Deep Dive

Welcome to Seatrec

Seatrec was founded in 2016 by our CEO, Dr. Yi Chao. Our core technology originated at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, to provide clean power for remote off-grid locations. With funding from private investors, government grants, and industry contracts, Seatrec further developed this thermal energy technology and released its first commercial product in 2019. We're continuing to build a robust product line of power solutions and computational tools for offshore applications including seafloor mapping, meteorology, and marine animal conservation.

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

The ocean never ceases to inspire us. So do the people who are obsessed with understanding its enormous impact on our environment and lives. Forty years ago, oceanographic pioneer, Henry Stommel, envisioned a network of floats powered by the sea. That vision inspired a generation of oceanographers to find a method to provide subsurface ocean data on a scale and frequency similar to how satellite technology provided data for the earth's surfaces. Seatrec's mission is to continue the quest.

Seatrec's History of Innovation

From a visionary prototype in 2009, SOLO-TREC revolutionized underwater exploration as the first UUV powered solely by the ocean’s temperature differences. With its initial success of performing 1000 daily profiles at 500 meters, SOLO-TREC set a new possibility for oceanic data collection. After spinning out the technology from JPL, we founded Seatrec.  Our first product was the SL-1, which was coupled with a Sea-bird Navis float (Navis SL-1).  Our latest product – the infiniTE™  float – combines our energy-patented system into a new vertically integrated float system capable of supporting power-hungry sensors like echosounders and hydrophones. With the infiniTEâ„¢ float leading the charge, ocean data capture has reached a new level of discovery.

Investors

Government and Non-Profit Partners

Industry Partners