From Washington to Alaska, the coast of British Columbia stretches nearly 1,000 kilometres north-south.
When you factor in the coast’s many deep incisions and the province’s 40,000 islands, that figure balloons to a remarkable 26,000 km—or, in other terms, 10% of the entire country’s coastline.
Thus it is of little surprise that the super natural region is home to many ocean-technology companies innovating humanity’s relationship with water.
Alongside veteran Vancouver accelerator Spring, the Centre for Ocean Applied Sustainable Technologies (COAST) is in search of the next generation of ocean startups with their COAST Pitchfest.
After a lengthy selection process and company pitches presentations, COAST has crowned the winner of their first annual Pitchfest. The event showcased groundbreaking ideas and entrepreneurial spirit. The competition was tight, highlighting the incredible creativity and ingenuity within the Blue Economy.
After careful deliberation by the judges, Annie Dahan of Seacork Studios, emerged victorious with her groundbreaking concept of biodegradable acoustic panels made from seaweed, the idea is aimed at reshaping our connection to materials and their sources.
“I am thrilled to be named the first ever winner of COAST Pitchfest 2024. At Seacork Studios, we are focused on developing biodegradable acoustic panels sourced from local seaweed, redefining our relationship to materials and their origins. We have recently filed patents for our innovative acoustic attenuating seaweed material and are now at the pilot project stage, we plan to use the prize to grow our production process to supply our pilot projects,” commented Dahan on the win.
“Our mission at Seacork Studio is two fold. First, is to replace environmentally degrading acoustic panels with locally sourced, biodegradable Seacork acoustic panels. Second, is to rethink our approach to material development by prioritizing the life of the natural resource in its ecosystem as a greater value than that of the final product made from it.”
In addition to Dahan from Seacork Studio, the other five finalists were Bruce Bradley from Bee Sea Kelp and Biochar, Dorn Beattie from Swordfish Energy Incorporated, Ranah Chavoshi from PhyCo Technologies, and Omid Moradtalab from Tesla Robotics.
Photo: James MacDonald
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