Ocean Exchange Names Finalists for Three Awards

With its 2025 event set for October 26-28, Ocean Exchange has named the finalists for their three $100,000 awards, which will be conferred on October 28th. Ocean Exchange is a leader in supporting the acceleration of innovative solutions for healthy oceans, coastlines and the sustainable blue economy.

Fifteen candidates will compete for (2) Neptune Awards and (1) Ocean Enterprise Award. Nine are from the USA, three from Europe, one from Africa, one from the Middle East, and one from the Caribbean. Solutions fall into the following categories: ocean intelligence, ecosystem services/conservation, alternative materials, battery materials, vessel fuel/emissions reduction, and water monitoring/treatment. 

The winners for each award will be chosen based on the impact, level of innovation, and the ability to execute the solution. Delegates representing business, academia, government and nonprofits will vote for the three winners. 

• The (2) Neptune Awards will be given to solutions that advance our understanding of the ocean and help to minimize our impact on these resources resulting in more resilient bodies of water including healthy marine life and coastlines. 
• The (1) new Ocean Enterprise Award will go to a solution that supports ocean observations, delivers improved data and services, and enables the growth of a sustainable Blue Economy and healthy oceans. 

Finalists for 2025 are:

• ABALOBI (South Africa) Fisher-led digital solutions for small-scale fisheries.
• Algae Scope (Italy) PFAS replacement in textiles with seaweed based alternatives.
• Aloft (USA) Weather data collection while underway with novel wind propulsion. 
• Bio Clean Carbon (Denmark) Nutrient removal system using cyanobacteria.
• Bluenose (France) Wind deflectors for commercial vessels for fuel/emissions reduction.
• Ceal Minerals (Israel) Carbon removal w/valuable coproduct at seawater-cooled power plants.
• Cecilia (USA) Upcycled plastic waste into high performance carbon materials & hydrogen. 
• Cetera Energy (USA) Oilfield wastewater transformed into a US domestic source of lithium. 
• Dottir Labs (USA) Real-time water quality monitoring for the aquaculture industry.
• NeuralX (USA) AI-enabled insights to measure biomass, count fish, and monitor fish behavior. 
• Nucleic Sensing Systems (USA) Real-time eDNA data from autonomous systems. 
• Orpheus Ocean (USA) Autonomous underwater vehicle to unlock scalable seafloor access. 
• Reefgen (USA) Habitat restoration and conservation via Robotics-as-a-Service platform.
• SOS Biotech (DR) Sargassum repurposed into biostimulants and bio-based materials.
• Sunfish (USA) Infrastructure inspection and environmental monitoring enabled by AI on AUVs.