Ocean Idea Challenge Alumni
The Ocean Idea Challenge has had three cohorts – including a specific cohort dedicated to coastal communities called the Ocean Communities Climate Challenge. Below are the team one-liners who began their customer discovery journey as part of this program.
2025
Ocean Idea Challenge
-
Alaagi is tackling the global plastic pollution crisis by developing innovative seaweed-based bioplastics that naturally decompose and provide scalable, sustainable alternatives for food packaging.
-
Aqualift is developing a new approach to gently lift lobster traps from the ocean floor, helping fishermen efficiently retrieve gear, reduce ghost gear, and protect marine ecosystems.
-
Atalanta Climate is developing technology to capture and sequester CO₂ anywhere using electricity and seawater.
-
Binnov conçoit une solution en temps réel par drone et IA pour détecter les mammifères marins, la glace hivernale et l’érosion côtière.
Binnov is developing a real-time drone and AI-based solution to detect marine mammals, winter ice, and coastal erosion. -
CHEOH_energy is solving the twin challenges of marine emissions and costly sustainable fuel infrastructure with a modular, containerized system that transforms seawater, captured carbon, and excess renewable energy into green methanol.
-
CM Marine Safety Equipment is creating an all-new life jacket that works with fishermen, not against them, by having a slim design, advanced safety features, and being discrete enough that onlookers won’t know they are wearing it.
-
DEKO-BLUE is building an IoT-powered water quality monitoring system designed for small-scale oyster and shellfish farmers that provides real-time data on critical parameters to help prevent stock losses and enable more sustainable, efficient aquaculture practices in remote or underserved coastal areas.
-
Equlantic is developing the Auto Spec Carbon Analyzer (ASCA), an autonomous sensor system that directly measures key carbonate variables and collects water samples—boosting accuracy, coverage, and cost-efficiency for ocean health monitoring and marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) verification.
-
FieldComplex is developing a reliable, low-power underwater communication system to advance marine technology and improve underwater connectivity.
-
FinShield is bringing real-time AI detection to shark conservation, using machine learning to flag active finning behaviour and empowering intervention before a single fin is cut.
-
Flux Lines is developing a flexible charging solution for electric cargo ships, starting on the Great Lakes and expanding globally, by leveraging next-gen battery technology, AI-powered energy management, and the region’s unique geography.
-
Horizon Rescue is revolutionizing water safety with advanced aerial rescue drones that detect and assist people in distress faster and more efficiently than traditional methods.
-
Kitose vise à créer une fibre textile innovante issue des co-produits de l'industrie de la pêche et de l'industrie forestière, offrant une solution écologique et durable aux industries médicale, sportive et d’hygiène grâce à ses propriétés antibactériennes et biodégradables. | Kitose aims to create an innovative textile fiber from by-products of the fishing and forestry industries, offering an eco-friendly and sustainable solution to the medical, sports, and hygiene industries thanks to its antibacterial and biodegradable properties.
-
OceanGNS is a mission planning platform that boosts navigation, retrieval, and efficiency for autonomous underwater vehicles (UAVs), serving the expanding ocean research and technology markets.
-
Pure Ocean AI vise à développer une solution IA de prédiction et recommandation pour l’optimisation des routes maritimes de minimiser les coûts et émissions carbones dans la chaîne maritimo-portuaire. | Pure Ocean AI aims to develop an AI prediction and recommendation solution for optimizing shipping routes to minimize costs and carbon emissions in the shipping and port supply chain.
-
Retssop is developing a fast, cost-effective oil spill response technology that uses advanced imaging and high-efficiency adsorbers—absorbing twice as much oil in half the time and recovering over 80% of offshore spills
-
Rift-Carbon Technologies is developing a seawater-based system that produces clean hydrogen and enhances ocean alkalinity for carbon dioxide removal — a scalable solution to decarbonize energy and combat ocean acidification.
-
SeaFoam’s carbon-storing, seaweed-based building insulation replaces high-GHG-emitting conventional alternatives, turning one of the planet's most carbon-intensive industries into a major climate solution.
-
Seanetik développe une technologie innovante de nettoyage de coques de navires pour réduire les émissions causées par l’accumulation de biosalissures, tout en assurant un contrôle sur la propagation des espèces invasives. | Seanetik is developing an innovative hull-cleaning technology to reduce emissions caused by biofouling, while controlling the spread of invasive aquatic species.
-
SoraRisk est une solution insurtech qui fournit une analyse en temps réel des risques dans le secteur maritime, permettant aux assureurs d’ajuster dynamiquement les primes et de réduire les pertes sur les chaînes d’approvisionnement | SoraRisk is an insurtech solution that provides real-time risk analysis in the maritime sector, enabling insurers to dynamically adjust premiums and reduce losses across supply chains.
