OCEAN IMPACT ACCELERATOR PROGRAM 2023 COHORT REVEALED
Press release for immediate distribution
Sydney, 22 June 2023
Australia’s Ocean Impact Organisation (OIO) has today announced the six pioneering startups working on solutions to transform ocean health that will participate in the Ocean Impact Accelerator Program (OIAP) 2023. The startups from Australia and the USA will spend 5-months working alongside OIO with the ultimate goal of expanding their business, and their impact on Planet Ocean.
Each startup is addressing a complex ocean challenge with an innovative approach to help improve the overall health of the ocean, climate, and the broader environment. The six startups were selected via a highly competitive process from a pool of ~100 applicants from across the Pacific Rim.
THE 2023 COHORT
The six startups and the solutions they are working on are (in alphabetical order):
Aquacultr | Port Stephens, Australia: Scalable land-based seafood production. Aquacultr addresses the impact of the global demand for seafood on oceans and waterways by enabling scalable and sustainable seafood production with its land-based Smart Aquatic Farms.
Azul Bio | New York, USA: Probiotics for the ocean. Azul Bio reduces the impacts of climate change and pollution on marine ecosystems by creating microbial-based treatments and probiotics that restore ocean productivity and breakdown contaminants at scale.
Clean Earth Rovers | Cincinnati, USA: IoT monitoring and cleanup solutions. Clean Earth Rovers is a marine robotics and water quality data company tackling pollutants in coastal waterways by providing scalable low-cost IoT monitoring and cleanup solutions.
ecoSPEARS | Orlando, Florida: Eliminating ‘forever chemicals’. ecoSPEARS develops and deploys groundbreaking technologies to extract and eliminate ‘forever chemicals’ (PCBs, PFAS, and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs)) from the environment.
Hullbot | Sydney, Australia: Robots for healthy oceans. This Sydney-based startup addresses the massive global issue of biofouling on vessels with its autonomous, in-water robot which inspects, maps, and cleans boat hulls.
Shark Stop | Byron Bay, Australia: Shark bite resistant wetsuits. Shark Stop is the only scientifically-proven shark bite resistant wetsuit on the market. The precision polymer fibre technology can reduce the depth of a great white shark bite, preventing the catastrophic blood loss and loss of limbs that cause death in many shark attacks.
CEO and Co-founder of Ocean Impact Organisation Nick Chiarelli said
“I’m thrilled to announce the 2023 cohort of the Ocean Impact Accelerator Program. We were amazed by the quality of the applicants this year and are ecstatic to see such diverse and impactful startups accepted into the program.”
The OIAP will be delivered online over the next 5-months and culminate in each startup pitching live on stage at OIO’s INNOVOCEAN showcase event in Sydney on 22 November 2023.
To read more about the startups and ways to get involved as a mentor, investor, or future program participant please visit here.
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For press enquiries please contact:
Tim Silverwood
Head of Marketing and Community
tim@ocean-impact.org
For investor enquiries:
info@ocean-impact.org
Links
The Ocean Impact Accelerator Program 2023
About OIO
Ocean Impact Organisation (OIO) helps startups make their greatest impact through funding and growth opportunities.
We are an Australian-based organisation delivering innovation programs and support to help people to start, grow, and invest in businesses that positively impact the ocean.
About the OIAP
The Ocean Impact Accelerator Program is OIO’s flagship program, providing the best ocean impact startups with the support they need to reach their potential. The program is industry and technology agnostic, meaning startup solutions may address diverse challenges, from climate change; plastic pollution; fisheries and aquaculture; ocean data and monitoring; decarbonisation; robotics; seaweed and many other areas.
