Greentown Labs and Vineyard Wind Announce Offshore Wind Challenge Startup Participants
Greentown Labs, the largest climatetech startup incubator in North America, and Vineyard Wind, developer of the first utility-scale offshore wind energy generation facility in the United States, have selected three startups for the Offshore Wind Challenge. The startups will focus on innovations in marine mammal monitoring through data collection, real-time transmission, and analysis. The advancement of their technologies will support the responsible development of the offshore wind industry off the coast of Massachusetts, and well beyond. The Challenge, run by Vineyard Wind and Greentown Labs with support from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, received more than 60 applications from around the globe. After a highly competitive recruitment and deliberation process, the partners announced that the following three companies have been selected to participate in the Offshore Wind Challenge and apply their technologies to near, real-time marine mammal detection:
SICdrone, based in Massachusetts, builds offshore-capable aerial drone systems that can fly in harsh weather conditions, eliminating weather delays for critical inspection and monitoring at sea.
Night Vision Technology Solutions, based in Rhode Island, is a high-technology provider of thermal and visible camera systems designed for offshore wind, search and rescue, threat detection, and situational awareness.
Open Ocean Robotics, based in British Columbia, makes it cheaper, easier, and safer to understand our oceans using solar-powered, self-driving boats that travel oceans for months at a time while collecting ocean data.
Based at Greentown Labs, which is headquartered in Somerville, Mass., the Offshore Wind Challenge is a six-month accelerator program focused on providing entrepreneurs with the connections, business and technical resources they need to commercialize their technologies. In addition to receiving direct support from Vineyard Wind and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, the Challenge also draws on the knowledge and expertise of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the New England Aquarium.
All participants in the program will receive:
Acceptance into Greentown Launch, a six-month partnerships acceleration program for startups, hosted at Greentown Labs, the largest climatetech incubator in North America
A structured platform to explore potential partnership outcomes with Vineyard Wind
Exclusive access to the Greentown Labs and Vineyard Wind networks
Funding and access to MassCEC’s New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal for ocean validation of technologies
Greentown Labs membership for the duration of the six-month accelerator program
Mentorship, networking opportunities, and partnership-focused programming from the Greentown Labs ecosystem of cleantech and climatetech startup experts
Access to mentorship from the world’s leading offshore wind engineers, scientists, and permitting specialists
Access to various offshore wind organizations and suppliers
The Offshore Wind Challenge will feature over 40 hours of intensive business training, hands-on mentorship from industry experts, and a unique model of startup-and-corporate relationship building. The Offshore Wind Challenge partners will host a final showcase in 2021 to share startup progress, accomplishments, and successful results of working closely with Vineyard Wind, Greentown Labs, and MassCEC throughout the program.
Source : STRATEGIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE