It has been quite a successful year for Ocean Exchange. We had 150 + applicants for our three $100,000 awards, culminating in 15 finalists in Fort Lauderdale. I want to again celebrate our $100,000 winners: Oyster Heaven, Carbon Bridge, and Phoenix Waste Systems. We are sharing here a digital magazine of a large selection of the startups we engaged with in 2024.
We are delighted to announce four important news items since our event in Fort Lauderdale in
Millicent Wallace Pitts CEO/Executive Director
late October. We are the recipient of the Think It New winner in the Apollo Opportunity Foundation annual employee Citizenship Pitch; we are a member in the Continuum, one of only four national awardees of the NOAA Ocean Enterprise Accelerator grant; we are a partner in the US Department of Commerce South Florida Tech Hub; and we announced that our finalists over 13 years raised $3.1 billion of funding, mostly from traditional investment. None of this would be possible without our tiny, but mighty team: Susan Zellers, Alys Spillman, and Alex Akkaoui. Enjoy this digital magazine and help us help these startups advance.
Save the date for Ocean Exchange 2025 October 26th-28th in Fort Lauderdale!
ADHERE GEAR WAVE
Adhere Gear's WAVE solution supports the cruise industry by collecting and analyzing crucial ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) data. Their technology focuses on improving food quality, safety, and sustainability while reducing food waste and the carbon footprint through optimized logistics and real-time monitoring. This approach helps cruise operators meet ESG reporting standards and promotes ocean sustainability.
Algas Organics
Algas Organics is an agricultural biotechnology company that produces plant amendments derived from 100% Sargassum natans and S. fluitans seaweed species. Their flagship product, Algas, is designed to maximize crop performance and return on investment by enhancing root system architecture, improving nutrient uptake, and increasing flower and fruit set. Additionally, their patented ProEnzymo™ hybrid fermentation process removes heavy metals, ensuring a pristine extract that doesn't harm the environment.
Aqua-Gel-Ponics Substrates is an eco-friendly material designed to transform sustainable aquaponic food production. By promoting plant growth without synthetic fertilizers, it reduces nutrient runoff that contributes to harmful algal blooms and dead zones, protecting marine ecosystems. This plant-based, biodegradable hydrogel integrates naturally chelated iron, replacing unsustainable materials like mineral wool and synthetic chelated iron to boost crop yields, enhance profitability, and minimize waste.
Cori Byrge - LinkedIn
Atarraya is revolutionizing aquaculture with Shrimpbox Farms, the first AI-powered, hyper-modular facilities that enable sustainable shrimp production anywhere in the world, including urban and cold climates. These farms significantly increase productivity up to 1,800% more efficient than traditional methods—while reducing environmental impact by minimizing water and land usage. By eliminating the need for antibiotics and harmful additives, Shrimpbox Farms produce fresh, high-quality shrimp locally.
Blaze Energy
Blaze Energy focuses on enabling zero-carbon combustion through advanced ammonia-based fuel solutions. They develop proprietary technology to convert liquid ammonia into ammonia/hydrogen blends on-site and on-demand, offering a carbon-free alternative to traditional hydrocarbon fuels like diesel or natural gas. This innovation is targeted at decarbonizing hard-to-abate industries such as heavy manufacturing and commercial transportation, where electrification is not practical.
BLUEiQ
BLUEiQ develops advanced passive acoustic sensing solutions to safeguard marine biodiversity and reduce human-induced ocean noise. Their flagship innovation, the OpenEar hydrophone, is designed to monitor and protect endangered species like the North Atlantic Right Whale by providing real-time data to prevent ship strikes and mitigate communication disruptions. Their technologies are integrated with renewable systems like solar-powered buoys.
CarbonBridge
CarbonBridge develops innovative climate technology to transform harmful greenhouse gases, specifically carbon dioxide and methane, into ultra-low carbon methanol. Using a proprietary microbial process within a bioreactor, they produce this sustainable fuel with lower heat and pressure requirements, making it highly efficient. Their methanol, which can be sourced from waste gases like those from wastewater treatment facilities, is compatible with existing fuel infrastructure and can also be upgraded into aviation fuel or plastics.
