A total of 21 semi-finalists have been selected for their ‘creative and innovative approach’ to help solve the climate crisis, after being whittled down from 236 applications from more than 60 countries.
Endorsed by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030 (‘the Ocean Decade’), the BCI is hosting the Ocean Innovation Prize in conjunction with the Sustainable Ocean Alliance, in the framework of the Ocean Decade.
Coming from all corners of the globe, the finalists include clean energy and desalination from sea waves and solar technologies; kelp forest restoration and seaweed innovations such as for bioplastics and methane-reducing livestock feed supplements; carbon dioxide removal such as through gasification of algae biomass, electrochemistry and alkalinity enhancement; and many more.
The finalists were selected by a global group of 18 Expert Evaluators for their impact potential, innovation, commercial and scale potential, capacity and feasibility, alignment with Prize principles, and the value of Prize support.
“We congratulate the semi-finalists and are thrilled to draw attention to these important and timely innovations to address our climate crisis, using the power of the ocean,” said Stanley Rowland, CEO of the Blue Climate Initiative. “As the current COP26 discussions emphasize, bold action on climate solutions has never been more urgent.”
The goal of the Ocean Innovation Prize is to identify and accelerate market-based ocean-related solutions to our climate crisis in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, and drawing insights from the Blue Climate Initiative’s Transformational Opportunities.
A High-Level Judges panel will select final winners early 2022, who will share the US$1 Million cash prize and be featured at the Blue Climate Summit in May 2022 in French Polynesia.
Detailed information on the Ocean Innovation Prize can be found at: https://www.blueclimateinitiative.org/ocean-innovation-prize.
