Climatetech incubator Greentown Labs and Vineyard Wind, developer of the first utility-scale offshore wind farm in the United States, have selected five startups to participate in Greentown Go Energize 2023.
The Greentown Go program, which is supported by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), is dedicated to advancing technologies for responsible offshore wind development.
A total of 40 GW of offshore wind capacity is set to come online in the United States in the next decade. Harnessing this resource will increase grid reliability and diversity while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. With only 42 MW of offshore wind capacity currently operational, the U.S. offshore wind industry is ready for significant growth and innovation – but given the industry’s complexity, it can be uniquely challenging for startups to enter this space.
Go Energize 2023 will remove barriers hindering the commercialization of innovative technologies within the offshore wind industry by providing education and fostering robust relationships across networks. The program sought startups with solutions for offshore turbine monitoring and ecological data collection and digital solutions to improve turbine efficiency and longevity. Out of more than 60 applicants from a dozen countries, a cohort of five startup participants was selected:
- Blue Atlas Robotics (Odense, Denmark): Developed and commercialized a robot platform that removes operational and data limitations present today when using available methods for underwater inspections.
- FutureOn (Oslo, Norway): Its FieldTwin creates a dynamic and 3D geospatial common data environment across surface, subsea and subsurface domains, with open API connectivity into third-party tools and existing customer workflows.
- HyperKelp (Encinitas, Calif.): Produces the Kelp Smart Buoy – a hosted payload platform capable of carrying hundreds of sensors – that collects and transmits marine-level data for wind farmers, climate scientists, and military intelligence officials.
- Lobster Robotics (Delft, Netherlands): Develops lightweight, low-cost, fast robots for visual surveying to lower the cost of surveying in offshore wind farms.
- SeaDeep (Malden, Mass.): Revolutionizes underwater assessments with AI-powered subsea vision for inspecting marine environments and substructures in real-time and with high-fidelity using low-cost, off-the-shelf cameras.
The startup cohort will work closely with Vineyard Wind and MassCEC over six months to advance commercialization efforts while connecting with offshore wind developers, NGOs, scientists, and other key players and prepare for partnerships in the burgeoning U.S. offshore wind industry. The startups will also benefit from mentorship, networking opportunities, educational workshops and partnership-focused programming; gain desk space and membership at Greentown for the duration of the accelerator; and receive $70,000 each in non-dilutive stipend funding.
“Offshore wind is a critical tool in the energy transition, and it’s imperative that we advance innovations that will not only maximize offshore wind’s potential, but ensure its responsible development,” says Jason Hanna, interim CEO at Greentown.
The Go Energize 2023 cohort will participate in continuous mentoring and three workshops with Vineyard Wind and MassCEC, culminating in a showcase event in November at Greentown’s Boston location.
