Western Australia’s startup ecosystem can now add innovation in engineering ocean solutions to its diverse list of strengths alongside METS, Medtech, Agtech, and Creative Industries.
The evidence is in the hard-to-miss bright ‘blue’ streak running through recent awards and funding announcements — Uluu, Seastock, Enautic, We Spot Turtles, WaveX, Onetide, Pot Pirate, Kelp Island, Sea-Quester, Over Three Oceans, Marine Biomedical, Hyperion Systems, Reefcraft, Canopy Blue, Franmarine, and Carnegie Clean Energy have all been announced as finalists in awards or received grants through Government programs in the last few months.
What each of these B2B startups share is the use of Western Australia’s world-class capabilities in marine science and engineering to create sustainable, ‘green’ technological solutions that both address specific local challenges and are fit to scale and meet global demand.
Their technologies include sustainable alternatives to plastic, concrete, and bone; hardware solutions for subsea monitoring, maintenance, and regeneration; and ocean-sourced fuels and energy. Each of these companies is developing or applying ‘deep’ technologies to deliver greater efficiency, safety, and sustainability for industry.
Now, this wave of ventures is also attracting interstate and international interest.
Ocean Impact Organisation recently signed an MOU with For Blue to strengthen its offering in Western Australia and Southeast Asia, and Founders Factory is seeking WA ocean ventures as part of its global nature-tech portfolio. Also catching the wave is Chandni Jaga, from Plug and Play Ventures, the most active early-stage VC in the world. Chandni will be visiting Fremantle, Cockburn, and the South West in September to access WA’s ecosystem of startups.
Chandni said, “I’m excited to get a better understanding of the Australian ecosystem and finding investment and partnership opportunities. This is perfect timing and setting to gain a deeper insight into ocean-related technologies and to share what we are seeing in the broader APAC markets.”
Chandni, many of those award-winning ventures listed, and a range of expert speakers will be attending the Engineering Ocean Solutions conference from September 10th to 11th before also speaking at the Regional Innovation Summit in Busselton on September 13th.
Now in its third year, Engineering Ocean Solutions (EOS) is a unique conference convening innovators, engineers, investors, researchers, and business leaders working in marine, subsea, maritime, defence, and coastal engineering.
EOS organisers including For Blue, City of Cockburn, and The Hub on SX are offering scholarships for diverse categories including international, young, student, regional, female, and non-binary participants. There are also opportunities for startups to pitch and exhibit as part of the event and receive coworking and concierge support to help with their ‘immersion’ in the local ocean innovation scene.
Read more about the conference and apply for scholarships at https://engineeringoceans.io/.