-
Subseaify is transforming underwater imaging with AI-powered video enhancement and color restoration—helping marine research and industry capture clear, true-color visuals in low-visibility environments and improve efficiency, reliability, and safety.
-
SubVision Robotics is developing an autonomous, UV-based hull-cleaning robot that proactively prevents biofouling on ships, dramatically reducing fuel costs, emissions, and invasive species transfer in the global maritime industry.
-
Thalios.ai is building energy-efficient, adaptable solutions for marine mammal monitoring, powered by deep learning and edge technology.
-
Training Master Systems is creating an intelligent tutoring system to strengthen simulator-based ice navigation training, improving mariner readiness and safety in challenging offshore ice environments.
-
Trash Crab is developing a robotic AI platform to map, quantify, and remediate trash and ghost gear on our shorelines and beaches—protecting marine ecosystems, restoring habitats, and preventing thousands of pounds of debris from re-entering the ocean each year.
-
Waterlogged Robotics is building innovative gliders that make automated data collection accessible and scalable for small to medium-sized research missions.
2024
Ocean Idea Challenge
-
Creating an iceberg detection system using drones to enhance maritime safety and environmental monitoring.
-
Tackling the issue of unreliable and expensive maritime communication in remote ocean areas by equipping marine operators with advanced antennas
-
Building a zero-emissions vessel for the adventure sailing market
-
Turning fishery waste, such as crabs shells, into valuable raw materials.
-
Pioneering environmental sustainability with innovative microalgae technology for air purification
-
Building an affordable autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to assist with large-scale ocean exploration and monitoring
-
Developing a software platform to increase the efficiency of experiments in fluid mechanics research
-
Pioneering sustainable performance fibers by transforming organic bio-waste into a high-performance spandex alternative through advanced bacterial fermentation
-
Creating specialized coatings to deliver superior durability and antifouling protection for marine and industrial applications.
-
Developing a resilient hydrokinetic turbine to harvest clean energy from tidal and river currents
-
Develop a solution for integrating near-real-time environmental data into navigation route optimization tools
-
Utilizing digital twin technologies based on artificial intelligence to enhance aquaculture production techniques, leading to low production costs and high-quality fish products
-
Designing a resilient battery with smart control as a cheap and reliable solution for ultracold weather applications
-
Engineering a new type of bandage using seaweed that provides effective cooling treatment and painless removal for burns
-
Developing underwater robotics solutions, designed to provide offshore marine vessel maintenance and inspection to avoid unnecessary dry docking
-
Building a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) specializing in underwater maintenance using metal additive manufacturing concepts
-
We deliver turnkey automated solutions for seafloor resource and biomass assessments using marine robotics and artificial intelligence
-
Using satellite imagery and artificial intelligence for rapid detection of oil spills to mitigate environmental damage and protect marine ecosystems.
-
Addressing the critical energy challenges faced by remote and underserved communities, through the use of Triboelectric Nanogenerators (TENG) to harvest ocean wave energy
-
Developing Hybrid Piezoelectric-Electromagnetic (Piezo-EM) Vibration Energy Harvesters (VEHs) to harness vibrational energy from natural sources, such as ocean waves and wind flow
-
Develops an artificial predator to detect and control aquatic invasive species.
-
Developing biodegradable acoustic panels from local seaweed by rethinking our relationship to materials and their origin.
-
Develops a technology that hooks onto fishing nets and lifts them off the seabed to reduce impacts on ecosystems and increase profitability for fishermen.
-
Develops a retractable cofferdam solution for climate-resilient coastal communities| Développement d’une solution de batardeaux rétractables pour des communautés côtières résilientes face aux changements climatiques
2023
Ocean Communities Climate Challenge
-
Harnessing the power of sonar and AI to detect and map locations of ghost fishing gear underwater so that it can be retrieved
-
Replacing single-use plastic waste from research labs and medical facilities, using ocean-based materials for a greener future
-
Developing a technology to avoid trawler seabed scraping and reduce fuel consumption in the fishery industry
-
Recycling ocean plastic waste to produce filament for 3D printers
2022
Ocean Idea Challenge
-
Building an automated video review software for scalable and affordable electronic monitoring of commercial fisheries. Their solution will assist observation companies that currently review millions of hours of video footage from fishing vessel decks manually, helping them cut costs and scale.
-
Developing biodegradable and non-toxic bioplastic from seaweed, grown in partnership with Indigenous Nations in British Columbia.
-
Developing a digital twin remote real-time monitoring system that will improve the predictive maintenance of marine vessels’ in-service equipment.
-
Developing a sustainable, multi-species hatchery model that will supply seed products for the aquaculture industry.