Dallas Innovates and D CEO magazine teamed up to present The Innovation Awards 2020, a new program honoring companies and leaders—CEOs, CIOs, CTOs, entrepreneurs, and others—driving innovation in North Texas.
Here are the winners and finalists for Innovation in Energy.
W I N N E R
Geoforce
Founder, president, and CEO James MacLean leveraged his mechanical engineering degree from Georgia Institute of Technology with his experiences working for global oil field services giant Schlumberger to form a startup that developed radio-frequency identification when he launched Geoforce in 2007. The firm’s “track-and-trace” technology, which is catered to oil and gas companies, is used by more than 1,000 customers in field operations in more than 70 countries. Its technology has been implemented in agriculture, mining, and transportation to measure ocean currents and to track California’s grape harvests. The company hit a milestone of more than 140,000 assets tracked last summer. Still, MacLean sees the opportunity to track millions of assets. “We have tremendous potential to scale the company 10 times where we are, if not more,” he told D CEO in Oct. 2018. —Brandon Call
F I N A L I S T S
ES Xplore
A 2016 spinoff of Hunt Consolidated, ES Xplore uses patented technology to detect hydrocarbon resources below the surface of the Earth. Unlike conventional 2D and 3D seismic techniques on the market today that do not differentiate between water and hydrocarbons, the ES Xplore technology detects hydrocarbons seismically in a low cost and environmentally friendly manner. The Hunt Consolidated spinoff received a $12 million funding round led by Dallas-based oil and gas exploration, production, and investment company Sovereign Resources and Unity Hunt, a privately held wealth management firm. The company has about 20 employees and is based in Dallas. —Brandon Call
Skyven Technologies
University of Texas at Dallas electromechanical engineering alum Arun Gupta left his job in the digital light processing products division at Texas Instruments when he founded Dallas-based startup Skyven Technologies in 2012. His fuel-less, zero-emissions solar panel system—which is called Intelligent Mirror Array Technology—leverages multiple green technologies to efficiently generate electricity and heat water, offering commercial customers a lower cost source for clean energy. After winning the $1 million grand prize in the 76West Clean Energy Competition in 2017, Gupta has his eyes on continuing to build his company. He says that the Dallas-Fort Worth region has supported his burgeoning startup. “Skyven Technologies is a testament to North Texas innovation,” he says. “The resources we have been able to assemble in North Texas to take on one of the greatest challenges of our time are second to none.” —Brandon Call
E X P L O R E M O R E
Click each link below to take a closer look at each finalist in all 13 categories.
Corporate Innovator of the Year
Innovation in Food and Beverage
Innovation in Manufacturing and Consumer Goods
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R E A D N E X T
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Five local winners received up to $200,000 in funding to activate their solutions throughout North Texas.
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The U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, which passed in May, has the power to develop 20 tech hubs throughout the United States. According to Tech Titans' CEO Bill Sproull, Dallas-Fort Worth could be a strong contender for one of those spots.
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Lessons from high-growth companies.
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With five new UT Dallas research centers, an extension of the university's Venture Development Center, and new attractions like TheLab makerspace, The IQ may just realize Richardson's vision to be "the premier tech hub in Texas."
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Your Two Cents: The Dallas Mayor's Task Force on Innovation and Entrepreneurship Wants Your FeedbackWhat should the city be doing to attract, retain, and support startups? Share your recommendations and ideas. But hurry, the Startup Information Survey will close by the end of the week.