Cellugy is a biotechnology company that develops EcoFLEXY, a sustainable, plant-based alternative to conventional plastic packaging. Derived from natural resources, EcoFLEXY is biodegradable and designed to reduce environmental impact by replacing fossil-based plastics in various applications. By utilizing renewable resources, Cellugy aims to contribute to a circular economy and address the global challenge of plastic pollution.
Clean Earth Rovers develops autonomous vessels designed to clean waterways and collect environmental data. Their flagship product, the Rover AVPro™, is an electric, autonomous robot that skims the surface of coastal waters, marinas, and harbors to collect trash and debris, capable of removing up to 100 pounds of waste per trip and operating for up to 20 hours on a single charge.
cleanearthrovers.com - Website @cleanearthrover - X
EarthABC is a platform that streamlines access to sustainability funds by offering curated incentives and expert grant writing services. Their Climate Marketplace enables businesses to initiate and manage their climate and sustainability efforts efficiently, reducing the time required from years to days. By providing comprehensive features, reporting tools, and seamless third-party integration, EarthABC simplifies the process of implementing climate actions at scale.
Eddy Analytics leverages science-based digital twins to model coastal environments in real time, integrating hydrodynamic simulations with marine data and habitat maps. Their solution supports a range of applications, including optimizing coastal restoration, creating early warning systems for natural disasters, and mapping land-based sources of pollution. It also enables precise planning for aquaculture operations, quantification of larval connectivity, and infrastructure development with minimized environmental impact.
Eyesea
Eyesea is a nonprofit with a mission to map global pollution and maritime hazards. Its flagship solution is a smartphone app that enables seafarers, recreational sailors, and community volunteers to log sightings of marine pollution such as oil spills, plastics, and other debris. The collected data is used to create detailed pollution maps, which are provided to govts., NGOs, researchers, and cleanup groups to guide targeted clean-up efforts and shape evidence-based environmental policies.
Hiili Inc.
Hiili is developing a proprietary biocatalyst to reduce the operating costs of maritime carbon capture systems by 30-44%, addressing the urgent need to decarbonize the shipping industry, which accounts for a gigaton of CO2 emissions annually. This innovative solution lowers energy requirements by 45-67%, providing cost savings of $500k-800k per ship per year, making carbon capture more accessible for fleet operators facing mounting regulatory and market pressures.
KIDEMIS is a Swiss food and feed technology company revolutionizing aquaculture by using mycelium-based fermentation to upcycle agricultural sidestreams into sustainable, high-quality, and costeffective mycoprotein. This innovative alternative to traditional fishmeal and soy-based feed is scalable, eco-friendly, and supports biodiversity by reducing the environmental impact of aquaculture. KIDEMIS aims to replace one million tons of fish and soy feed with its solution, driving significant improvements in ocean conservation and food system sustainability.
Newlight is a biotechnology company that develops plug-in technology to convert conventional diesel engines into hybrid hydrogen-diesel systems, aiming to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the shipping industry. Their solution enables ships to operate more sustainably by decreasing fuel usage by up to 30% and lowering carbon emissions by up to 60%, facilitating a more eco-friendly maritime sector.
Nucleic Sensing Systems
Nucleic Sensing Systems specializes in environmental DNA (eDNA) and RNA monitoring through their innovative Tracker system, a portable, field-deployable device that autonomously analyzes water samples in real time. The Tracker uses advanced PCR techniques to detect specific genetic material with high precision, offering actionable insights within an hour. NS2 enables users to monitor biological activity, such as detecting invasive species or pathogens, efficiently and accurately.
Oceana Energy develops marine turbines that generate affordable, carbon-free electricity by harnessing tidal and river currents. Their unique turbine design, inspired by natural principles and developed in collaboration with the U.S. Navy's Naval Surface Warfare Center, offers a low-maintenance, long-lasting solution for sustainable energy production. By providing predictable and reliable green energy, Oceana Energy aims to make renewable power accessible to all, without negatively impacting the planet's health.
OnDeck Fisheries AI Inc.
