BlueGreen NJ

Aquaculture is a paradoxical opportunity. On the one hand over-fishing, unsustainable practices and climate change have depleted the food resources we derive from the ocean. On the other hand, we need more food and smarter, cleaner techniques to grow, raise and catch more seafood. The U.S. imports about 75% of the seafood we consume, so intelligent #aquaculture is both an economic and a sustainability opportunity. This piece explores some of the ways we need to transform our relationship to the ocean and the food supply it can deliver if we can bring more green innovation to the process. https://lnkd.in/ern8ijuZ

Carbon drawdown has to hasten at both the emission front and securely capturing and storing environmental sources every way possible. The ocean is the planet’s greatest carbon sink. We can do this.

#Tidal power is tantalizing as a source for green #marine #energy. It is predictable, if not constant. With water's greater mass, it has higher energy density than air (wind). Tidal energy is widespread, but the best locations are geographically limited. Of course the ocean is a corrosive and punishing environment to operate in. No one has cracked the code on cost, feasibility and scale for tidal power, but Spiralis Energy has an approach that is novel and enticing in its simplicity: an aerodynamic screw made of recycled plastic in one moving part, called an Axial Skelter, that spins just below the ocean surface. The 3D-printed segments of the seashell-inspired corkscrew can be replaced, so the design offers a degree of maintenance modularity. The UK startup hopes to deploy an array of the devices in 2025, and claims that they can be printed in a week, shipped and installed anywhere. Power output is modest -- the goal is for a 500Kwh device -- but the smooth, slow turning skelter is also reputably safe for marine life. What other #tidal and marine energy innovations are you following? https://lnkd.in/ezy2fSga

Congratulations to Diamond Offshore Wind for this visionary effort in Maine: the first floating offshore wind test site in the United States. The area approved —15,000 acres in federal waters 28 miles southeast of Portland, Maine — will support up to 12 floating offshore wind turbines with 144 megawatts of generating capacity. The Northeast continues to lead in this vital sector of marine energy. BlueGreen is working to extend that leadership in New Jersey.

The Blue Machine, by Helen Czerski, describes the ocean as a vast system that converts solar energy into other forms, including wind, wave, current and thermal layers. That’s why approaches for #marine #energy that combine different types of generation are so intriguing. And why hybrid solutions like this one show great promise. https://lnkd.in/gfHiQB-P

Electrifying #marine operations—from vessels and equipment in ports to ferries and tourism related watercraft— is a real growth opportunity for the new blue economy. We’re also looking at ways #ecraft could make #aquaculture bluegreener. https://flip.it/vcYh4Z

Thank you Tamara Kahn, Ted Janulis, Joshua M Berger and the teams at Photon Marine and {CODENAME: E-LIXR} for an excellent event. Key sentiment: collaboration that helps #bluetech and the #blueeconomy thrive is a tide of awareness and momentum that lifts us all. Our region is ripe for the kind of innovation cluster and entrepreneurial ecosystem that will achieve that (sea)worthy goal.

Another key insight we heard: marine carbon dioxide removal may be akin to building an airplane as it rolls down the runway for takeoff, but it has the added burden of proving that air travel is safe in the process. Brilliant Planet and CarbonBlue, two of the new ventures that shared their 5-minute pitches, showcased how that might be done with solutions that mitigate risk because they don't operate in the open ocean. Brilliant Planet leverages the natural phenomenon of algal blooms to capture and bury carbon, and CarbonBlue's chemical process pulls CO2 out of fresh or salt water through a lime-based mineralization process. What the session also revealed is that public-private support for rapid piloting, testing and demonstration is essential to accelerate the sector.

Exciting times for Cohort V. Tell two friends.

Startup showcase at Ocean Visions session on marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR).