive vice president, president, CEO, and chief academic officer.

Chang was selected following a national search and will succeed Dr. H. Dirk Sostman, who will retire in February after 20 years of leadership. Chang is the director of the Houston Methodist Dr. Mary and Ron Neal Cancer Center and the Emily Herrmann Presidential Distinguished Chair in Cancer Research. She has been with Houston Methodist for 15 years.

Over the last five years, Chang has served as the institute’s chief clinical science officer and is credited with strengthening cancer clinical trials. Her work has focused on therapy-resistant cancer stem cells and their treatment, particularly relating to breast cancer.

Her work has generated more than $35 million in funding for Houston Methodist from organizations like the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, according to the health care system. In 2021, Dr. Mary Neal and her husband Ron Neal, whom the cancer center is now named after, donated $25 million to support her and her team’s research on advanced cancer therapy.

In her new role, Chang will work to expand clinical and translational research and education across Houston Methodist in digital health, robotics and bioengineered therapeutics.

“Dr. Chang’s dedication to Houston Methodist is unparalleled,” Dr. Marc L. Boom, Houston Methodist president and CEO, said in a news release. “She is committed to our mission and to helping our patients, and her clinical expertise, research innovation and health care leadership make her the ideal choice for leading our academic mission into an exciting new chapter.”

Chang is a member of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Stand Up to Cancer Scientific Advisory Council. She earned her medical degree from Cambridge University in England and completed fellowship training in medical oncology at the Royal Marsden Hospital/Institute for Cancer Research. She earned her research doctorate from the University of London.

She is also a professor at Weill Cornell Medical School, which is affiliated with the Houston Methodist Academic Institute.

Texas A&M awarded $1.3M federal grant to develop clean energy tech from electronic waste

seeing green

Texas A&M University in College Station has received a nearly $1.3 million federal grant for development of clean energy technology.

The university will use the $1,280,553 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a cost-effective, sustainable method for extracting rare earth elements from electronic waste.

Rare earth elements (REEs) are a set of 17 metallic elements.

“REEs are essential components of more than 200 products, especially high-tech consumer products, such as cellular telephones, computer hard drives, electric and hybrid vehicles, and flat-screen monitors and televisions,” according to the Eos news website.

REEs also are found in defense equipment and technology such as electronic displays, guidance systems, lasers, and radar and sonar systems, says Eos.

The grant awarded to Texas A&M was among $17 million in DOE grants given to 14 projects that seek to accelerate innovation in the critical materials sector. The federal Energy Act of 2020 defines a critical material — such as aluminum, cobalt, copper, lithium, magnesium, nickel, and platinum — as a substance that faces a high risk of supply chain disruption and “serves an essential function” in the energy sector.

“DOE is helping reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign supply chains through innovative solutions that will tap domestic sources of the critical materials needed for next-generation technologies,” says U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. “These investments — part of our industrial strategy — will keep America’s growing manufacturing industry competitive while delivering economic benefits to communities nationwide.”

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This article originally appeared on EnergyCapital.

Biosciences startup becomes Texas' first decacorn after latest funding

A Dallas-based biosciences startup whose backers include millionaire investors from Austin and Dallas has reached decacorn status — a valuation of at least $10 billion — after hauling in a series C funding round of $200 million, the company announced this month. Colossal Biosciences is reportedly the first Texas startup to rise to the decacorn level.

Colossal, which specializes in genetic engineering technology designed to bring back or protect various species, received the $200 million from TWG Global, an investment conglomerate led by billionaire investors Mark Walter and Thomas Tull. Walter is part owner of Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers, and Tull is part owner of the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers.

Among the projects Colossal is tackling is the resurrection of three extinct animals — the dodo bird, Tasmanian tiger and woolly mammoth — through the use of DNA and genomics.

The latest round of funding values Colossal at $10.2 billion. Since launching in 2021, the startup has raised $435 million in venture capital.

In addition to Walter and Tull, Colossal’s investors include prominent video game developer Richard Garriott of Austin and private equity veteran Victor Vescov of Dallas. The two millionaires are known for their exploits as undersea explorers and tourist astronauts.

Aside from Colossal’s ties to Dallas and Austin, the startup has a Houston connection.

The company teamed up with Baylor College of Medicine researcher Paul Ling to develop a vaccine for elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV), the deadliest disease among young elephants. In partnership with the Houston Zoo, Ling’s lab at the Baylor College of Medicine has set up a research program that focuses on diagnosing and treating EEHV, and on coming up with a vaccine to protect elephants against the disease. Ling and the BCMe are members of the North American EEHV Advisory Group.

Colossal operates research labs Dallas, Boston and Melbourne, Australia.

“Colossal is the leading company working at the intersection of AI, computational biology, and genetic engineering for both de-extinction and species preservation,” Walter, CEO of TWG Globa, said in a news release. “Colossal has assembled a world-class team that has already driven, in a short period of time, significant technology innovations and impact in advancing conservation, which is a core value of TWG Global.”

Well-known genetics researcher George Church, co-founder of Colossal, calls the startup “a revolutionary genetics company making science fiction into science fact.”

“We are creating the technology to build de-extinction science and scale conservation biology,” he added, “particularly for endangered and at-risk species.”

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