OnDeck Fisheries AI develops artificial intelligence solutions for fisheries management, using video and machine learning technology to automate the monitoring of fish catch and bycatch on commercial fishing vessels. This scalable approach reduces the need for manual video reviews, making fisheries monitoring more efficient, affordable, and accessible globally, while enhancing sustainability and compliance in the fishing industry.
Oyster Heaven BV
Oyster Heaven develops oyster reef restoration solutions to address coastal erosion, biodiversity loss, and water pollution. Their approach involves creating Mother Reefs—biodegradable clay structures seeded with oysters—that serve as living breakwaters. The structures reduce wave energy, improve water quality and stabilize shorelines. Unlike other restoration projects funded by philanthropy or government grants, Oyster Heaven sells 'Ocean Resilience Services' from the reef to generate revenue. This helps companies to manage their brand, regulation and supply chain resilience issues.
oysterheaven.org - Website
Phoenix Waste Solutions provides an innovative waste treatment system known as "The Phoenix," which processes 4 to 8 tons of mixed municipal and industrial waste daily without the need for prior sorting. The system utilizes high temperatures (500-1000°F) to reduce waste into a non-toxic ash that constitutes only 2-4% of the original volume, offering applications in soil amendment or construction.
Pine Island Redfish LLC
Pine Island Redfish is a Florida-based regenerative aquaculture company specializing in the land-based cultivation of redfish using Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) technology. Their approach ensures year-round production of redfish without impacting wild populations. They also repurpose nutrient-rich effluent to grow halophytic plants like red mangroves and sea purslane, contributing to coastal restoration and creating a circular food system.
SailTimer
SailTimer offers a crowdsourcing platform that enhances maritime voyage optimization by collecting real-time wind data from vessels, providing more accurate and high-resolution information compared to traditional satellite weather forecasts. Their Air Link™ device facilitates the transmission of this data every second, enabling ships to plan efficient routes, reduce fuel consumption, and comply with emissions regulations.
sailtimer-offshore.com - Website
Seacork Studio designs and produces biodegradable acoustic panels made from locally sourced seaweed. Their innovation focuses on replacing conventional mineral fiber panels with eco-friendly alternatives while emphasizing sustainable material development that values the natural ecosystem. Their acoustic panels are biodegradable, circular, cost-competitive, noise-reducing, and carbon negative.
Soarce develops sustainable materials from seaweed and nanotechnology to decarbonize industries like apparel and textiles. Their multifunctional materials offer properties such as UV and fire resistance, non-fading brightness, and chemical protection, enabling the production of high-performing, plastic-free fabrics and leathers. These innovations help replace synthetic materials while reducing water and energy use in manufacturing, supporting eco-friendly and durable solutions.
SynMatter
SynMatter is revolutionizing surface coatings with its patented "smart particle" technology. These coatings actively protect against corrosion and biofouling by sensing and reacting to environmental changes, offering durable and eco-friendly solutions for critical infrastructure. By reducing reliance on harmful heavy metals and marine pollutants, their innovations extend the lifespan of materials and cut maintenance costs while benefiting the environment.
Uluu is an Australian company producing biodegradable, plastic-like materials from seaweed, offering a sustainable alternative to fossil fuel-based plastics. Their products are designed for various applications, including rigid items, fabrics, films, and coatings, and are compatible with existing plastic manufacturing equipment. By utilizing farmed seaweed, Uluu's materials are climate-positive, contributing to carbon sequestration and ocean health restoration.
ZEM specializes in innovative, low-carbon solutions for the maritime industry, focusing on technologies that promote cleaner energy and sustainable operations. Their core advancements include using ammonia as a fuel for high-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), which generate electricity and water with minimal environmental impact. This approach helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions in shipping while addressing challenges like harmful NOx emissions through advanced engineering solutions.
Zparq
Zparq is a Swedish company specializing in ultra-compact, scalable electric marine motors designed for both recreational and commercial vessels. Their direct-drive systems, featuring patented Hyperflow Cooling™ technology, are up to 10x smaller than conventional motors, offering high efficiency, zero emissions, and minimal maintenance. Their flagship product, the Z10 outboard motor, exemplifies their commitment to revolutionizing marine propulsion with environmentally friendly technology.
