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Seatrec Wins Power at Sea Prize for Bold Plan to Map World’s Marine Resources Using Ocean’s Own Power

Sustainably-powered autonomous float equipped with an active acoustic echosounder will map upper ocean pelagic habitats to address the critical knowledge gap in marine living resource distribution on a planetary scale

VISTA, Calif. – WEBWIRE – Thursday, December 19, 2024. Seatrec, a renewable energy company that harvests energy from temperature differences in the environment, was named one of 20 winners of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Powering the Blue Economy™: Power at Sea Prize. This recognition comes with a $10,000 award for the company’s groundbreaking concept: mapping the world’s marine resources using a subsea robot equipped with a side-looking echosounder and powered by the ocean’s thermal energy.

“Long-endurance data collection in remote areas of the ocean has always been restricted because batteries are insufficient and ships are too expensive to power high-end sensors like echosounders,” explains Yi Chao, Ph.D., Seatrec’s founder and CEO. “Our technology unlocks the ocean’s temperature differences to power those sensors, and the Power at Sea Prize helps fuel our vision of sustainable exploration to better understand our blue planet.”

Seatrec’s goal of developing a thermally-powered profiling float equipped with echosounder sensors will provide an innovative and critical path to map upper ocean pelagic habitats by measuring zooplankton, which plays a vital role in aquatic ecosystems and the planet’s overall health.

This echosounder float will profile as deep as 1,000 meters and surface every six hours, capturing diurnal variations at key times (sunrise, noon, sunset, and midnight). During ascent, the side-looking echosounder will map zooplankton and mesopelagic organisms smaller than 10 cm at various distances from the float. When sufficient thermal gradients exist, the energy harvesting system will convert temperature differences into electricity. Upon surfacing, the float will report its position and transmit data via satellite. Initial deployment is proposed for Monterey Bay, leveraging the area’s existing sustained observing system to validate this novel zooplankton measurement modality.

The Power at Sea Prize, one of DOE’s competitive programs, recognizes innovative marine energy concepts that could feasibly power blue economy applications, such as ocean-observing devices, aquaculture installations, and storm tracking systems. Twenty teams across the United States were awarded in this first CONCEPT Phase, competing for a total prize pool of $200,000.

Matthew Grosso, WPTO Director, praised the winners: “The CONCEPT Phase winners delivered the out-of-the-box ideas we were looking for as we work to harness the potential of marine energy for offshore applications. We look forward to seeing their progress in the prize’s next phase.”

Seatrec will advance to the DEVELOP Phase of the competition, where teams will refine their technologies with support from industry mentors, networking opportunities, and targeted training. Final winners will share a $1.5 million prize pool to further develop their innovations.

This recognition reinforces Seatrec’s commitment to driving sustainable innovation in ocean technology. With this award, the company continues its mission to contribute to a thriving blue economy while addressing critical challenges in ocean exploration and resource management.

For more information about Seatrec’s award-winning technology and ongoing initiatives, visit www.seatrec.com.

About Seatrec
Seatrec designs and manufactures energy harvesting systems that generate electricity from naturally occurring temperature differences in ocean waters. This renewable energy can be used to power deep water oceanographic research equipment such as floats, gliders, and autonomous underwater vehicles, resulting in the most scalable, cost-effective deep ocean data collection possible. The company is headquartered in Vista, CA. Visit us at www.seatrec.com and @seatrecinc.