Vineyard Wind and Greentown Labs pick offshore wind challenge participants

Vineyard Wind and Greentown Labs have selected three startups for the Offshore Wind Challenge focused on accelerating technologies that protect marine life.

The startups will focus on innovations in marine mammal monitoring through data collection, real-time transmission, and analysis, which is expected to support the development of the offshore wind industry in Massachusetts and beyond.

After a recruitment and deliberation process, the partners selected SICdrone, based in Massachusetts, which builds offshore-capable aerial drone systems said to be able to fly in harsh weather conditions, eliminating weather delays for critical inspection and monitoring at sea. 

The second selected company is Night Vision Technology Solutions, based in Rhode Island, which is a provider of thermal and visible camera systems designed for offshore wind, search and rescue, threat detection, and situational awareness.

Lastly, the parties selected British Columbia-based Open Ocean Robotics, stating that the company makes it cheaper, easier, and safer to understand oceans using solar-powered, self-driving boats that can travel oceans for months while collecting data.

“We’re thrilled to receive more than 60 applications from around the world and we are excited to support the three selected startups as they work alongside experts from Vineyard Wind, MassCEC, and other leading organizations in the marine and offshore wind industries,” said Emily Reichert, CEO of Greentown Labs.

“The success of the burgeoning offshore wind industry is critical to our progress toward a decarbonized future, and the Offshore Wind Challenge will drive the development and ultimate deployment of new innovations that will simultaneously protect marine life in our oceans and accelerate the new industry’s growth on the U.S. East Coast, and beyond.”

Over the next six months, the startups will benefit from mentoring, networking opportunities, educational workshops, and partnership-focused programming through Greentown Launch, Greentown Labs’ flagship corporate partnerships accelerator platform.

Within this framework, the Offshore Wind Challenge will help startups explore potential partnership outcomes with Vineyard Wind, including piloting their technologies in the company’s Massachusetts lease waters.

The challenge will also be supported by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the New England Aquarium.