MEET THE NSW OCEAN INNOVATION AWARD FINALISTS FOR 2022

Sydney, 15 November 2022

The Finalists for the inaugural NSW Ocean Innovation Award have been announced today, spotlighting oceanpreneurs from across New South Wales who are innovating to help protect the State's vital waterways and marine ecosystems.

Meet the six startups making a splash with their unique solutions to the increasing pressures being placed on the ocean. These solutions address a diverse range of ocean threats; from invasive species transport, to single-use packaging, and even cement slurry!

This new award for The Ocean Impact Pitchfest is proudly sponsored by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment.

Each of the finalists’ projects align with the NSW Government’s Marine Estate Management Strategy (MEMS) - which aims to protect and enhance New South Wales’ waterways, coastline and estuaries - and have developed innovative solutions to positively impact ocean health in the state by addressing key knowledge gaps, or tackling priority threats and environmental pressures identified in NSW’s state-wide Threat and Risk Assessment (TARA).

The NSW Ocean Innovation Award supports ocean innovation, and investment in the transformative technologies and solutions that address threats to the New South Wales marine environment.

You can find a full list of priority threats in the NSW Marine Estate Management Strategy at this link.

THE AWARD WINNER

Thanks to sponsorship by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment, the winning startup will receive $10,000 funding and $30,000 of additional in-kind support to help develop their business.

Champions FOR THE ocean – meet THE six finalists

The combined NSW Government and Ocean Innovation judging panel has whittled the applications down to the final six for the NSW Ocean Innovation Award 2022. The finalists (listed in alphabetical order) are:

AusAir; Carapac; Hullbot; Newave.eco; SLURRYTUB and SoterMarket

A brief description of each startup and their solution is outlined below, or you can watch their pitch videos here.

AusAir: alternatives to synthetic non-renewable face masks, made from sustainable, certified compostable materials using the latest in materials science for advanced performance.

Carapac: sustainable, durable, home compostable plastic packaging alternatives made using food waste from crustacean shells, an abundant and nutrient rich waste source.

Hullbot: building robots for healthy oceans. The H1S can be deployed to clean boat hulls, eliminating harmful antifouling coatings and preventing invasive species transport. 

Newave.eco: natural lipbalms in certified compostable packaging that are designed to replace petroleum-based balms whilst replicating the functionality and look of plastic twist tube dispensers on the market today.

SLURRYTUB: a patented tub for filtering and disposing of cement slurry from building sites, preventing heavy metals and solids from entering waterways and the ocean.

SoterMarket: revolutionising the way we shop by bringing together plastic-free and sustainable products in one convenient location online, removing friction for the customer and preventing the need for single-use plastic in the supply chain.

The Winner of the NSW Ocean Innovation Award 2022 will be announced live at INNOVOCEAN, OIO’s major innovation showcase event on 24 November at the Australian National Maritime Museum. Learn more about the event here.