TEN OCEAN INNOVATORS CELEBRATED AS FINALISTS FOR PITCHFEST 2022
Press release for immediate distribution
Sydney, 24 October 2022
The top ten Finalists in The Ocean Impact Pitchfest 2022 have been announced today, highlighting the groundbreaking efforts being made locally and globally to address the growing pressures humans are placing on the ocean.
Shortlisted from an extraordinary diversity of submissions from 38 countries, the ten Finalists represent an exciting illustration of the rapidly growing ‘ocean impact’ innovation ecosystem that is making waves globally.
Coordinated by Australia’s Ocean Impact Organisation (OIO) with support from over 50 partners including HP Australia, Zip Water, Dicker Data and Austral Fisheries, The Ocean Impact Pitchfest 2022 is a global initiative to find, support and accelerate startups working on solutions to transform ocean health. This year offers a $50,000 cash prize for first place with an additional $50,000 to be awarded to businesses working on specific ocean challenge and opportunity areas.
The ten Finalists (in alphabetical order) are:
BESE (Netherlands); Better Packaging Co. (New Zealand); CCell (UK); Clean Ocean Coatings (Germany); FishLAT (USA); Hullbot (Australia); Nohbo (USA); OnDeck Fisheries AI (Canada); PlanetCare (Slovenia) and SLURRYTUB (Australia).
Co-founder and CEO of Ocean Impact Organisation, Nick Chiarelli said,
“What an incredibly exciting and diverse group of Finalists this year! From biomimicry inspired tools to kickstart mangrove restoration to robots that clean boat hulls - we really do get to see it all at OIO! I want to take this opportunity to congratulate all of the Finalists but to also thank everyone who applied again this year. Being in a position to see and support such amazing innovators makes our job at OIO an incredibly rewarding one.”
A brief description of each startup and their solution is outlined below. The ten pitch videos from the Finalists can be viewed here.
BESE: amplifying coastal habitat restoration (eg. mangroves, oyster beds) with biodegradable, biomimicry inspired devices made from potato chip waste.
Better Packaging Co. POLLAST!C is packed with impact. This range, currently the lowest carbon packaging commercially available, is made from 100% recycled ocean-bound plastic pollution which is rescued from (and by) coastal communities.
CCell: Creating digitised living reefs that combat coastal erosion. CCell uses seawater electrolysis to develop their reef structures, mimicking natural reefs and restoring coastlines.
Clean Ocean Coatings: biocide-free and solvent-free hard coating for ships' hulls to address the 100,000 tonnes of toxic ‘self-eroding’ antifouling coatings used annually.
FishLAT: a spatial planning tool developed by Blue Latitudes to predict how new and decommissioned offshore energy infrastructure can enhance marine biodiversity and sustainable fisheries.
Hullbot: building robots for healthy oceans. The H1S can be deployed to clean boat hulls eliminating harmful antifouling coatings and preventing invasive species transport.
Nohbo: water-soluble and fully dissolvable packaging solutions for consumer products, addressing the 120 billion units used annually in the personal care and beauty industry.
OnDeck Fisheries AI: revolutionising fisheries management with AI software to reduce costs and increase monitoring. Assisting compliance requirements and reducing overfishing.
PlanetCare: closed-loop filter solutions for washing machines to prevent the ~700,000 microfibres shed into sewers and the environment from every wash cycle.
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.
The Finalists of Pitchfest 2022 join highly celebrated applicants including Sea Forest (Winner, 2021); Planet Protector Packaging (Winner 2020); Wave Swell Energy (Runner Up, 2020), ARC Marine (Runner Up, 2020), Great Wrap (Runner Up 2021) and Saathi (Runner Up, 2021).
The Winner, Runners Up and recipients of this year's Spotlight Awards will be announced live at INNOVOCEAN, OIO’s major innovation showcase event on 24 November at the Australian National Maritime Museum.
Ocean Impact Innovation
Jas Chambers, co-founder of Ocean Decade Australia and a member of the Pitchfest 2022 Judging Panel said, “Scaling innovative solutions to improve ocean health is of course good for the planet, but is also good for business and good for global governance. Through the work of OIO we are seeing just how much ‘ocean impact’ innovation is occurring locally to combat the great challenges we face. Australia is stepping up to show the world what we are capable of and that fills me with hope and excitement for the future.”
In addition to the $50,000 cash prize for the Winner, four Spotlight Awards will be awarded to startups working on key ocean challenges. This year’s $10,000 Spotlight Awards are presented by Zip Water (Plastic Pollution Solution); Dicker Data (Ocean Monitoring Solution); Austral Fisheries (Sustainable Ocean Harvesting Solution) and OIO’s Philanthropy Network (Ocean Climate Solution). This year will also see the addition of the inaugural NSW Ocean Innovation Award funded by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment.
The NSW Ocean Innovation Award will provide $10,000 prize money and an additional $30,000 of relevant products and services to a startup operating in NSW working on innovative solutions to improve ocean health by addressing priority threats to the NSW Marine Estate.
INNOVOCEAN
Funding from the NSW Government’s Department of Planning and Environment will also support OIO’s inaugural INNOVOCEAN event, taking place at Sydney’s Australian National Maritime Museum on 24 November 2022. This major event will bring together startups, investors and key stakeholders across a range of sectors to explore OIO’s emerging ocean impact ecosystem and the efforts being made locally and globally to tackle ocean challenges through innovation and investment in ‘good business’.
The event will also incorporate live pitches from startups participating in the Ocean Impact Accelerator Program 2022. Six startups from Australia, Asia and the USA will illustrate the progress they have made throughout the 7-month program and pitch live to ocean investors and stakeholders.
People interested in attending the invite-only INNOVOCEAN event are encouraged to complete this form to express their interest.
For press enquiries please contact:
Tim Silverwood, Head of Marketing and Community
E: info@ocean-impact.org
T: 0420 668 114
To access a range of resources (including photos and videos of ocean innovations and the OIO Founders please visit here). A range of talent can be approached for comment and media appearances.
About OIO
Ocean Impact Organisation is Australia’s ocean impact innovation ecosystem and startup accelerator. Our purpose is to transform ocean health through inspiration, innovation, and good business.
Our mission is to support and accelerate ocean impact businesses. We exist to help people start, grow and invest in businesses that positively impact the ocean.